Luis Martinez was on his way to work on a cold morning in Minneapolis when federal agents suddenly surrounded him, forcing the SUV he was driving to stop in the middle of the street.
Masked agents banged on the window and demanded Martinez’s ID. Then, someone held the phone inches from Martinez’s face and scanned his features, capturing the shape of his eyes, the curve of his lips, the exact quadrants of his cheeks.
All the while, agents kept asking: Are you a U.S. citizen?
This week’s clashes in a Minneapolis suburb epitomize the Trump administration’s tactics in Minnesota’s immigration crackdown, which the administration says is the largest of its kind and has come under national scrutiny after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens this month.
In Minnesota and other states where the Department of Homeland Security has added personnel, officials say enforcement efforts are targeted, focusing on serious offenders. But photos, videos and internal documents paint a different picture, showing agents relying heavily on biometric surveillance and vast, interconnected databases — underscoring how a vast digital surveillance apparatus is at the heart of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Civil liberties experts warn that expanded use of these systems threatens to sweep away citizens and non-citizens alike, often without transparency or meaningful oversight.
Over the past year, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have dramatically expanded their ability to collect, share and analyze people’s personal data, thanks to a network of agreements with local, state, federal and international agencies, as well as contracts with technology companies and data brokers. The databases include immigration and travel records, facial images and information extracted from vehicle databases.
In Martinez’s case, the facial scan turned up no match, and federal agents didn’t let him go until he showed his U.S. passport (which he said he carried because he feared such a situation).
“I tell people all the time that Minnesota is like a paradise for everyone and that all culture is free here,” he said. “But now, because of everything that’s going on, people are fleeing the state. It’s scary. It’s not safe anymore.”
Supporters say that, along with other government surveillance data and systems, federal authorities can now monitor U.S. cities on a scale unimaginable just a few years ago. Agents can identify people on the street through facial recognition, track their movements through license plate readers and, in some cases, use commercially available phone location data to reconstruct daily routines and associations.
When asked by The Associated Press about its expanded use of surveillance tools, the Department of Homeland Security said it would not disclose law enforcement-sensitive methods.
“The use of technology in all its forms to support investigative and law enforcement activities can help arrest gang members, child sex offenders, murderers, drug dealers, identity thieves and more, while respecting civil liberties and privacy interests,” the report states.
Dan Herman, a former senior adviser for Customs and Border Protection in the Biden administration who now works at the Center for American Progress, said the government’s access to facial recognition, other personal data and surveillance systems without adequate checks poses a threat to people’s privacy rights and civil liberties.
“They have access to vast amounts of trade, travel, immigration and screening data. It’s an important and valuable national security asset, but there are concerns that it could be misused,” Herman said. “Everyone should be very concerned that this data could be weaponized for improper purposes.”
face recognition
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security revealed online that it has been using facial recognition app Mobile Fortify, saying the app uses “photos from trusted sources” to compare face scans taken by agents to verify their identities. Customs and Border Protection said the app, developed by vendor NEC, uses a facial comparison or fingerprint matching system.
The app was operational at CBP and ICE before the Los Angeles-area immigration crackdown in June, when the website 404Media first reported its existence.
In interactions observed by reporters and videos posted online, federal agents were rarely seen asking for consent before placing phones on people’s faces, and in some videos they continued scanning even when someone objected.
In two incidents seen by AP reporters near Columbia Heights, Minn., where immigration officials recently detained a 5-year-old boy and his father, masked agents held cellphones a foot away from people’s faces to capture their biometric information.
The technology is similar to facial recognition systems used in airports, but unlike airport security, which typically notifies travelers and sometimes allows them to opt out, Martinez said he had no choice.
DHS has used Mobile Fortify in the field more than 100,000 times, according to a lawsuit filed against DHS this month by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. The Department of Homeland Security told The Associated Press that Mobile Fortify supports “accurate identity and immigration status verification during law enforcement operations. It intentionally sets a high matching threshold” and uses only some immigration data.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights warned in a September 2024 report that without federal guidance on their use, the deployment of facial recognition tools would raise concerns about accuracy, oversight, transparency, discrimination and access to justice.
Law enforcement recorder footage
Last year, the Trump administration scaled back plans to provide body cameras to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, but administration officials said some agents involved in the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretty in Minneapolis wore body cameras and are now reviewing the footage.
Gregory Bovino, the government’s top Border Patrol official responsible for the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis until Monday, began wearing a body camera late last year in response to a judge’s order.
Body camera video could help shed light on the killing of Preti by federal agents who shot him in the back while Preti was filming immigration agents with his cellphone.
Administration officials changed their tone after the independent video emerged, raising serious questions about accusations by some Trump officials that Preti intended to harm agents.
emerging technologies
The Department of Homeland Security and its affiliated agencies are piloting and deploying more than 100 artificial intelligence systems, some for law enforcement activities, according to information disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.
Congress last year authorized more than $2.7 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to build border surveillance systems and add artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has asked private companies to provide more information about how technology companies and data providers can support their investigations and help identify people.
Meanwhile, longtime government contractor Palantir received $30 million to extend its contract to build a system designed to locate people flagged for deportation. On Wednesday, the Trump administration revealed that it is using Palantir’s artificial intelligence model to sift through immigration enforcement tips submitted to its whistleblower hotline.
The Department of Homeland Security has also been exploring partnering with license plate reader companies like Flock Safety to expand their tracking capabilities.
Rachel Levinson-Waldman, director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said more funding for government surveillance tools would change that.
“We are developing these technologies for immigration enforcement,” she said. “Are we also going to expand it or use it against U.S. citizens engaging in perfectly legal or protest activities?”
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Associated Press freelance photojournalist Adam Gray contributed to this report in Minneapolis.
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Contact AP’s global investigative team at investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/
