A group of Senate Democrats has introduced the 'ICE Out of Our Faces Act,' aiming to prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from using facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies. The legislation would require deletion of past data and allow individuals to sue for violations. Introduced on February 5, 2026, the bill faces slim chances in a Republican-majority Congress.
On February 5, 2026, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the 'ICE Out of Our Faces Act' in the Senate, cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The bill was announced at a press conference alongside Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
The proposed law would make it unlawful for ICE and CBP officers to acquire, possess, access, or use any biometric surveillance systems, including facial recognition and voice recognition, or information derived from such systems operated by other entities. All previously collected data from these systems must be deleted. The ban extends to prohibiting the use of such data in court cases or investigations. Individuals affected by violations could sue the federal government for financial damages, and state attorneys general could bring suits on behalf of residents.
At the press conference, Markey described the situation as 'a dangerous moment for America,' stating that ICE and CBP 'have built an arsenal of surveillance technologies that are designed to track and to monitor and to target individual people, both citizens and non-citizens alike. Facial recognition technology sits at the center of a digital dragnet that has been created in our nation.' Jayapal added, 'This is a very dangerous intersection of overly violent and overzealous activity from ICE and Border Patrol, and the increasing use of biometric identification systems. This has become a surveillance state with militarized federal troops on our streets terrorizing and intimidating US citizens and residents alike.'
The bill comes amid reports of ICE and CBP deploying tools like the Mobile Fortify face-recognition app, used over 100,000 times to identify immigrants and citizens, though it was not designed for reliable street-level identification and was rolled out after the Department of Homeland Security abandoned its privacy rules. Incidents include an ICE observer in Minnesota whose Global Entry and TSA PreCheck privileges were revoked after a face scan, and a Portland, Maine, case where an agent labeled a video-recording observer a 'domestic terrorist' and mentioned a database. A CNN report highlighted a Minneapolis ICE memo instructing agents to capture images, license plates, and details on protesters.
While Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer demanded ICE reforms like body-worn cameras for accountability and bans on tracking First Amendment activities, their list did not include a facial recognition prohibition. Markey separately sought confirmation on a 'domestic terrorists' database listing US citizens protesting immigration policies. With a Republican-majority Congress, passage of the bill appears unlikely.
