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ICE Used Facial Recognition to Mine State Driver's License Databases
WASHINGTON — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have mined state driver's license databases using facial recognition technology, analyzing millions of motorists' photos without their knowledge.
In at least three states that offer driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, ICE officials have requested to comb through state repositories of license photos, according to newly released documents. At least two of those states, Utah and Vermont, complied, searching their photos for matches, those records show.
In the third state, Washington, agents authorized administrative subpoenas of the Department of Licensing to conduct a facial recognition scan of all photos of license applicants, though it was unclear whether the state carried out the searches. In Vermont, agents only had to file a paper request that was later approved by Department of Motor Vehicles employees.
The documents, obtained through public records requests by Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology and first reported on by The Washington Post, mark the first known instance of ICE using facial recognition technology to scan state driver's license databases, including photos of legal residents and citizens.
Privacy experts like Harrison Rudolph, an associate at the center, which released the documents to The New York Times, said the records painted a new picture of a practice that should be shut down.
[...] He continued: "These states have never told undocumented people that when they apply for a driver's license they are also turning over their face to ICE. That is a huge bait and switch."
The use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement is far from new or rare. Over two dozen states allow law enforcement officials to request such searches against their databases of driver's licenses, a practice that has drawn criticism from lawmakers and advocates who say that running facial recognition searches against millions of photos of unwitting, law-abiding citizens is a major privacy violation.
The F.B.I., for example, has tapped state law enforcement's troves of photos — primarily those for driver's licenses and visa applications — for nearly a decade, according to a Government Accountability Office report. The bureau has run over 390,000 searches through databases that collectively hold over 640 million photos, F.B.I. officials said.
[...] The Seattle Times reported last year that Washington State's Department of Licensing turned over undocumented immigrants' driver's license applications to ICE officials, a practice its governor, Jay Inslee, pledged to stop. And a lawsuit in Vermont filed by an activist group cited documents obtained under public records law that showed that the state Department of Motor Vehicles forwarded names, photos, car registrations and other information on migrant workers to ICE, Vermont Public Radio reported this year.
The relationship between Washington's Department of Licensing and ICE officials may prove to be particularly interesting to privacy experts because of a law the State Legislature passed in 2012 stipulating that the department could use a facial recognition matching system for driver's licenses only when authorized by a court order, something ICE did not provide.
(Score: 3, Informative) by hemocyanin on Monday July 08 2019, @03:34PM (28 children)
I don't disagree with you on the privacy side, but illegal immigration is not victimless. For example, real wages of construction workers in LA are about five inflation adjusted dollars lower today than in the 70s, and while the article tries to make it about racism somehow, the business math is crystal clear: imported labor works cheap and make union busting easy.
https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-construction-trump/ [latimes.com]
So if you care about the economic health of your fellow Americans, illegal immigration is NOT a victimless crime. Illegal immigration is the 1% answer to jobs that can't be offshored.
(Score: 2, Troll) by ikanreed on Monday July 08 2019, @04:14PM (27 children)
That'd be not bullshit if there was a strong correlation between wages and latinx population.
if you'll forgive some original synthesis [governing.com] between these two sources [wikipedia.org]
I plugged them into excel, the 2016 numbers have a positive correlation. More latinx people, the higher the average pay. You're lying your ass off.
You know what does predict working class wages? Union membership, and the absence of anti-union laws.
So, not only are you a fucking monster, you're a monster for made up reason. Good job, loser.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Monday July 08 2019, @05:49PM (4 children)
If I understand you correctly, you assert that the importation of cheap labor willing to perform unionized positions for non-union pay, is not a relevant factor in union busting.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @05:56PM (3 children)
Since union jobs require legal citizens then no, illegal immigration does not hurt unions. Only certain businesses that can fly under the radar can afford to use such labor.
I'm sure it is some amount of a factor but I highly doubt it is significant and there are better solutions than violating people's privacy and committing human rights violations against children. When did "think of the children" suddenly stop mattering to conservatives? Oh right, when it became more important to PwN da LiBs and reenforce racism.
I'm sure you're tired of hearing that reasoning and automatically shut off your mind, but the truth doesn't give a shit.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Monday July 08 2019, @07:23PM (2 children)
But that doesn't address the issue of employers switching away from union labor. As was quoted in the LA Times article above:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @08:52PM (1 child)
The correct response would be to investigate such employers and levy some hefty fines that make sure they hire legal employees. Ramping up border police does not help as so many studies have shown.
Instead of taking the authoritarian punitive approach perhaps it would be better to realize that the US intentionally fucked up South America and should be taking a humane approach to illegal immigrants instead of a militaristic one. Human rights violations are not protected by "they're illegal MAGA!"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Tuesday July 09 2019, @01:13AM
Why would not the even more correct response be to prosecute employers and secure the border?
This open immigration issue the Demorcrats have taken up is pretty interesting in that they are adopting a hard Libertarian position on the topic. There is also the issue that in the business class, many of whom are Republicans, there has not been much desire to do things that would reduce the labor pool, being anti-union and all that, and so the employer-enforcement side doesn't get the attention it perhaps deserves. In any event, as it appears the bipartisan consensus amongst the Rockefeller Republicans ("RR") and Neoliberal Democrats ("ND") (aka friends of the 1%) is that we need an influx of migrants, I suspect that is what will shall have. The really clever part though is the marketing which is taking off even with the non-neolib types. Anyone who exhibits any economic nationalism is instantly branded a nazi, and thus RRs and NDs have convinced the new-left -- the people who now see last century liberals such as myself (anti-war, anti-offshoring, anti-authoritarian, pro-worker, pro-whoYouLoveIsYourBusiness) as the enemy -- to get on board with this policy.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 08 2019, @06:07PM (10 children)
If we are to believe you at all, then you forgot to adjust your dollars to 1970's dollars. FFS, in the '70's entry level janitors made $20 at union jobs. Today's median has gone DOWN? Without even adjusting for inflation?
Go back and do the math, and try to remember basic economics lessons.
(Score: 1, Troll) by ikanreed on Monday July 08 2019, @07:13PM (9 children)
What the ever loving fuck is wrong with your incredibly fucked up brain?
No you clearly don't understand me at all, because the retarded spew coming from your shitty maw has jack and shit to do with the statistics I posted, you vile, retarded monkey of a person.
Goddamn I cannot fathom what it's like to be both so incapable of the most basic reading comprehension and so disgustingly amoral. It's gotta be so terrible to be you.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 08 2019, @07:25PM (8 children)
You posted no "statistics". You posted something of a chart, which displays the fact that some states have a higher cost of living than other states. You posted no statistics in regard to the number of illegal aliens living in California in the 1970's, and the prevailing wages then, compared to the number of illegals today, and today's prevailing wages. Had you done so, then adjusted those 1970's dollars into current dollars, it would be more than obvious that increased illegals correlate with decreased wages.
So, you've completely given up on rational discussion, and choose to spew your hatred instead. Racist hatred at that. Monkey? I'm quite certain that I've been hated on in the past for using that word, "monkey". DAS RACISS!!!
(Score: 1, Troll) by ikanreed on Monday July 08 2019, @07:28PM (7 children)
You're not black, shut the fuck up.
"You didn't post statistics, you just posted a pair of tables of organized structured data"
Instead, I would like you to seriously consider eating a baker's dozen bullets.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 08 2019, @09:30PM (6 children)
Hate. Pure hatred. And, you presume to lecture me on racism and other silly shit. Whatever.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @11:48PM
It's OK, I still hate you, Runaway, you unreconstructed racist bastard! Why, you probably are not even a real American! Polack, brought over by your parents while still a child? Who then left you behind for reasons apparent to everybody. Never bothered to fill out the naturalization forms? Illegal Runaway! No wonder he runs away.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday July 09 2019, @08:21PM (4 children)
Yes, I do, because, as I've said, you are a fucking monster. Don't you fucking forget it.
Don't you pretend that "Oh that guy he's just angry and lecturing me over nothing". The "hate" I have for you is the same "hate" I'd have for a convicted murderer. Except they usually repent.
It's crucial, if you ever want to even pretend you're a decent person again, that right now, you acknowledge you're evil.
In the calmest of mood, in the clearest of thought, I cannot fathom a world where you deserve anything but an eternity in hell.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 09 2019, @11:44PM (3 children)
*yawn*
You cannot fathom. That is your own personal shortcoming, and nothing to do with me. Thus, I have no need to pretend anything.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Wednesday July 10 2019, @12:29AM (2 children)
Yeah, like I said you'd file me in a box you've labeled "angry" so you don't have to confront your role in history as a villain.
I can't control you or make you have a moment's introspection, but I can believe quite firmly that you'll die alone and unloved.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 10 2019, @12:33AM (1 child)
Funny you should mention history. Have you ever studied it? No - I'm not asking if you've passed your high school and junior college courses. The question is, "Have you studied history?"
(Score: 1) by Arik on Thursday July 11 2019, @07:25AM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @07:01PM (7 children)
You have cause and effect exactly backwards.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Monday July 08 2019, @07:21PM (6 children)
No, not really. The a fairly robust actual predictor of number of people of latin origin in a state is: whether the state was once part of the country Mexico.
I know you have to invent a racist fiction for every goddamn thing or else possibly confront the fact that you are a racist. But don't take profound and direct contravening evidence of a lying racist narrative, and make a new lying racist narrative to paper over it.
You could be... like... a human being with a shred of decency instead?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @09:40PM (5 children)
Racist? That's your most intelligent response, go to racism? So, because somewhere / sometime there has been racism, and you state "racism", therefore everything you believe and rant and tirade on on about is universal truth, correct? You're so upset you aren't even a little rational. I feel badly for people like you- you've been lied to so much, and you eat drink and sleep those lies, and they enrage you, and it's all lies. Get out and get involved in the real world and turn off your idiotic sources of "news" and misinformation.
You stated:"That'd be not bullshit if there was a strong correlation between wages and latinx population."
BUT THEN: "I plugged them into excel, the 2016 numbers have a positive correlation. More latinx people, the higher the average pay."
1) Either I'm misreading and misunderstanding you, which is quite possible, or, you're contradicting yourself.
2) You're the one who made the distinction re: "latinx" people. And I'm not going to call you "racist" because categorizing people by race is NOT racism. How you use that information could be.
My point was, from basic economics, if there is high demand for a specific type of labor, the wages will rise. Right? Econ 101. My point was (and is) that the demand will draw people in. Look at engineering, IT, technology in general: corporations "outsource" as much as bring in H1-B, and people generally flock in to the US to fill those higher demand higher pay jobs.
But, economics is not a freeze-frame- it's an ever changing dynamic. As more people, legal or illegal (migrants) flock in to fill certain job types, the average wage will decrease. And the illegals are often relegated to the lower end jobs, so the wages drop off even more for the lower end jobs. And it's all feeding the widening gap of wealth and standard of living in the US.
I think you're so caught up in, and enraged by, tiny microcosms and details that you're just not putting it all together.
Here's a question to ponder: why do these "migrants" want to come to the US? Does the "shred of decency" you think you espouse include feeling badly that their country of origin is so bad that they're willing to lose everything, even their lives in a dangerous journey?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @09:59PM (4 children)
Go easy on Ikanread -- he or she is 19-24yo, out of his/her safe space, and obviously triggered by being asked to defend his/her ideas in a logical fashion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @11:04PM (3 children)
Wow, firstly, thank you. I wasn't trying to be so hard- didn't know I was that good! I usually shy away from these discussions. I hate that people get so polarized and narrow-minded and knickers all bunched up. And I especially hate that much of the problem is based in media bias, lies, half-truths, spin, slant, etc. There's so much more to life, and all of these powderkeg situations have many hidden layers that all interplay. Somewhere there are very wealthy powerful people running the show as we all bounce around entertaining them.
Ikanreed really harshly attacked some good people here. No need for that, just state your opinions, facts, observations.
Anyway, thanks for calming things. I'm not sure if your comment was a thinly-veiled insult, but I'm taking it literally and going back to being a house mouse.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 09 2019, @01:27AM (2 children)
A) I was not being sarcastic toward you, I thought your post was thoughtful and modded it up.
B) I was being sarcastic toward Ikanreed who has singlehandedly managed to bring the level of conversation here down to the level of the worst twitter has to offer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 09 2019, @03:10AM
Not! It was aristarchus posting under the username "Runaway1956" that hijacked the border on this one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 09 2019, @03:28AM
Thank you, and I'm truly honored.
I can be as sarcastic / sardonic as anyone, but I almost never do it online unless I spell it out. The problem with sarcasm is that it depends on something being obvious, but not everyone sees things the same way, so sometimes sarcasm is completely misinterpreted. We've even invented "wooosh". I'm sure you knew all of that, but I spelled it out for others, and so that you know that I know (that you know that I know...)
Yeah, Ikanreed is usually a good contributor to discussions, but (s)he really went bonkers here. In fact I rarely post AC unless I have a wisecrack I can't contain but don't want attributed to me, unless people think it's funny then I wish I could grab ownership.
This whole thing has certainly been an enthusiastic discussion (that I don't have time for anyway...)
Thanks again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @08:41PM (1 child)
excel? stupid fuck confirmed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 08 2019, @10:36PM
Next he'll find out that Excel files are just zip archives.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 09 2019, @01:31AM
Shibboleth: you misspelled "latino".
People who aren't Spanish speakers probably didn't catch ikanreed's insanity on this little message he snuck in by writing "latinx", but it is analogous to writing "womyn".