ICE Plans to Hand Face-Scanning App to 1,200+ Local Police Forces — Photos Kept 15 Years

ICE Wants Your Local Cop to Scan Your Face

A document ICE never meant for the public lays out a plan to put facial recognition in the hands of more than a thousand local police departments — and to run your face against a database of a quarter-billion government records the moment an officer decides to look.

The Task Force Module

In June 2026, 404 Media obtained an ICE Privacy Threshold Analysis describing the 'Task Force Module,' a version of ICE's 'Mobile Fortify' app meant for state and local officers enrolled in the 287(g) deputization program. As of the filing, 1,220 departments across 32 states and two territories were enrolled. Each trained officer would be able to photograph a person during any encounter and instantly query whether that face matches someone subject to deportation.

A 250-Million-Record Database

The app checks faces against more than 250 million images held by DHS and the State Department — passport photos, visa records, and prior immigration encounters. There is no requirement for a warrant, probable cause, or even the person's knowledge that they are being scanned.

Every Face, Stored 15 Years

The ACLU's Nate Wessler, reviewing the documents, noted the system 'saves our data for 15 years' — meaning every photo taken, whether or not it produces a match, becomes a permanent government record. ICE's own privacy office concedes the tool has already been used against American citizens and has made identification mistakes.

'A Recipe for Disaster'

Wessler called the rollout 'a recipe for disaster and for terrorizing members of communities across the country' by putting 'a flawed face recognition app in the hands of many thousands of local police.' The expansion proceeded without the privacy impact assessments normally required before such a deployment.