ICE Uses Facial Recognition

According to WaPo, ICE officials have run facial-recognition searches on millions of Maryland driver’s license photos, without court approval.

This should come as no surprise to careful readers of the blog — Ming posted this summer that:

Georgetown Law ‘s Center on Privacy and Technology researchers have learned through FOIA requests that thousands of facial-recognition requests, internal documents and emails over the past five years have been accessed by ICE and other law enforcement officials, turning state departments of motor vehicles databases into “the bedrock of an unprecedented surveillance infrastructure” and a gold mine for immigration enforcement actions.

Speaking of the intersection of privacy, immigration, and enforcement — I’ll point y’all back to my post earlier this week about how ICE is using location data from cellphones to further immigration enforcement.

These issues are of particular interest in the wake of Super Tuesday. Vice President Biden — a current front runner for the Democratic nomination — served under President Obama who really moved the needle on what is considered acceptable in terms of surveillance in the name of enforcement. (See, e.g, this article from the EFF with links to many more: “Obviously, and not for the first time, we are disappointed in the Obama administration.”).

-KitJ