DHS Facial Recognition App Draws from 1.2 Billion Image Database

Federal immigration agents are using facial recognition technology that draws from U.S. government biometric databases containing more than 1.2 billion face images, according to records reviewed by Bloomberg News.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other DHS units pull images while detaining suspected undocumented immigrants and American protesters. The smartphone app Mobile Fortify allows officers to capture facial images and fingerprints, instantly querying multiple federal biometric repositories.

Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit alleging DHS used Mobile Fortify in the field more than 100,000 times and that the agency retains all biometric data collected through the app, including from U.S. citizens, for 15 years, creating what the suit describes as “a de facto interior biometric registry untethered from warrants, consent, or individualized suspicion.”

Mobile Fortify traces its roots to an ICE pilot that expanded facial recognition surveillance into U.S. communities, and senators have urged the agency to halt the rollout over privacy and accuracy concerns.

The app queries CBP’s Traveler Verification Service, Border Patrol enforcement databases, and OBIM’s Automated Biometric Identification System. NEC is the facial recognition supplier for Mobile Fortify, as the company recently confirmed.

Rep. Bennie Thompson said ICE officials told Congress “that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a definitive determination of a person’s status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien.”

Sources: Bloomberg

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team