US Immigration Agents Use Facial Recognition App That Overrides Official IDs
In the USA, a quick cell phone photo can determine whether you are kidnapped right off the street and deported to a deportation camp. A new app that is used here has more weight than any identification documents you may carry with you.
New app for henchmen
The US immigration agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose employees often operate masked and unidentified, is increasingly relying on a new facial recognition app called Mobile Fortify for identity checks. According to an internal Department of Homeland Security document seen by US Magazine 404 Media is present, those affected cannot refuse to be scanned by the app.
In addition, the photos taken are stored for up to 15 years. The internal report describes the functioning and data protection risks of the system. Accordingly, Mobile Fortify was developed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and provided specifically for ICE officers in the field. The aim of the application is to quickly identify people using biometric data and check their residence status.
According to the document, after taking a facial image using a work smartphone, the app accesses a variety of government databases, including CBP’s Traveler Verification Service database. This contains around 200 million stored photos that were taken at US borders. The system provides information such as name, date of birth, nationality or a possible deportation order.
It is impossible to say how high the error rate is. ICE officers are allowed to use the app even if, for example, the nationality of the person being checked is unknown, or regardless of whether they are migrants, permanent residents or US citizens. Even if no match is made, the authority stores the newly captured photos and fingerprints for 15 years.
Serious violations of fundamental rights
Critics therefore warn of serious violations of fundamental rights. Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee in the US House of Representatives, called the use of the app an “unconstitutional attack on the rights of American citizens.” This is especially true since ICE views the app’s biometric matches as “final confirmation” of a person’s status – even when official documents such as birth certificates prove otherwise.
DHS defends the technology, arguing that it enables faster and more efficient identity checks than traditional methods. However, privacy advocates and civil rights groups are demanding clarification about the extent to which biometric data is collected, analyzed and shared between authorities, and whether US citizens even have the opportunity to object to the storage of their faces.
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