A federal program has quietly expanded the reach of immigration surveillance in the United States by giving local police access to a mobile facial recognition app previously used only by ICE and CBP agents.
What the App Does
The tool is called the ICE Task Force Module. Local police officers who participate in the federal 287(g) Task Force Model program can use it to scan the face of anyone they stop. The app then compares that scan against more than 250 million government records, including State Department visa data and records from the TSA’s Traveler Verification Service. Based on the result, the app instructs the officer either to release the person or to contact ICE for further action.
Every photo captured through the app is stored in an internal DHS system for 15 years.
Who Can Use It
The officers described in the DHS document as “ICE non-federal law enforcement officers” are almost certainly participants in the 287(g) Task Force Model. Under that program, roughly 1,300 local police agencies across the country have authority to carry out immigration arrests during their routine duties. The app launched last September, meaning local departments have likely already been deploying it.
Why Privacy Experts Are Concerned
Legal and civil liberties experts who reviewed the DHS document raised a number of serious concerns.
Clare Garvie, deputy director of the Technology Law and Policy Program at NYU School of Law’s Policing Project, pointed out that the document does not specify whether officers need reasonable suspicion before scanning someone’s face. Without that requirement, the app could effectively function as a dragnet, allowing officers to photograph people in public spaces without any individualized basis for suspicion.
That concern is grounded in what has already happened at the federal level. In Minnesota and Maine, community members reported that federal immigration officers photographed their faces and license plates during field operations, sometimes demonstrating knowledge of their names and home addresses.
Cooper Quintin, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, described the app as making face surveillance ubiquitous on American streets, comparing it to a digital version of demanding papers from anyone an officer chooses to stop.
U.S. Citizens Are Not Exempt
The DHS document itself acknowledges a significant problem: officers will not know someone’s citizenship before scanning them. The document states it is “conceivable” that a photo taken through the app could belong to a U.S. citizen rather than a removable individual. Because all photos are retained for 15 years regardless of outcome, that creates a long-term government record of people who have never been suspected of any immigration violation.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed at a congressional hearing this month that the agency used facial recognition technology on protesters and cross-referenced images from demonstrations in Oregon with those from protests outside the Delaney Hall detention facility in New Jersey.
What This Means If You Live in a 287(g) Jurisdiction
If your local police department participates in the Task Force Model, officers may now have the ability to scan your face during any stop, traffic or otherwise. If you are uncertain about your local department’s participation, you can search the ICE 287(g) program participant list on the DHS website.
If you or someone you know is detained following any law enforcement contact and you believe facial recognition technology played a role, contacting an immigration attorney immediately is the most important step. Evidence and circumstances are time-sensitive in these situations.
Powers Law Group Can Help
At Powers Law Group, we represent individuals across all stages of the immigration process, including those who have been detained or who face enforcement action. If you have questions about your rights during a stop, a detention, or an enforcement encounter, we are here to help. Schedule a consultation at rubypowerslaw.com/consultation.
Sources
- NPR, “Some local police have access to an ICE facial recognition app,” June 19, 2026: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/19/nx-s1-5433657/ice-facial-recognition-app-local-police-287g
- 404 Media, first report on the ICE Task Force Module Privacy Threshold Analysis
- DHS Privacy Threshold Analysis for the ICE Task Force Module (via 404 Media)
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org
- NYU School of Law Policing Project: https://www.policingproject.org
- Cato Institute: https://www.cato.org
- ICE 287(g) Program: https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g
- NPR, “The Americans caught in ICE’s web of surveillance”: https://www.npr.org
- NPR, former acting ICE Director Todd Lyons letter to Congress: https://www.npr.org
- DHS statement to NPR on the ICE Task Force Module app
