US Immigration Agents Are Using a Face Recognition App Without Proper Verification, Exposing Thousands to Unnecessary Scrutiny.
A face recognition app used by US immigration agents across the country is not designed to reliably identify individuals in public, despite being approved for use without thorough scrutiny of its privacy implications. According to records reviewed by Wired, the app, called Mobile Fortify, has been used over 100,000 times since its deployment in May 2025.
The app was launched by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a tool to determine or verify the identities of individuals stopped or detained during federal operations. However, it does not actually "verify" identities but instead generates candidate matches based on similarity scores and adjustable thresholds.
This technology mobilizes facial capture hundreds of miles from the US border, allowing DHS to collect non-consensual face prints of people who may be US citizens or lawful permanent residents. The app is built by NEC Corporation of America, a Japanese multinational headquartered in Tokyo, which has developed matching algorithms that are prone to errors when used outside controlled settings.
Testing by federal scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology showed that face recognition accuracy drops sharply when images are taken outside controlled conditions, including for top-performing NEC models. Street photos taken by cell phones lack controls such as fixed cameras, cooperative subjects, neutral expressions, plain backgrounds, and uniform lighting, which makes them prone to errors.
In recent cases, federal agents have been seen using the app to scan the faces of people later confirmed to be US citizens or others who were observing or protesting enforcement activity. The system is designed to maintain capacity when image quality varies, which means it can produce false positives.
The use of Mobile Fortify has raised concerns about the erosion of civil liberties and privacy. DHS officials have suggested building a database to catalog people who protest or observe immigration enforcement, and some agents are using the app to target individuals based on accent, perceived ethnicity, or skin color.
Senator Ed Markey described this as "the stuff of nightmares" and warned that DHS has deployed an "arsenal of surveillance technologies" that it is using to monitor both citizens and non-citizens alike. The use of facial recognition technology sits at the center of a digital dragnet that has been created in the US over the past year, Markey said.
Legislators have introduced bills aimed at prohibiting ICE and CBP from using certain facial-recognition and biometric surveillance tools, citing real-world consequences to privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights.
A face recognition app used by US immigration agents across the country is not designed to reliably identify individuals in public, despite being approved for use without thorough scrutiny of its privacy implications. According to records reviewed by Wired, the app, called Mobile Fortify, has been used over 100,000 times since its deployment in May 2025.
The app was launched by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a tool to determine or verify the identities of individuals stopped or detained during federal operations. However, it does not actually "verify" identities but instead generates candidate matches based on similarity scores and adjustable thresholds.
This technology mobilizes facial capture hundreds of miles from the US border, allowing DHS to collect non-consensual face prints of people who may be US citizens or lawful permanent residents. The app is built by NEC Corporation of America, a Japanese multinational headquartered in Tokyo, which has developed matching algorithms that are prone to errors when used outside controlled settings.
Testing by federal scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology showed that face recognition accuracy drops sharply when images are taken outside controlled conditions, including for top-performing NEC models. Street photos taken by cell phones lack controls such as fixed cameras, cooperative subjects, neutral expressions, plain backgrounds, and uniform lighting, which makes them prone to errors.
In recent cases, federal agents have been seen using the app to scan the faces of people later confirmed to be US citizens or others who were observing or protesting enforcement activity. The system is designed to maintain capacity when image quality varies, which means it can produce false positives.
The use of Mobile Fortify has raised concerns about the erosion of civil liberties and privacy. DHS officials have suggested building a database to catalog people who protest or observe immigration enforcement, and some agents are using the app to target individuals based on accent, perceived ethnicity, or skin color.
Senator Ed Markey described this as "the stuff of nightmares" and warned that DHS has deployed an "arsenal of surveillance technologies" that it is using to monitor both citizens and non-citizens alike. The use of facial recognition technology sits at the center of a digital dragnet that has been created in the US over the past year, Markey said.
Legislators have introduced bills aimed at prohibiting ICE and CBP from using certain facial-recognition and biometric surveillance tools, citing real-world consequences to privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights.
face recognition tech is already super sketchy but the fact that they're just using it willy nilly without proper checks is totally unacceptable 
what if they start misidentifying ppl who are actually innocent? or targeting ppl based on their accent or skin color? it's like, we're supposed to be a country built on freedom and justice, not surveillance state 
the government needs to do some serious re-evaluating of this app ASAP 
. What if I'm just a law-abiding citizen trying to exercise my right to protest, but the system misidentifies me? 
. That sounds like a recipe for abuse of power and targeting innocent people. I mean, shouldn't we be protecting our civil liberties, not eroding them? 
It's like they're just winging it and hoping for the best. That's not how you build trust with your community.
. This is why I think we need stricter laws around facial recognition technology and more oversight of these types of systems 
.
It's like they're playing with fire here, messing with people's faces without proper verification or consent... what's the goal, right? Are we really that paranoid about security?
The fact that some agents are even using it to target people based on accent, ethnicity, or skin color? That's just disturbing.
I mean, who needs consent when you're taking someone's picture? 
The use of Mobile Fortify by DHS agents is like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but sadly it's real life. 
I'm all about protecting civil liberties and privacy, and this app just takes that to a whole new level! 
We need to make sure our government is using technology responsibly and with transparency, not like some sinister plot! 
I mean, we all know that street photos taken by cell phones aren't exactly ideal for face recognition. And yet, these agents are still using it to scan people's faces and produce false positives?! That's just, like, so unfair 
Like, come on! Can't we all just get along without resorting to this kind of profiling?! And now Senator Ed Markey is warning us about the "arsenal of surveillance technologies" being deployed by DHS... it's like, totally chilling 
We need to protect our civil liberties and privacy, not erode them with tech that's supposed to help us. This is getting out of hand...
. Like, who gives approval for an app that's not designed to work properly? It's just asking for errors and misidentifications, which can lead to innocent people getting scrutinized or even detained unnecessarily 