You Can’t Refuse to Be Scanned — ICE’s Big Brother App Is Out of Control

Facial recognition and biometric surveillance have quietly leapt far beyond the border — and beyond the law. A newly released Department of Homeland Security document shows that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using a mobile app called Mobile Fortify to scan people’s faces and fingerprints in the streets — including U.S. citizens — without their consent. The app automatically uploads location data and stores those images for 15 years, whether the person has done anything wrong or not. ICE agents are reportedly told they can ignore birth certificates or other proof of citizenship if the app says a person is an “alien.” Even if the scan finds no match, the person’s data is kept in federal databases anyway. This is not border security — it’s dragnet surveillance of the American public. No one voted for a national biometric ID system. Yet DHS and ICE have rolled one out, without congressional authorization, public debate, or guardrails to prevent abuse. Facial recognition technology is notoriously error-prone, disproportionately misidentifying women and people of color. And the notion that a government agent can compel a citizen to submit to facial or fingerprint scans on a public street — with no warrant, no probable cause, and no right to refuse — flies in the face of the Fourth Amendment. Congress must step in. Hold hearings now on ICE’s use of Mobile Fortify and related surveillance tools. Pass legislation that: • Prohibits warrantless biometric collection of U.S. citizens and residents. • Restricts retention and sharing of biometric data to legitimate, time-limited immigration cases. • Establishes independent oversight, transparency, and penalties for misuse. Unchecked, this technology becomes a tool of oppression, not protection. “You can’t refuse” is not an acceptable policy in a free democracy.