November 4, 2025
Say cheese, citizen
US gives local police a face-scanning app similar to one used by ICE agents
ICE-style face ID for local cops; commenters cry “authoritarian vibes” and “lawsuits”
TLDR: CBP launched an Android face-scanning app for local police helping with immigration checks, telling officers when to call ICE. Commenters split between warning of creeping authoritarianism and biased misidentifications, and predicting legal challenges, while others argue for fingerprints and question how “local” local policing really is.
CBP just dropped an Android-only face-scanning app for local cops who help with immigration enforcement, and the comments are a war zone. The “Mobile Identify” app on Google Play lets officers trained under a DHS program called 287(g) scan a face and get a “call ICE” result instead of a name. 404 Media decompiled it and found a literal “facescanner” package. No iPhone version yet. Internet reaction? Loud. One camp says this is the US collecting the “downsides of authoritarianism,” with one commenter pulling a Singapore-vs-New York safety comparison for max drama. Others go practical: why faces and not fingerprints? Is this really about matching people to social media pics?
Legal hawks smell court fights. Folks compare it to breathalyzers getting tossed over maintenance issues, and cite senators’ concerns that these tools misfire in bad light and hit communities of color hardest. There was even a wrongful detention of a US citizen this year, which has everyone yelling “bias + bad lighting = bad arrests.” Cynics question whether local cops are truly “local” when federal tools steer decisions. Meanwhile, the meme factory’s running hot: “Smile for the state,” “There’s an app for that (detention?),” and Android-only jokes write themselves.
Key Points
- •CBP launched Mobile Identify, an Android face-scanning app for local law enforcement assisting immigration enforcement under INA Section 287(g).
- •The app requires camera access to capture photos and is designed for trained, certified officers operating under DHS MOAs.
- •404 Media’s decompilation found code references to facial scanning, including packages like “facescanner,” and messages indicating face-processing logic.
- •A source told 404 Media the app does not return names; it provides a reference number and instructs users to contact ICE or not detain based on results.
- •ICE already uses a separate face-scanning app, Mobile Fortify, which Democratic senators criticized, citing NIST’s accuracy concerns and a wrongful detention case.