Agents Capture Faces in Everyday Encounters (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Federal immigration agents scanned faces with smartphones during operations in cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and Portland, Maine, fueling debates over privacy rights and government overreach.
Agents Capture Faces in Everyday Encounters
Last fall in Aurora, a Chicago suburb, ICE agents stopped two young men on bicycles. One agent held his phone to their faces and asked, “Can you do facial?” while directing them to look into the screen. Similar scenes unfolded in Forest Lake, Minnesota, where agents confronted a man about his citizenship and instructed him to remove his hood for a scan.
Lawyer Steven Young observed agents in Minneapolis on January 21 leaning into car windows at a checkpoint to photograph occupants from a distance. Witnesses reported agents photographing parents at bus stops, neighbors trailing ICE vehicles, and even individuals walking dogs. Retired Marine Skye described sounds of “click, click, click” from an agent’s phone as he captured her image after she followed an enforcement vehicle. These incidents, verified through videos and firsthand accounts, marked a shift toward proactive biometric collection on public streets.
Smartphone Apps and Advanced Tools Drive the Shift
The Department of Homeland Security introduced the Mobile Fortify app last year, enabling agents to scan faces and match them against databases in seconds. Internal documents revealed the app compares images to a Customs and Border Protection targets list, a collection of valid travel documents like passports, and a third redacted category. Illinois officials reported more than 100,000 uses since its debut.[1]
ICE also secured two contracts worth $6 million with Clearview AI, whose software draws from social media photos for identification. Agents supplemented these tools with professional-grade cameras to document activists and bystanders. The combination allowed rapid, on-the-spot verification during encounters, though DHS retained photos for up to 15 years with no opt-out provision.[1]
- Mobile Fortify: Real-time facial scans via DHS smartphone app.
- Clearview AI: Database-powered recognition from online images.
- Professional cameras: For capturing faces of observers and protesters.
- Integrated databases: CBP targets, travel documents, and undisclosed sources.
Civil Liberties Groups Launch Legal Challenges
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE and CBP, alleging routine forced scans violated constitutional protections. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued over the app’s deployment, claiming it breached Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. American citizen Mubashir Khalif Hussen, who refused a scan during detention, stated through the ACLU, “I was terrified… I would not let them take a picture of me.”
Senator Ed Markey introduced legislation to prohibit ICE and CBP from using facial recognition. He joined nine colleagues in an unanswered letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem seeking details on data safeguards. Law professor Andrew Ferguson called street-level mobile scans “shocking,” arguing the technology remained unready for widespread use in a free society.
Government Defends Tactics Amid Broader Concerns
DHS maintained that Mobile Fortify complied with privacy laws and aided quick identification of persons of interest. A spokesperson rejected claims of Fourth Amendment violations, insisting the tool operated lawfully nationwide. Officials denied maintaining a “domestic terrorist” database despite video evidence of an agent using the term toward a woman.
Lewiston, Maine, Mayor Carl Sheline expressed alarm over agents photographing non-suspects, warning of a chilling effect on public oversight. Minneapolis state Senator Erin Maye Quade questioned the tracking of commuters and observers, declaring citizens deserved to move freely without forced scans. Critics highlighted risks of false matches, particularly for people of color, and the permanence of biometric data.
Key Takeaways
This escalation in street surveillance tests the balance between security and liberty, as ordinary encounters turn into data collection points. What steps should Congress take next? Share your thoughts in the comments.
