ICE Seeks Partner for Biometric-Based Non-Citizen Supervision Program

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking an industry partner to implement a comprehensive non-citizen supervision program that will heavily rely on biometric identification and digital identity verification systems. The initiative, which would expand ICE’s existing biometric data collection capabilities including fingerprints, facial recognition, and iris scans, comes as ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) program faces increased scrutiny over its data management practices.

The proposed supervision program follows several legal challenges regarding ICE’s handling of non-citizen data. In May 2024, digital rights advocates filed lawsuits against ICE concerning its data-sharing practices with Latin American governments, particularly focusing on the ERO program’s operations.

Database accuracy remains a critical concern in immigration enforcement. A federal court in California recently ruled that ICE’s existing databases contained significant inaccuracies that could violate Fourth Amendment protections. The ruling highlighted specific issues including false positives due to shared names or birthdates, and insufficient verification procedures.

The agency’s current biometric data collection and sharing practices, particularly through its partnerships with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), have drawn attention from privacy advocates. These concerns center on how biometric and biographical data of non-citizens is collected, stored, and shared with other agencies and foreign governments.

ICE’s initiative comes amid broader changes in federal identity verification systems, including CBP’s implementation of facial recognition technology at various ports of entry. At Denver International Airport, for example, facial recognition kiosks were recently deployed to streamline international traveler verification processes.

Source: ExecutiveGov

—
November 8, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy