A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) app that lets local cops use facial recognition to hunt immigrants on behalf of the federal government has been removed from the Google Play Store, 404 Media has learned.
It is unclear if the removal is temporary or not, what the exact reason is for the removal, or if Google or CBP removed the app. Neither Google nor CBP immediately responded to a request for comment. Its removal comes after 404 Media documented multiple instances of CBP and ICE officials using their own facial recognition app to identify people and verify their immigration status, including people who said they were U.S. citizens.
The removal also comes after “hundreds” of Google employees took issue with the app, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
“Google's a very big place, and most people at the company haven't heard anything about this, yet hundreds signaled their displeasure with the app approval, either directly in the internal report about the app, or in memes about it,” the source said. 404 Media granted multiple sources in this story anonymity to protect them from retaliation.
“We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server,” the app’s Play Store page says at the time of writing.
CBP launched the app, called Mobile Identify, in November. It lets a police officer point their smartphone camera at a person, perform a face scan, and the app will tell the agency to contact ICE about the person or not. The app is designed “to identify and process individuals who may be in the country unlawfully,” according to the app’s Play Store page before it was removed.
As 404 Media reported at the time of the app’s launch, the Play Store page itself makes no mention of facial recognition. But 404 Media downloaded a copy of the app, compiled its code, and found clear references to scanning faces, such as a package called “facescanner.”
A source with knowledge of the app previously told 404 Media the app doesn’t return names after a face search. Instead it tells users to contact ICE and provides a reference number, or to not detain the person depending on the result.
The app is specifically for local and state agencies that are part of the 287(g) program, in which ICE delegates certain immigration-related powers to local and state agencies. Members of the 287(g) Task Force Model (TFM) are allowed to enforce immigration authorities during their ordinary police duties, and “essentially turns police officers into ICE agents,” according to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Google previously told 404 Media in a statement “This app is only usable with an official government login and does not publicly broadcast specific user data or location. Play has robust policies and when we find a violation, we take action.” Critics saw a disconnect between Google hosting a CBP app for hunting immigrants, while at the same time removing apps that let local communities report sightings of ICE officials. Google previously described ICE officials as a vulnerable group in need of protection.
Mobile Identify is essentially a watered-down version of Mobile Fortify, a more powerful facial recognition app CBP and ICE are using in the field. That app, based on leaked emails and other material obtained by 404 Media, uses CBP systems usually reserved for identifying travellers entering the U.S., and turns that technology inwards. It queries a database of more than 200 million images when an ICE official scans a subject’s face, according to the material. It then returns a subject’s name, date of birth, “alien number,” and whether they’ve been given an order of deportation. That app is not publicly available, and instead can only be downloaded onto DHS-issued work devices.
An internal DHS document 404 Media obtained said ICE does not let people decline to be scanned by the app.
Before it was removed, the app had been downloaded more than a hundred times, according to 404 Media’s earlier review of the Play Store page.
