Latest news with #EDDIE
Newsweek
a day ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Are ICE Agents Using Facial Recognition Phone App? What We Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Immigration agents have been given access to a facial recognition app to identify people in the field, according to leaked emails. The emails, exchanged between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) staff and contractors, allow officers to instantly compare biometrics like faces and fingerprints against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases, according to 404 Media. Newsweek contacted the DHS for comment. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation on January 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation on January 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Why It Matters The emails say that the biometric tool is best used "to identify unknown subjects in the field," which, along with the contributions from staff at Enforcement and Removal Operations, suggests that it is being used in the Trump administration's attempts to ramp up the removal of migrants without legal status. President Donald Trump vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants as part of a hardline mass deportation policy. ICE has been facing intense scrutiny over its conduct, becoming a focal point in the national immigration debate. The White House has maintained that anyone residing in the United States illegally is a "criminal." What To Know In the emails, the app was referred to as "Mobile Fortify" and was recommended for use "in the field" to agents and contractors working with Enforcement and Removal Operations. "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," one email read. "Officers are reminded that the fingerprint matching is currently the most accurate biometric indicator available in the application." One former ICE agent, who requested anonymity because of concerns about potential repercussions, told Newsweek that ICE has always used such technology, which he said uses non-public databases. "We used [the] EDDIE app, which is fingerprint-based but would generate images," the former agent said. "This technology have been around for 15 or more years. It's just not fingerprints anymore. Photos can now be used. It pulls from our internal databases." The messages also indicated that ICE personnel had been given training in how to use the tool, with specific reference to officers learning how to capture facial images and fingerprints in a "training non-live environment." This is not the first time that the DHS has embraced new technology to crack down on immigration. In November, before the Trump administration entered the White House, AI-powered camera software was rolled out along the southern border, with the aim of spotting human traffickers, drug smugglers and migrants in distress in the gaps between Border Patrol stations. ICE agents have used the EDDIE app, which helps officers quickly fingerprint detainees and access databases in the field. It replaced bulky equipment that once took an hour to process data. Rolled out in 2015, the app allows fingerprints and photos to be taken and uploaded in about 30 seconds. What People Are Saying Attorney Andrew Fels told Newsweek: "We know that ICE and DHS and its various new contractors have a suite of privacy secrecy tools that are evolving and are sophisticated." What Happens Next The DHS has not confirmed how the app is being used. ICE agents continue to follow orders from the Trump administration on detaining and deporting illegal immigrants across the country.
Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'The best defeat of my career' - relief for Howe as Magpies clinch Champions League spot
Newcastle 0 Everton 1 EDDIE Howe couldn't hide his relief after Newcastle did things the hard way, losing the battle but ultimately winning the war to secure their return to European football's top table. Everton had nothing to play for, but to their utmost credit, you wouldn't have known as David Moyes' side threatened to crash the Magpies' Champions League party until events 150 miles south in Manchester ensured a memorable campaign ended on a suitably high note. Clinching a second Champions League campaign in three seasons in addition to ending the club's 70-year wait for major silverware constitutes for Howe his finest season in management, and the Newcastle boss said: "It's probably the best defeat of my career. "It definitely wasn't how we wanted the day to go in terms of how we played. Our desire to win was probably too great and we snatched at things and made the wrong decision numerous times. But saying that, it's been a monumental season, a great effort and I'm incredibly proud of the players. "If you'd said with the way we started the season that it would end with this kind of success you'd struggle to find many people who would say we could have done it due to the disruption we had last summer, with no major singing in three windows. "We lost players we would not have wanted but the players regrouped and gave even more so they deserve huge credit. They're a great group and got their just rewards." Newcastle chose a bad time to register back-to-back defeats for the first time since October, before a former Sunderland striker proved to be their salvation. A late goal from Manchester United's Amad Diallo, who spent a season on loan at the Stadium of Light two years ago, helped to consigned 10-man Aston Villa to defeat and ensure Newcastle squeezed home in fifth on goal difference in an unexpectedly tense finish to what was meant to be a celebratory lap of honour. Another former Black Cat, Everton keeper Jordan Pickford - forever the pantomime villain in this part of the North-East - did his bit in trying to ensure a memorable 24 hours for Wearside with a deserved clean sheet as the final day almost fell flat for the hosts. When the best player on the pitch Carlos Alcaraz headed the visitors in front from a Vitalii Mykolenko cross with 25 minutes left, Howe's side were staring at a deflating end to an otherwise memorable campaign as they looked destined for the Europa League. There rarely looked like a way back against Moyes' side who ignored the fact they would finish 13th regardless of the outcome with a gritty display to leave them beaten just twice in 10 Premier League games on the road since the Scot's return. Anxiety levels grew among the Toon Army but Newcastle were out of the top five for only a little over 10 minutes as news filtered through of events at Old Trafford. The mood quickly began to lift and Howe's side almost rescued a point when Fabian Schar skied a glorious stoppage-time chance to level from close range. That would have been harsh on the visitors, who deserved a slice of luck for the sheer tenacity of their display with so little resting on the outcome for them as Newcastle fell over the line to book another round of memory-making nights under the floodlights in the Champions League next season. Everton look a decent bet to mount a challenge for Europe of their own next season if they continue to make the strides they've made since Moyes' second coming. They ended the season with three consecutive victories for the first time since 1989, and he said: "It was a great performance with the character we showed, maybe as good as we've been in any game under me and that says so much for the players. "It would have been easy for them to have been on the beach but there was no way you could say that of them. I was really proud of the players. This was probably the worst place to come on the last game of the season with them trying to qualify for the Champions League and we put in a great display like that without probably our best two defenders. "We showed great resilience, and I just hope we can take this form with us into the new stadium next season." Newcastle (3-4-3): Pope 7; Schar 6, Botman 7 (Trippier 63, 6), Burn 5; Murphy 6 (Wilson 70, 4), Guimaraes 5, Tonali 5, Livramento 7; Barnes 6 (Osula 88, 5), Isak 5, Gordon 5 (Willock 46, 5). Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford 8; Young 7, Keane 7, O'Brien 7, Mykolenko 8; Garner 7, Gueye 7; Harrison 6, Alcaraz 8 (Doucoure 76, 6), Ndiaye 6 (McNeil 76, 6); Beto 6 (Calvert-Lewin 88, 6). Referee: A Harrington
