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FACT BRIEF

Is Customs and Border Patrol employing facial-recognition technology to process asylum seekers?

Tuesday, June 8, 2021
By Austin Tannenbaum
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YES

On Oct. 28, 2020, Customs and Border Patrol launched “CBP One...a mobile application that serves as a single portal to a variety of CBP services.”

On Feb. 19, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security published a report on the app. However, it wasn't until May 7, 2021, that DHS added a section detailing the app’s use in processing asylum seekers impacted by a Trump-era rule requiring them to wait in Mexico until their eligibility is determined.

The app pairs with facial recognition technology to identify an affected asylum seeker, whose photo is taken and compared to a CBP database containing photos of remain-in-Mexico asylum seekers. If photos match and the asylum seeker's case is still pending, entry is granted into the U.S.

CBP stated that it will publish a separate report on the “privacy risks and mitigations” of the app’s use in asylum cases.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Customs and Border Protection CBP mobile app
US Department of Homeland Security Privacy impact assessment of mobile app
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.