A report released by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, alleges the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) collects, retains, and shares personal information obtained during immigration enforcement operations. The report raises concerns that existing databases and facial-recognition technology could be used to monitor protesters and other individuals encountered by immigration officers.
The report examines how ICE collects, stores, and shares information gathered during immigration enforcement operations and immigration-related protests, including whether the agency maintains what the report describes as a ‘domestic terrorism’ database of people involved in those protests.
According to the report, former acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, in a letter to members of Congress, denied that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains a single domestic terrorism database.
“But there is evidence that protesters have been tracked, and agents and officers have photographed protesters and compiled intelligence reports about them,” the report states.
According to the report, Lyons’ letter says ICE collects information under two separate legal authorities rather than maintaining a single domestic terrorism database.
ICE collects information under criminal authorities involving people suspected of crimes against federal personnel or property, or of interfering with federal operations. The report says the agency also gathers information under its civil immigration authorities, including encounters in which U.S. citizens may be asked to establish their citizenship. Information collected during those encounters may remain in government systems even if an individual is not arrested or detained and may later be shared with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, or foreign partners when officials determine there is a “need to know.”
“Unfortunately, the need to know is likely quite broad now that the Administration has labeled people who disagree with its immigration agenda as Antifa, in other words, terrorists,” the report states.
Additionally, the report highlights Mobile Fortify, a facial-recognition application developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and used by both CBP and ICE. According to the report, officers use the app to photograph individuals and compare those images against existing photo collections. The report indicates that DHS has not adequately addressed the privacy implications of its use during immigration enforcement.
“This facial recognition application is exactly the type of technology that needs proper privacy mitigations, but the documentation suggests that DHS is relying on previous work that has little bearing on how Mobile Fortify is now being used to cover its statutory responsibilities without actually protecting Americans’ privacy,” the report states.
More broadly, the report concludes that DHS is collecting and retaining information connected to immigration enforcement encounters and protests without adequately addressing privacy protections or demonstrating that all of the information was lawfully collected.
“Regardless of these claims, the implications of individuals’ right to engage in First Amendment protected activity, including peaceful protest, are clear – DHS is collecting and retaining information that may not be properly protected or lawfully collected, and appears intended to intimidate and chill speech,” the report states.