Facial Recognition by Operators Grows in US and UK Law Enforcement

Published Date : 10/30/2025 

Operator-Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) is becoming a popular tool among US and UK law enforcement agencies for identifying illegal immigrants and criminal suspects. This technology, which involves capturing images of specific individuals, has raised significant privacy concerns. 

Operator-Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) is gaining popularity in the U.S. and UK as a tool for identifying possible illegal immigrants or criminal suspects in public. OIFR is a subset of live facial recognition, where images are captured of specific individuals in a particular interaction, rather than of all people in a certain place during the deployment period, as with the UK’s live facial recognition vans.

Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been recorded using the Mobile Fortify app to confirm whether people they approach are in government immigration databases, according to 404 Media. The videos show masked agents from law enforcement organizations like ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) requesting names and citizenship status from people, apparently prompted in some cases by the color of their skin, and photographing them with the app if they do not produce ID documents.

The encounters evoke the fears of a “papers please” society that have been awakened in the UK by the government’s proposal for a mandatory national digital ID. Three senators from the Democratic Party wrote to Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in September to ask about Mobile Fortify’s surveillance implications and Constitutionality. Bennie G. Thompson, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee and another Democrat, told 404 in a statement that “ICE using a mobile biometrics app in ways its developers at CBP never intended or tested is a frightening, repugnant, and unconstitutional attack on Americans’ rights and freedoms.”

Mobile Fortify compares the face biometrics in images captured against over 200 million images, according to the report, from State Department, CBP, FBO, and state databases. DHS’s IDENT database holds biometric records for 270 million people. More data could soon be added from commercial data brokers, as indicated by an explicit mention of LexisNexis in Mobile Fortify training materials.

South Wales Police and Gwent Police have won a UK national policing award from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) for their operator-initiated facial recognition app, which is powered by NEC algorithms. The two forces were recognized in the “Innovation in Embedding Science, Technology, or Digital Solutions in Frontline Policing” category. South Wales Police note their apprehension of a person wanted under a European arrest warrant for 12 years based on a match against a 13-year-old photo as an example of the effectiveness of OIFR. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is Operator-Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR)?

A: Operator-Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) is a subset of live facial recognition technology where images are captured of specific individuals during a particular interaction, rather than of all people in a certain place.

Q: Which agencies are using Mobile Fortify in the U.S.?

A: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been recorded using the Mobile Fortify app to confirm whether people they approach are in government immigration databases.

Q: What are the privacy concerns associated with OIFR?

A: The use of OIFR has raised significant privacy concerns, including fears of a “papers please” society and potential misuse of the technology to target individuals based on their appearance or ethnicity.

Q: What is the IDENT database, and how is it used in OIFR?

A: The IDENT database, maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), holds biometric records for 270 million people. OIFR systems like Mobile Fortify can compare captured images against this database to identify individuals.

Q: What award did South Wales Police and Gwent Police receive for their OIFR app?

A: South Wales Police and Gwent Police received a UK national policing award from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) for their operator-initiated facial recognition app, which is powered by NEC algorithms. 

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