CBP Introduces Mobile Facial Recognition for Local Police

Published Date : 11/5/2025 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has introduced a new mobile face-scanning app, Mobile Identify, for local law enforcement officers under the 287(g) immigration enforcement program. This expansion of biometric surveillance raises concerns about privacy, accuracy, and oversight. 

On Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quietly rolled out a new mobile face-scanning app called Mobile Identify for local law enforcement officers working under the federal 287(g) immigration enforcement program. This marks another step in the expansion of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biometric surveillance infrastructure beyond the nation’s borders.

By embedding CBP’s facial recognition systems into a public-facing app for local police, DHS has opened a new frontier in biometric enforcement. This expansion blurs the line between border control and everyday policing, leaving critical questions about oversight, accuracy, privacy, and accountability unresolved.

The controversial 287(g) program, named for Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows DHS through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to sign formal agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies. These agreements deputize certain officers to perform limited federal immigration enforcement functions. Under these agreements, trained local law enforcement officers can check immigration status, issue detainers, and initiate removal proceedings under ICE supervision. There are two main models: the Jail Enforcement Model, which screens individuals already in custody, and the Task Force Model (TFM), which authorizes officers to conduct immigration enforcement during field operations.

The 287(g) program has seen significant expansion under President Donald Trump’s second term. As of September, ICE reported that state and local police from 40 states are participating in the Task Force Model, with 8,501 Task Force Officers trained and over 2,000 additional officers in training. ICE’s training of officers in the 287(g) program has long been criticized for its limited rigor and weak oversight. In 2010, DHS’s Office of Inspector General (IG) warned that the civil rights instruction provided to participating officers was insufficient. Eight years later, another DHS IG audit found that ICE failed to track whether officers were completing mandatory online refresher courses, noting that program managers were “stretched thin,” which undermined “ICE’s ability to adequately manage, oversee, and educate participating agencies in enforcing immigration laws correctly.”

In 2021, the Government Accountability Office reported that ICE still had not established clear performance goals to measure partner agency compliance with training and other program requirements. Despite prior warnings from government oversight agencies about the training of 287(g) participants, the program is now expanding at an unprecedented rate with less training requirements and less oversight than before, according to the National Immigration Forum.

The new Mobile Identify app for local police was made available on Google Play and is listed under the developer name “U.S. Customs and Border Protection” and titled “The 287 TFM app.” Its description states it is designed to “support local law enforcement officers in their duties” under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The app requires camera access and a Login.gov account, and although it does not explain how facial matching is conducted, code strings inside the software reference “facescanner” and “FacePresence,” indicating built-in face capture functionality.

Sources familiar with the app told reporters that the system does not return a name but instead produces a reference number instructing officers to contact ICE for further direction. Depending on the result, the app tells officers either to detain the person or not to take action. CBP has declined to provide technical details. The new app follows the pattern of ICE’s existing Mobile Fortify app, which allows federal agents to capture and compare faces against DHS databases in the field. According to agency documents, photos captured through Mobile Fortify are retained for 15 years, even if the subject is a U.S. citizen.

Congressional oversight leaders have warned that ICE agents have relied on Mobile Fortify matches over documentary evidence of citizenship, raising concerns about due process. ICE previously acknowledged that Mobile Fortify relies on CBP’s Traveler Verification Service (TVS), the same face matching system used at airports and border crossings. TVS was created to automate CBP’s biometric entry-exit system by comparing live images of travelers against galleries built from passports, visas, and other travel documents. The system has expanded steadily across air, sea, and land environments, and privacy documents published by DHS indicate that TVS matches live captures against holdings compiled from Advance Passenger Information System manifests and other agency databases.

If Mobile Identify draws on TVS, it effectively extends a border-based identity system to interior enforcement and local police departments. The new app’s listing explicitly ties it to the Task Force Model, the variant of 287(g) that allows local officers to conduct immigration enforcement during their routine policing duties, often far from the border. Technical evidence and prior DHS documentation suggest the app likely captures a live facial image, verifies the user’s credentials via Login.gov, and transmits the photo to a DHS server for comparison.

ICE’s Mobile Fortify documentation describes access to more than 200 million facial images drawn from DHS, Department of State, and Federal Bureau of Investigation databases, though CBP has not confirmed data sources for Mobile Identify. CBP has said that Mobile Fortify uses “facial comparison as well as fingerprint matching to verify the identity of individuals against specific immigration related holdings.” At ports of entry, CBP maintains that U.S. citizens can opt out of facial scanning and instead undergo manual inspection. Noncitizens, however, are now subject to mandatory biometric capture under a final rule published in October.

DHS documents for Mobile Fortify make clear that individuals cannot refuse a scan in the field. For local law enforcement using Mobile Identify, no opt-out provision has been disclosed, meaning citizens and noncitizens alike could be scanned during street-level encounters without consent. Unlike other CBP mobile platforms, such as CBP One and CBP Link, the new face scanning app for local law enforcement has not been accompanied by a publicly posted Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) or a System of Records Notice (SORN).

PIAs are required by Section 208 of the E-Government Act of 2002, and SORNs are required by the Privacy Act of 1974. Consequently, DHS’s Office of Privacy requires such documentation before deploying tools that collect or transmit biometric information. The absence of a Mobile Identify PIA and SORN leaves open questions about how long images are retained, who can access them, and whether data is shared with other agencies.

The introduction of Mobile Identify extends a pattern of expanding DHS biometric programs deeper into domestic policing. In recent months, DHS finalized rules enabling CBP to require photos from all noncitizens at entry and exit and proposed additional regulations to expand biometric collection across immigration processes. Together with ICE’s Mobile Fortify app and CBP’s new tool for local 287(g) officers, the department is building a continuous biometric network that links federal and local enforcement to border-based databases.

Civil liberties groups and lawmakers have warned that these systems increase the risk of false matches, racial bias, and warrantless surveillance. This week, members of Congress urged DHS to suspend Mobile Fortify pending a privacy review, while organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have argued that 287(g) partnerships erode trust between immigrant communities and local police.

The seeming lack of transparency around Mobile Identify could make it difficult to challenge mistaken detentions or to understand the reliability of the underlying facial recognition algorithms. CBP has not publicly addressed how Mobile Identify’s facial data will be governed or whether it will follow Mobile Fortify’s 15-year retention period. The agency has also not said what auditing or oversight measures will apply when local police use the app to flag potential immigration violations. Without clear guidance, the new app effectively deputizes local officers to act on opaque biometric determinations that may come from error-prone or outdated federal databases. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the 287(g) program?

A: The 287(g) program, named for Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows DHS through ICE to sign formal agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies. These agreements deputize certain officers to perform limited federal immigration enforcement functions.

Q: What is the new Mobile Identify app?

A: The Mobile Identify app is a new mobile face-scanning app launched by CBP for local law enforcement officers working under the 287(g) immigration enforcement program. It allows officers to capture and compare facial images against DHS databases.

Q: What are the privacy concerns with Mobile Identify?

A: Privacy concerns include the lack of transparency around data retention, access, and sharing, as well as the potential for false matches, racial bias, and warrantless surveillance. There is also no opt-out provision for citizens and noncitizens.

Q: How does the app work in the field?

A: The app captures a live facial image, verifies the user’s credentials via Login.gov, and transmits the photo to a DHS server for comparison. Depending on the result, the app instructs officers to detain the person or not to take action.

Q: What is the role of the Traveler Verification Service (TVS)?

A: The Traveler Verification Service (TVS) is a face matching system used at airports and border crossings. If Mobile Identify draws on TVS, it extends a border-based identity system to interior enforcement and local police departments. 

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