Tag Archives: Customs and Border Protection

Reason: How DHS Facial Recognition Tech Spread to ICE Enforcement

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More government agencies are using facial recognition for enforcement than ever before.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using a smartphone app to identify people based on an image of their fingerprints or face, 404 Media reported Thursday, based on a review of internal ICE emails. The expanding and repurposing of this sophisticated technology, ordinarily used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when people are entering or exiting the country, is now being used on people living in the United States to meet mass deportation and arrest quotas imposed by President Donald Trump.

The app, Mobile Fortify, enables users to verify an unknown person’s identity in the field through contactless fingerprints and facial images on ICE-issued phones, according to an email sent to all ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations personnel and obtained by 404. According to the emails, Mobile Fortify can identify a person by comparing a photo of their face across two databases—Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Traveler Verification Service database of people’s photos taken when entering the United States, and Seizure and Apprehension Workflow, described by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as an “intelligence aggregator” that brings together information related to searches and seizures. For fingerprint matches, the app uses DHS’s centralized Automated Biometric Identification System, which “holds more than 320 million unique identities and processes more than 400,000 biometric transactions per day,” according to the agency.

A report released by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in September 2024 attempted to call attention to concerns about accuracy, oversight, transparency, discrimination, and access to justice as facial recognition tools have quickly proliferated. Although facial recognition technology is now available to the public through commercially available tools, policies governing the federal government’s use of the technology have lagged behind real-world applications. Currently, there are no comprehensive laws regulating the federal government’s use of facial recognition technology and no constitutional provisions governing its use.

“Face recognition technology is notoriously unreliable, frequently generating false matches and resulting in a number of known wrongful arrests across the country. Immigration agents relying on this technology to try to identify people on the street is a recipe for disaster,” Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told 404 Media. “Congress has never authorized DHS to use face recognition technology in this way, and the agency should shut this dangerous experiment down.“

How DHS facial recognition tech spread to ICE enforcement
Facial recognition technology, originally developed for border crossings, has been expanded to help drive mass deportation efforts.

https://reason.com/2025/06/27/how-dhs-facial-recognition-tech-spread-to-ice-enforcement

Newsweek: Green card-holder with 2 US citizen kids held by ICE for over two months

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Claudio Cortez-Herrera, a green card holder from Mexico who has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades and has two U.S. citizen children, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials for over two months.

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Cortez-Herrera, 34, has been in the U.S. for over two decades, his fiancee Leticia Ortiz Lopez wrote in an online fundraiser seeking financial assistance for legal fees and child support. He is the father of their two U.S. citizen children, a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son with autism.

She told local outlet 13 On Your Side that he was on his way to work and “putting in the house payment across the street at the drop box post office, when he got surrounded by 10 ICE agents, and he was taken.”

ICE confirmed in a Facebook post that Cortez-Herrera was arrested by Detroit-based immigration officials on April 23. Newsweek confirmed in the ICE detainee database that he is still in custody, held at the Calhoun County Correctional Center in Battle Creek, Michigan.

In the Facebook post, ICE noted Cortez-Herrera’s previous criminal record, writing, “Convicted in New Castle, Del [Delaware],” noting that his conviction was for “Planning first-degree arson & first-degree reckless endangering.”

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the conviction.

His wife said in the GoFundMe: “Over 20 years ago, as a teen, he made a mistake. He took responsibility and left that life behind.”

Green card-holder with 2 US citizen kids held by ICE for over two months
Claudio Cortez-Herrera, who has been in the U.S. for decades but served seven months on a racketeering charge as a teen, has been detained by ICE.

https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-holder-2-us-citizen-kids-held-ice-over-two-months-2091660

ABC News: Trump administration expediting fines for those in the US illegally: Exclusive

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New rule will eliminate the 30-day warning period before fines begin.

The Trump administration is looking to speed up its ability to fine those in the United States illegally — up to $1,000 per day — according to a rule set to be published Friday in the Federal Register that was obtained by ABC News.

Currently, the government can alert those in the U.S. illegally 30 days before it starts issuing fines.

The rule proposed by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security allows the government to immediately start fining those in the U.S. illegally.

Trump administration eliminating warning period for fining those in the US illegally: Exclusive
Trump administration to speed up fines for those in the U.S. illegally — up to $1,000 per day — according to rule to be published Friday in the Federal Register.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-eliminating-warning-period-fining-us-illegally/story?id=123249981

Guardian: Trump drives surge in ICE detentions of those with no criminal record despite stated priorities

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ICE facilities across the US are holding significantly more people than normal capacity

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is continuing to arrest an increasing number of immigrants without any criminal history, according to recent federal government data reviewed by the Guardian, demonstrating a further dramatic surge in this trend.

The latest available data, released by ICE last Friday, appears to contradict Trump administration officials’ frequent assertions that the agency is prioritizing the pursuit of criminals in its immigration enforcement operations.

“Our number one concern is violent criminals,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses Ice, said on TV in an interview with PBS last week.

In mid-June, ICE data shows there were more than 11,700 people in immigration detention who had been arrested by ICE despite having no track record of being charged with or convicted of a crime. That represents a staggering 1,271% increase from data released on those in immigration detention immediately before the start of Trump’s second term.

Trump drives surge in Ice detentions of those with no criminal record despite stated priorities
Ice facilities across the US are holding significantly more people than normal capacity

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/24/trump-immigrants-ice-arrests

Straight Arrow News: National Guard, DEA raid illegal marijuana farms in Southern California

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More than 300 National Guard troops initially tasked with aiding law enforcement in the Los Angeles protests and subsequent unrest assisted federal agents during the week of June 15 in a large-scale raid targeting three suspected illegal marijuana farms in Thermal, a desert community in Riverside County, California. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led the operation, which spanned approximately 787 acres in the Coachella Valley.

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However, California officials argue that extending the Guard’s role to operations far from Los Angeles exceeds Trump’s authority. In a federal court filing cited by The Los Angeles Times, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office stated that the marijuana farm raids were not related to protecting federal property or personnel in Los Angeles, and questioned whether the president’s order remains legally valid, given the changed circumstances.

The dispute centers on whether Trump’s extended use of the National Guard violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement without congressional approval. Bonta’s office asked the court to review whether federalized troops can operate in areas where no violence or protests are occurring. Defense Department documents indicate that the deployment could last 60 days or longer, at the discretion of the secretary of defense.

National Guard, DEA raid illegal marijuana farms in Southern California
A federal raid in Thermal sparked a legal fight over Trump’s use of National Guard troops for immigration enforcement far from Los Angeles.

https://san.com/cc/national-guard-dea-raid-illegal-marijuana-farms-in-southern-california

Washington Examiner: Liberal judge frees federally charged anti-ICE rioters in Portland

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A liberal Portland judge has ordered the pretrial release of several antifa-affiliated activists facing federal charges for their alleged violent involvement in the uprisings against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Stacie Fatka Beckerman, a federal magistrate judge who donated to Democrats, freed at least four known antifa affiliates federally charged over serious crimes connected to the anti-ICE riots, according to a Washington Examiner review of court records.

Joshua Ames Cartrette, a convicted felon accused of assaulting a federal officer; Ginovanni Joseph Brumbelow, who allegedly tried to stab a Customs and Border Protection agent with a wooden stake; Deni Jungic Wolf, who is suspected of punching a federal officer in the head; and alleged anti-ICE rioter Eli Victor McKenzie were all released without bail after appearing before Beckerman in separate preliminary proceedings.

Cartrette, 46, of Oregon City, allegedly attacked a federal agent and kicked deployed tear-gas cannisters toward other officers during a declared June 14 riot outside the ICE office in south Portland, according to a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Authorities allege that Cartrette was part of a far-left mob that launched mortar fireworks, rocks, bricks, and glass bottles at the facility to burn down the building following nationwide “No Kings” protests. Cartrette, a self-described “anarchist” who uses the comrade moniker “Zero,” has frequently been featured in writings published on the antifa blog “It’s Going Down.” If convicted, Cartrette faces a maximum one-year prison sentence.

That same evening, Brumbelow, 21, of Gresham, allegedly interfered with the arrest of a fellow anti-ICE rioter and used a “pointed” stake to strike the back of a CPB agent’s head, according to probable cause statements.

Video evidence allegedly captures Brumbelow, dressed in black, bashing the officer over the head with the wooden end of a protest sign. Brumbelow faces up to eight years in federal prison for felony assault of an officer.

Wolf, 19, of Portland, is accused of assaulting a federal officer at a June 16 standoff outside the local ICE office. When agents moved in to clear a make-shift barricade erected by anti-ICE activists, Wolf allegedly punched an officer with enough force to knock his mask off and expose him to pepper spray deployed during crowd-control operations. Charging documents say Wolf was armed with a knife. Assaulting a federal officer resulting in bodily injury is punishable by up to 20 years behind bars. Last year, Wolf was reported to Portland police as an autistic, teenage runaway.

McKenzie, 21, of Portland, is charged with failing to obey a lawful order at the June 16 riot near the city’s ICE office. The offense is a Class C misdemeanor and carries a penalty of up to 30 days in custody.

So glad to see these heroes resisting ICE!

Liberal judge frees federally charged anti-ICE rioters in Portland
A liberal Portland judge ordered the pretrial release of several antifa-affiliated activists facing federal charges over the anti-ICE riots.
Liberal judge frees federally charged anti-ICE rioters in Portland

Daily Mail: Tourist who claimed he was banned entry to US because of a JD Vance meme on his phone was actually denied for a different reason, Homeland reveal

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A Norwegian tourist who claimed he was denied entry to the United States after immigration officers found a meme of JD Vance on his phone was actually turned away for a different reason, U.S. officials have revealed.

Mads Mikkelsen, 21, was sent away after arriving at New Jersey‘s Newark Airport on June 11 for a holiday. 

He told Norwegian outlet Nordlys that he had been pulled aside by border control and put in a cell.

‘They asked questions about drug trafficking, terrorist plots and right-wing extremism totally without reason,’ he alleged in an interview with the outlet.

Mr Mikkelsen claimed that the officers then threatened him with a $5,000 fine or five years in prison if he refused to give the password to his mobile phone.

The guards were said to have found a meme on the device’s camera roll showing an edit of US vice president JD Vance with a bald, egg-shaped head. Mikkelsen said after discovering the image the authorities sent him home to Norway the same day.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, has since clarified that ‘Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons’.

Bullshit! Just another lie from Homeland Security!

Tourist ‘denied entry to US over meme’ was banned for different reason
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has since clarified that ‘Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons’.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14842359/Norwegian-tourist-21-barred-entering-US-ICE-guards-meme.html

MSNBC: The Latino pressure that preceded the Dodgers turning around ICE

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Before the Los Angeles Dodgers’ June 14 home game against the San Francisco Giants, Dominican American singer Nezza performed — defiantly, she said — “El Pendón Estrellado,” a Spanish-language rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” She said a team official explicitly demanded that she perform the national anthem in English but that she refused. (The Dodgers did not release a statement regarding Nezza’s performance or confirm her story that she violated the team’s wishes.)

Nezza’s performance, a protest against what Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been doing in Los Angeles, arose out of her imagining her parents “being ripped away from me,” she said. Not surprisingly, Nezza’s performance was polarizing, with some cheering and others expressing outrage. Among the responses was an editorial from CALÓ News demanding that the Dodgers support a community under attack from the federal government.

“Dodgers, your silence speaks volumes,” CALÓ News wrote Tuesday. “The Latino community of Los Angeles has shown up for the Dodgers. Where are you now that we need you?”

That question seems to have been answered Thursday when the team announced that it had turned away ICE agents who had attempted to enter Dodger Stadium’s parking lot. “They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization,” the team wrote on X.

The Latino pressure that preceded the Dodgers turning around ICE

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/the-latino-pressure-that-preceded-the-dodgers-turning-around-ice/ar-AA1H7CXz

MSNBC: Stephen Miller is becoming a victim of his mass deportation policy’s success

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The chief architect of Trump’s mass deportation policy faces internal pushback as the effects of increased ICE raids become clear.

In a meeting last month, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller tore into senior leaders at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, demanding a massive surge in arrests of undocumented immigrants. As ICE tried to comply with Miller’s orders, immigration activists and other concerned Americans launched a series of protests in defiance of the mass deportation agenda. But it was a different set of protests that got the attention of Miller’s boss, President Donald Trump.

Last Thursday, the administration abruptly paused raids and arrests at hotels, farms and restaurants, a stunning shift in priorities that was clearly contrary to Miller’s orders. But the change was short-lived. The Department of Homeland Security reversed that guidance Monday, according to The Washington Post, allowing the immigration raids on those industries to resume and letting Miller retake control of the policy that has been the focus of his years in both Trump administrations.

Since Inauguration Day, Miller has had carte blanche on immigration policy in his dual role as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser. His insistence that ICE make 3,000 arrests per day kick-started a scramble from field offices to meet his demand. But as Vox’s Eric Levitz recently noted, Miller’s own strategy of deterrence at the border has led to a decline in the kind of encounters that would make it easy for ICE agents to rack up those numbers:

Over the past two months, America witnessed the largest decline in its foreign-born workforce since the pandemic in 2020. This contraction was driven partly by a collapse in unauthorized border crossings. Between January 2022 and June 2024, US Customs and Border Protection encountered an average of 200,000 people per month at America’s Southwest border. According to an analysis of government data from Deutsche Bank, that figure has fallen to just 12,000 people per month since Trump’s inauguration.

That has meant ICE has had to expand its list of targets to meet its quotas, including rounding up day laborers in Home Depot parking lots and field workers toiling on farms. The resulting climate of fear has scared more than just undocumented immigrants in these workforces. A Texas farmer recently told NBC affiliate KVEO of Brownsville, Texas, that within the last three weeks, there have been “zero people wanting to come out and be exposed to be able to be picked up whether they are legal or illegal.”

Opinion | Stephen Miller is becoming a victim of his own success
The chief architect of Trump’s mass deportation policy faces internal pushback as the effects of increased ICE raids become clear.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/stephen-miller-ice-deportation-rcna213491

NBC News: FBI Director Kash Patel feeds 2020 election conspiracy theories with documents about unverified tip

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FBI Director Kash Patel said this week the bureau had shared “alarming” — but unsubstantiated — allegations about manipulation of the 2020 election with a Republican member of Congress.

“The FBI has located documents which detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 U.S. election, including allegations of interference by the CCP,” Patel wrote, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “I have immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to the Chairman Grassley for further review.”

The unsubstantiated claim promoted by Patel, which an unidentified confidential human source gave to the FBI in 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first term, asserts that the Chinese mass-produced driver’s licenses to be used in a mail-in ballot scheme.

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No evidence of widespread or systemic voter fraud affecting the 2020 election has been found, despite allegations promoted by Trump and his allies since he lost that year’s presidential race.

Five years later these fools are still dredging up false claims about the 2020 election.

And this bozo is the director of what was once America’s premier law enforcement agency?

FBI Director Kash Patel feeds 2020 election conspiracy theories with documents about unverified tip
Patel has faced increased pressure from the online right to bring more drastic change to the bureau.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-director-kash-patel-feeds-2020-election-conspiracy-theories-docume-rcna213521