ICE Expands Surveillance Technology Investments with $4.5 Million Iris-Scanning Contract
In a significant move to enhance its immigration enforcement capabilities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has signed a $4.5 million contract with Plymouth-based tech firm BI2 Technologies to deploy advanced iris-scanning technology. This new system enables ICE agents to identify individuals in the field rapidly by scanning their irises through smartphone devices.
Rapid Identification Through Iris Scanning
BI2 Technologies specializes in iris-scanning software that the company claims can identify people within seconds, a drastic improvement over traditional fingerprint methods that may take hours. According to federal records, this contract grants ICE unlimited access to the nation’s largest iris-scan database built explicitly for law enforcement, which contains approximately five million records representing over 1.5 million individuals. These records are largely sourced from booking information collected by 247 agencies across the country.
Expansion of Surveillance Amid Concerns
The move is part of ICE’s broader effort to integrate cutting-edge surveillance, artificial intelligence, and data-mining technologies into its operations. More than a dozen contracts were awarded last year aiming to accelerate enforcement through technological innovation.
Supporters argue that such technologies allow for faster and more accurate identity verification during enforcement operations, potentially reducing wrongful arrests. Art Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, noted, "When you are talking about a situation like an immigration encounter or ICE stops, you want to be able to identify people as quickly as possible."
However, civil rights groups and some lawmakers express deep concerns over privacy and oversight. Rachel Levinson-Waldman, director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, expressed alarm at the scale and intensity of surveillance, calling it "supercharged in this administration" and warning about the dystopian implications of such invasive technology being used to scan individuals off the street.
Local Use and Broader Context
Locally, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office has employed the BI2 iris-scanning system since at least 2011, primarily for jail inmate booking rather than field identification, according to Karen Barry, the office’s director of external affairs. The technology serves as a control mechanism to prevent accidental releases by verifying identities in the jail setting.
Iris scanning and other biometric identification methods are not entirely new for federal agencies, with longstanding use at airports and border points since the post-9/11 era. For example, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employs fingerprint and iris recognition technologies to track travelers.
Expanding Data Access and Surveillance Tools
ICE’s surveillance reach goes beyond biometric databases. The agency has sought access to federal databases containing Medicaid enrollment information and Internal Revenue Service records to identify undocumented immigrants. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson emphasized that inter-agency information sharing is vital to track public safety threats, enforce immigration laws, and identify misuse of public benefits.
Moreover, ICE has forged substantial contracts with commercial data intelligence firms, including a $29.9 million agreement with Palantir Technologies. Palantir’s platform offers ICE capabilities such as mapping enforcement targets filtered by location and criminal history, enhancing operational effectiveness.
Legislative Pushback and Public Concerns
Concerns from lawmakers have led to scrutiny of other ICE surveillance tools, such as Mobile Fortify, which can identify individuals by scanning their faces or fingerprints and retrieve detailed personal information, including addresses and vehicle data. Massachusetts Senate Democrats Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, among others, voiced apprehensions about the breadth of these capabilities in an open letter to ICE’s acting director.
These surveillance expansions have had tangible effects on immigrant communities. Health care providers report that fear of detection and deportation has led many immigrant families to forgo essential medical care. A recent federal court ruling permitting the U.S. Health and Human Services to share Medicaid enrollee information with deportation officials underscores the deepening data sharing.
Privacy Risks and Ethical Concerns
Privacy advocates warn of the risks inherent in broad surveillance powers. Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, noted the potential for abuse in the absence of robust oversight, including the tracking of individuals’ movements and activities without warrants. Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, highlighted that targeting individuals without criminal histories, such as lawful international students, extends post-9/11 surveillance tools beyond their intended scope.
Granick emphasized that public tolerance for surveillance depended on assurances of lawful and ethical use—assurances now perceived as increasingly fragile.
As ICE continues to invest heavily in surveillance and data-driven enforcement technologies, the debate intensifies over balancing public safety, immigration law enforcement, and civil liberties. The deployment of iris scanning and expansive data access mark a new phase in border and internal security measures, raising pressing questions about privacy, oversight, and the impact on immigrant communities across the United States.
Scooty Nickerson, The Boston Globe
scooty.nickerson@globe.com
