this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2025

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565

ICE and CBP Agents Are Scanning Peoples’ Faces on the Street To Verify Citizenship (www.404media.co)

submitted 2 days ago by silence7@slrpnk.net to c/news@lemmy.world

101 comments fedilink hide all child comments

He also said “ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a ‘definitive’ determination of a person’s status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien. ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans’ rights and freedoms.”

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[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 107 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (20 children)

This reeks of bullshit by ICE, they can't verify citizenship from a face, because AFAIK there is no database of citizenship faces.

It is way more likely to be run against for instance criminal arrest photo databases.
There may be other segments they can take from like military and DMV, but they can't say that because they don't have a photo match that people aren't citizens.
It can only in a very limited percentage of cases confirm citizenship, and most of those will be people who have papers like a drivers license on them already.

This is probably part of the ongoing scare campaign, and serves very little practical purpose.

[–] lividweasel@lemmy.world 115 points 2 days ago (4 children)

The “facial recognition” might just do this:

collapsed inline media

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[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 32 points 2 days ago (2 children)

TSA has been scanning people's faces at security checkpoints for several years now. I've been opting out every time because I figured building a facial recognition database was the end goal.

they can't say that because they don't have a photo match that people aren't citizens.

Sure, sure, until they start doing it and no one stops them.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Oh I didn't think of airports. Thanks for pointing that out.

until they start doing it and no one stops them.

They'll do whatever the fuck they want, nobody is really stopping them.
Yes there are attempts and local heroes that do, but from an official side very little is being done.
And any official that complains about it, immediately becomes a target for the administration.
This fear campaign is far from only against immigrants, it is also to pacify Americans.

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[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Opting out how? They have automatically-assembled video footage of you from the moment you stepped out of the vehicle you took to the airport up until the moment you walked off the jetway onto your flight.

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[–] diablexical@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

What about the face scans through TSA and customs? I assumed those were going into every 3 letter agencies databases.

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 2 days ago

Dude it doesn't matter if it's legitimate or not, it will just be used as a cudgel against "undesirables" including political opponents.

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

100% This. This is entirely bullshit. This is likely illegal.

[–] HasturInYellow@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

You can't do a fascism!! That's illegal!

[–] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Get some AI to cross reference real name social media like Facebook with genealogy apps like Ancestry and you could make a citizenship facial scan app. There would be a lot of false positives, but as long as it's non-white people, this administration doesn't care.

[–] muffedtrims@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

*Palantir enters the chat

[–] BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Don't know how legal it is for govt usage, but people have been uploading photos to Meta for more than a decade at this point, directly associating their image with their identity.

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[–] jacksilver@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Even if there was, facial recognition isn't that good. A photo taken with a phone is just going to give you some level of confidence.

Its just an excuse, especially cause we know most facial recognition systems are racist to begin with.

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[–] st3ph3n@midwest.social 106 points 2 days ago (13 children)

Interesting how it is the cowards hiding behind their masks scanning peoples' faces.

[–] PeacefulForest@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

And the same ones who refused to wear face masks during Covid.

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[–] PeacefulForest@lemmy.world 79 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Funny, this is what my republican parents were always afraid of

[–] silence7@slrpnk.net 28 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Afraid of, or confessing a desire to inflict upon others?

[–] PeacefulForest@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago

They are so mentally gone and isolated I truly dont think they believe anything weird is going on, besides from they’re usual distrust of the government and being happy “the dangerous criminals” are in prison.

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

"if we want to do it the other side surely wants to do it to us!" Lol

[–] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah but they were afraid of it being used on them in the fictional war on Christianity. Its perfectly fine when it’s used on someone else.

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[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 67 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

people need to start, on the street, trying to collect DNA off of ICE/CBP and storing it for future use

[–] svc@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 34 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Collect their blood

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 16 points 2 days ago

or just steal their masks

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 60 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We should start to pull their masks off. Seriously. Get a crowd a people big enough to protect the ones pulling them off.

No law enforcement should be masked.

[–] stinky@redlemmy.com 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'd be afraid to do it because they'd kill me. What do you propose

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago (3 children)

They would at the very least arrest you and charge you with assault on a law enforcement officer, a felony.

Unless you run really fast, then you get a free punisher facemask

[–] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 2 days ago

And some acute lead poisoning in the back

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[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 56 points 2 days ago (2 children)

“ICE officials have told us that an apparent biometric match by Mobile Fortify is a ‘definitive’ determination of a person’s status and that an ICE officer may ignore evidence of American citizenship—including a birth certificate—if the app says the person is an alien. ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans’ rights and freedoms.”

Now they have a way to effectively revoke someone's citizenship. All they have to do is change your status in the app to "noncitizen." No need to go through the court. Just have some code that lets them flag citizens as noncitizens. They want you gone? Just flag your identity in the app as a foreign national. The agents in the field then scan your face and it reports you as an illegal immigrant. You object and show them all your legal documents, but they've been told the app is infallible. You're taken to detention, and the guards there simply scan your face and report you as an illegal every time you protest. "The app is infallible" they repeat. Before you have a chance to challenge it in court, you've rotting in a prison camp in rural Liberia.

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

The same app that has been plagued by facial recognition issues since its inception.

Fuck it, just don’t open the door. Ask for a real warrant signed by a judge and to see their ID, not a badge. Any chuckle fuck can buy a fake ICE badge for 50 bucks.

If they refuse or argue, call the cops and say there are masked men loitering on your property and you fear for your safety.

If they try to enter, well I’ll leave that up to each Individual here, but I know what my situation is and what I have to lose. I’m not going to some camp to get disappeared, and I’m not letting anyone else in my family go either.

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[–] klemptor@startrek.website 39 points 2 days ago

Jesus christ this is scary.

[–] WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org 34 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The ice issue exists to make palantir money.

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[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 30 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Stop-and-frisk/Terry Stops are apparently legal in Illinois, and in most states, if an officer has reasonable suspicion which (as not-a-lawyer) I think taking the picture to run facial recognition counts as a frisk. The current temporary ruling is that existing with brown skin is a reasonable suspicion of illegal immigration crime to this Supreme Court.

So, really, all you can do is give your real name, ask for a lawyer and ask if you are being detained or if you may leave the area. If you're let go, calmly notify others in person and online of ICE activity. If you're being arrested, get others' attention by raising your voice letting people know to get their badge and plate numbers.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 25 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Did Nazi Germany actually make a law that made being Jewish illegal? Or did they just do all the persecution without a legal basis?
Seems to me that ICE is moving further and further away from an actual legal basis for their activities, ignoring civil rights based on very questionable argument that the suspects are not citizens, although obviously many of the people they confront are.

Also even if they aren't citizens doesn't mean they don't have rights, except in a fascist country that ignores human rights.
But the idea that only citizens have rights, is a huge argument for staying far away from USA as for instance a tourist and for business travel too.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Did Nazi Germany actually make a law that made being Jewish illegal? Or did they just do all the persecution without a legal basis?

They started by booting all Jews from civil service, and then continued taking away rights, month by month.

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[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

I missed the part in the fourth amendment that mentions citizens.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I don't think the legality of the sitiation matters. If the app makes a mistake, you could end up in a cell or on a flight with none of your comms for help. And that's if you have anyone who can help. If I were a US citizen, I'd wear a mask on me, put it on and move in the opposite direction of any law enforcement I encounter.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 day ago

Me in 2026, being face scanned, then the Clanker goes "All y'all Asians look the same, DETAIN". 💀

[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

When the regime falls, ICE agents are going to learn how easily they are identified, and brought to justice.

As it turns out, assaulting citizens and trampling their basic human rights, makes them get very, very good at crowd sourcing and building databases of ICE agent information.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

They're collecting a paycheck, it should be easy to prosecute the ones who break the law.

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[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Masked police, taking pics of you at your doorstep... Murica. I wouldn't live there if you'd give me 500k a year for free.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 11 points 1 day ago

The 21st century version of "Ihre Papiere, bitte."

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They wear masks, but we have to be identified. Looks like it's time to mask up again.

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[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 10 points 1 day ago

Right now it's only going to be used to identify citizenship, but eventually it will gain wider use, such as to identify those peacefully participating in protests.

You go to the latest No Kings Rally, and by the end of the week, ICE is arresting you in your 7th grade classroom, in front of your students, who you've been teaching about the 1st Amendment.

[–] who@feddit.org 8 points 2 days ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20251029151347/https://www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-agents-are-scanning-peoples-faces-on-the-street-to-verify-citizenship/

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