Trump channels Xi's China surveillance playbook as ICE deploys facial recognition app to identify people
The Trump administration is extending its surveillance powers within the US quietly, arming
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) officers with a new mobile app that can scan fingerprints or faces on the street to identify individuals by just pointing a smartphone camera at them, as per a report.
US Surveillance on the Streets
As per ICE's internal emails obtained by 404 Media revealed that the app, named 'Mobile Fortify', is already being used by ICE for the facial recognition component of the app for people entering or exiting the United States, but now that system is being used inside the US by ICE to identify people in the field, as reported by 404 Media.
What Is Mobile Fortify?
One of the emails, which was sent to all Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), mentioned that, 'The Mobile Fortify App empowers users with real-time
biometric identity verification
capabilities utilizing contactless fingerprints and facial images captured by the camera on an ICE issued cell phone without a secondary collection device,' as quoted in the report.
According to the 404 Media report, the main purpose of ICE is to use this new tool to identify people whose identity ICE officers do not know. The email pointed out that, 'This information can be used to identify unknown subjects in the field,' adding, 'Officers are reminded that the fingerprint matching is currently the most accurate biometric indicator available in the application,' as quoted in the report.
ALSO READ:
Palantir Under Siege: Protesters rage over surveillance, ICE links in NYC office blockade
Live Events
A Digital Way to Deportation
The use of the Mobile Fortify app is one of the latest examples of ICE, which comes amid the Trump administration's increasing use of high-end technology for its mass deportation efforts and ICE's enforcement of its arrest quotas of 3,000 arrests per day, as reported by 404 Media.
The 404 Media reported, citing an internal ICE data seen by NBC News, which said that the Trump administration has arrested only 6% of known immigrant murderers. While ICE has continued to detain nonviolent, working members of immigrant communities who have lived in the country for decades, especially in Los Angeles, as reported by 404 Media.
Civil Liberties Concerns
Meanwhile, civil liberties proponents have constantly feared and critiqued the biometric systems, as per the report. The deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, Nathan Freed Wessler, highlighted that, 'Face recognition technology is notoriously unreliable, frequently generating false matches and resulting in a number of known wrongful arrests across the country. Immigration agents relying on this technology to try to identify people on the street is a recipe for disaster. Congress has never authorized DHS to use face recognition technology in this way, and the agency should shut this dangerous experiment down,' as quoted in the report.
ALSO READ:
California, the world's fourth largest economy, to charge road tax as people go electric, citizens furious
FAQs
What exactly is Mobile Fortify?
It's a mobile app that lets ICE officers use facial recognition and fingerprint scans with just their phone's camera to identify people in real time, as per the 404 Media report.
Do ICE officers need extra equipment to use it?
No. The app works directly on ICE-issued smartphones, no fingerprint readers or extra devices are needed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
11 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Supreme Court nationwide injunction ruling: What are Justices Barrett and Jackson's arguements
The US Supreme Court on Friday handed President Donald Trump a major victory by ruling to curb the power of federal judges to impose nationwide rulings impeding his policies. However, the issue of whether the administration can limit birthright citizenship still remains unresolved. Trump welcomed the court's 6-3 ruling, declaring that his administration can now proceed with numerous policies such as his executive order aiming to restrict birthright citizenship. US Supreme Court ruled on nationwide injunction by federal judges on Friday(AFP) "We have so many of them. I have a whole list," Trump told reporters at the White House. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who authored the ruling, directed lower courts that blocked Trump's order on birthright citizenship to reconsider. She and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had completely different arguments in their opinions. Jackson and other liberal justices wrote a joint dissent. The Biden-nominee, in her solo dissent, said 'disaster was looming'. 'It gives the Executive the go-ahead to sometimes wield the kind of unchecked, arbitrary power the Founders crafted our Constitution to eradicate,' she wrote. Barrett quickly rebuked her colleague. 'We observe only this: Justice Jackson decries an imperial Executive while embracing an imperial Judiciary. No one disputes that the Executive has a duty to follow the law. But the Judiciary does not have unbridled authority to enforce this obligation—in fact, sometimes the law prohibits the Judiciary from doing so," Barrett wrote. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent, added: "The majority ignores entirely whether the President's executive order is constitutional, instead focusing only on the question whether federal courts have the equitable authority to issue universal injunctions. Yet the order's patent unlawfulness reveals the gravity of the majority's error and underscores why equity supports universal injunctions as appropriate remedies in this kind of case." Trump called the ruling a 'monumental victory for the Constitution, the separation of powers and the rule of law'. "It was a grave threat to democracy, frankly, and instead of merely ruling on the immediate cases before them, these judges have attempted to dictate the law for the entire nation," Trump said of nationwide injunctions. (With inputs from Reuters)
Time of India
12 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Would bomb Iran again...': Trump drops bombshell amid escalating Iran-Israel conflict
President Donald Trump said on Friday he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran was enriching uranium to a level that concerned the United States, and he backed inspections of Iran's bombed nuclear sites. "Sure, without question, absolutely," Trump said when asked about the possibility of new bombing of Iranian nuclear sites if deemed necessary at some point. At a White House news conference, Trump said he plans to respond soon to comments from Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, who said Iran "slapped America in the face" by launching an attack against a major U.S. base in Qatar following last weekend's U.S. bombing raid. Trump also said he would like inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency or another respected source to be able to inspect Iran's nuclear sites after they were bombed last weekend. Show more Show less
Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘She was gardening—then vanished': 47 years in US, ICE arrests 64-year-old Iranian woman in New Orleans
A 64-year-old Iranian woman, who has lived in the US since 1978, was detained by immigration agents outside her New Orleans home on Sunday—just hours after US airstrikes in Iran. Madonna 'Donna' Kashanian was gardening when plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles handcuffed her and took her to a Mississippi jail before transferring her to the South Louisiana ICE processing center in Basile, Nola reported. Kashanian, who arrived in the US on a student visa and later sought asylum due to her father's ties to the Shah of Iran, was denied asylum but granted a stay of removal. Her family insists she complied with all immigration requirements and has no criminal record. The arrest came amid a nationwide ICE sweep that reportedly netted 11 Iranians over the weekend. Federal officials did not explain the timing, though Kashanian's case has sparked outrage among neighbours and immigrant rights advocates. Her husband and daughter are now scrambling to find legal help. ICE also detained two Iranian LSU students in Baton Rouge this week, part of a broader uptick in enforcement. Government data shows an 807% rise in arrests of people with no criminal records since Donald Trump's second term began in January. ICE currently detains around 59,000 people nationwide. Earlier this week, in a shocking incident caught on video, a 32-year-old US citizen was arrested during an immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles, sparking outrage and raising concerns about racial profiling and ICE overreach. Andrea Velez, a college graduate and lifelong US citizen, was reportedly taken into custody without explanation or proper identification checks. Her family, who witnessed the event, said the arrest resembled a 'kidnapping.' 'My mom looked at the rear mirror and saw how my sister was attacked from the back,' Estrella Rosas told ABC7. 'She was like: 'They're kidnapping your sister.'' Footage shows federal agents surrounding Velez as stunned onlookers gather. Her mother, Margarita Flores, who holds US residency, screamed for help from a nearby car. Eyewitness videos appear to show agents lifting Velez off the ground and carrying her away. Her family said ICE agents did not ask for ID or explain the reason for the arrest. 'She's a US citizen,' Rosas can be heard screaming in the video. 'They're taking her. Help her, someone.' Velez's mother told CBS Los Angeles: 'The only thing wrong with her … was the color of her skin.' Attorneys for the family said it took them over a day to locate Velez, with no information provided by authorities. 'It took us four hours to find her, and we're attorneys. That's crazy,' Dominique Boubion said. The Department of Homeland Security has alleged Velez was arrested for assaulting an ICE officer, but lawyers say no charges have been communicated. This is not the first time such incidents have occurred. A government report found that between 2015 and 2020, ICE erroneously deported at least 70 US citizens, arrested 674, and detained 121.
