The Mobile Fortify app, employed by U.S. immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and CBP, has reportedly been used over 100,000 times to identify both immigrants and U.S. citizens. However, internal records reveal that the app is not designed to reliably verify identities, and its rollout lacked the rigorous privacy scrutiny typically required for such technologies.
Introduced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2025, Mobile Fortify was intended to help DHS officers identify individuals during federal operations. This decision was closely tied to an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at enhancing enforcement against undocumented immigrants. Despite this intention, the app has limitations; it does not provide definitive identity verification, a fact acknowledged by experts like Nathan Wessler from the ACLU, who emphasized that facial recognition is not infallible and is meant solely for generating leads.
Further scrutiny of the app’s deployment highlighted a troubling trend within DHS. In the rapidly-approved rollout of Mobile Fortify, established privacy protocols were dismantled, leading to a lack of central oversight for such technologies. According to reports, the app has increasingly scanned the faces of bystanders and individuals not targeted for enforcement, raising concerns about privacy violations.
The technology functions by creating biometric templates based on facial images and returning potential matches. This capability raises concerns, especially as the app can mistakenly identify individuals, as seen in a documented incident in Oregon where a woman was wrongly matched with multiple identities. The harsh realities of field conditions—poor lighting, angle discrepancies, and expressed emotions—diminish the app’s reliability.
Facial recognition data collected via Mobile Fortify feeds into expansive databases, including the Automated Targeting System (ATS). Allegations suggest that even U.S. citizens can be included in biometric collections, with data retention policies extending up to 15 years. Moreover, the DHS has demonstrated a clear trajectory toward low-level street encounters, characterized by biometric scanning, often with minimal accountability.
Recent political pushback against these practices has materialized, with U.S. senators expressing concerns about the use of facial recognition technology by ICE and CBP. Legislation has surfaced aiming to restrict the deployment of such surveillance tools, due to fears they infringe upon civil liberties and privacy rights.
Senator Ed Markey articulated that the use of these technologies represents a significant danger, labeling it "authoritarian" and unconstitutional. The call for transparency and safeguards remains as DHS’s use of facial recognition continues to evolve, with privacy advocates demanding stricter regulations to halt potential abuses of power.
