Senators demand ICE halt use of Mobile Fortify app amid growing privacy concerns

According to Biometricupdate.com, U.S. senators are demanding transparency from ICE after new videos showed agents using a mobile app to scan people’s faces on public streets. The app, called Mobile Fortify, reportedly turns government phones into biometric scanners capable of facial and fingerprint recognition, matching results instantly against large federal databases.

Initially designed for border checkpoints, the technology is now being used for domestic immigration enforcement, raising significant privacy and civil liberties concerns. Critics warn the app enables warrantless, on-the-go surveillance of the public without clear legal authority, oversight, or data protection policies.

“Three separate videos posted on social media captured ICE agents
scanning the faces of individuals in the United States. In one video,
federal agents appear to stop two young men without any clear
justification.”

“When one of the men explains that he does not have identification
documents with him, a federal agent asks ‘can you do a facial?’ and
another agent then ‘points his own phone camera directly at him,
hovering it over the boy’s face for a couple seconds,” the senators
noted. “The officer then looks at his phone’s screen and asks the boy to
verify his name. This exchange – along with the other videos –
demonstrates that ICE is using facial recognition technology on U.S.
streets for identity verification.”

The senators’ letter urges ICE to stop using the app and disclose details about its development, testing, legal justification, and data practices. The controversy highlights a broader trend of border surveillance tools migrating into everyday law enforcement, prompting calls for stricter limits on government use of biometric technology.

Zenni ID Guard glasses aim to counter facial recognition scanning.