---
title: "ICE Signs Contract With Controversial Facial Recognition Company"
description: "The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract with the extremely controversial facial recognition tech company Clearview AI."
date: "2020-08-14"
modified: "2020-08-14"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-immigration-signs-contract-with-controversial-facial-recognition-company"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Facial recognition"
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "facial recognition"
  - "ice"
  - "immigration and customs enforcement"
  - "the digest"
---

# ICE Signs Contract With Controversial Facial Recognition Company

![The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract with the extremely controversial facial recognition tech company Clearview AI.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/us-immigration-signs-contract-with-controversial-facial-recognition-company.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Department of Homeland Security\</em\>*

## Clearview AI

According to documents [obtained by tech accountability nonprofit *Tech Inquiry*](<https://twitter.com/tech_inquiry/status/1294251584684273664?s=20>), the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract with (the *extremely* controversial) facial recognition tech company Clearview AI, New York-based startup currently [being sued](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/technology/clearview-ai-privacy-lawsuit.html>) by several companies and civil rights groups.

The contract, only listing "mission support," included a purchase order of $224,000 and lists “ICE mission support Dallas” as the contracting office, as [*The Verge* reports](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/14/21368930/clearview-ai-ice-contract-privacy-immigration>).

Earlier this year, Clearview AI was faced with legal threats from tech giants including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, after selling its technology to thousands of organizations around the world, as [*BuzzFeed News* reports](<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-fbi-ice-global-law-enforcement>). Several tech companies have since [sent cease and desist letters](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/6/21126063/facebook-clearview-ai-image-scraping-facial-recognition-database-terms-of-service-twitter-youtube>) to the startup.

In May, American Civil Liberties Union also [filed a lawsuit](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/28/21273388/aclu-clearview-ai-lawsuit-facial-recognition-database-illinois-biometric-laws>) against the controversial startup, alleging that Clearview AI illegally collected and sold stored data on Illinois citizens without consent.

## Facial Recognition in Law Enforcement

Making matters worse, a [*New York Times* investigation](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html?searchResultPosition=1>) in January also found that law enforcement agencies were making use of Clearview AI's facial recognition technology.

Unfortunately, the US immigration agency has had a [less than stellar reputation](<https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses>) itself. ICE was in the news last year when it, alongside the FBI, accessed drivers' license data without ever asking for consent of the drivers, [according to the *Washington Post*](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/07/fbi-ice-find-state-drivers-license-photos-are-gold-mine-facial-recognition-searches/>).

In 2018, Amazon also [tried to sell](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/amazon-facial-recognition-ice>) its facial recognition technology Rekognition — which has since [garnered a terrible reputation](<https://blog.aboutamazon.com/policy/we-are-implementing-a-one-year-moratorium-on-police-use-of-rekognition>) — to ICE.

The use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement was in the news last week, when a UK court ruled that the South Wales Police’s facial recognition tools [violated human rights](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/uk-court-automatic-facial-recognition-tech-unlawful>) as they didn't properly address racial biases.

Whatever "mission support" Clearview will be providing ICE with remains to be seen, but expect the degree of deployment to be matched with scrutiny from civil rights groups and watchdogs as it happens. Which is to say: In due time, we're sure to find out.

**READ MORE:** [ICE just signed a contract with facial recognition company Clearview AI](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/14/21368930/clearview-ai-ice-contract-privacy-immigration>) \[*The Verge*\]

**More on facial recognition:** *[UK Court Slams Automatic Facial Recognition Tech as Unlawful](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/uk-court-automatic-facial-recognition-tech-unlawful>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)