New Details of DHS Immigration Facial Recognition App Mobile Fortify Revealed in Public AI Inventory
On a recent Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published long-awaited new details about Mobile Fortify—the facial recognition application federal immigration agents use to identify people during field operations, screening both undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens. The disclosures, including the public confirmation of the company behind the tool, were included as part of DHS’s 2025 AI Use Case Inventory, a public document all federal agencies are required to release on a recurring basis.
The inventory features two separate entries for Mobile Fortify: one overseen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and a second managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Both agencies list the app as being in the active deployment stage. CBP confirms Mobile Fortify became fully operational in early May 2024, while ICE gained full access to the tool on May 20, 2025—approximately one month before 404 Media published the first public report confirming the app’s existence.
The inventory also publicly named the app’s primary vendor as Japan-based tech firm NEC, a detail that had never been disclosed to the general public prior to this release. On its official website, NEC advertises a commercial facial recognition solution called Reveal, which the company says can run both one-to-many cross-database searches and one-to-one identity matches for databases of any size. While CBP confirms NEC is the app’s lead vendor, ICE notes the tool was partially developed in-house by the agency. A $23.9 million contract between NEC and DHS active from 2020 to 2023 shows DHS used NEC’s biometric matching products to support “unlimited facial quantities, on unlimited hardware platforms, and at unlimited locations.” NEC did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the disclosure.
Both CBP and ICE frame Mobile Fortify as a tool designed to speed up identity verification during field interactions. ICE adds that the tool addresses a key gap for on-the-ground operations “when officers and agents must work with limited information and access multiple disparate systems.”
Per ICE’s public description, the app can capture facial imagery, collect “contactless” fingerprint scans, and photograph physical identity documents. All captured biometric and document data is sent to CBP, which then submits it to official federal biometric matching systems. These systems use AI to cross-reference submitted faces and fingerprints against existing government records, then return potential matches along with associated biographical information. The app also extracts text directly from identity documents to run “additional checks.” ICE clarifies that it does not own or directly interact with the AI models powering the matching process—those models are the exclusive property of CBP.
CBP states that data from “Vetting/Border Crossing Information/ Trusted Traveler Information” was used at some stage of Mobile Fortify’s development to either train, fine-tune, or evaluate the app’s performance. The agency did not specify which process the data was used for, and declined to respond to a request for clarification from WIRED.
CBP’s Trusted Traveler Programs include widely used traveler benefits like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry. Earlier this month, a Minnesota woman submitted a legal declaration stating her Global Entry and TSA PreCheck privileges were revoked after she interacted with a federal agent she was observing during a reporting trip, who told her the agency used “facial recognition.” In a separate declaration filed as part of a lawsuit against the federal government by the state of Minnesota, an individual who was stopped and detained by federal agents claims an officer threatened them, saying “Whoever is the registered owner [of this vehicle] is going to have a fun time trying to travel after this.”
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mvarner.01ordell.3030. |While CBP claims it has “sufficient monitoring protocols” in place to oversee Mobile Fortify, ICE confirms the development of its own monitoring rules is still ongoing, and says it will document potential harms during a future AI impact assessment. Per guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that was issued before either agency deployed Mobile Fortify, federal agencies are required to complete a full AI impact assessment before rolling out any high-impact AI use case. Both CBP and ICE classify Mobile Fortify as a high-impact tool, and confirm it is already actively deployed.
Neither DHS nor ICE responded to requests for comment on this story. CBP says it plans to review and follow up on WIRED’s inquiry.
The consequences of an incorrect facial match from the tool can be devastating. 404 Media previously reported that one woman was detained by immigration authorities after Mobile Fortify misidentified her twice. ICE confirms the development of a formal appeals process for people misidentified by the tool is still “in-progress.” The agency notes it has taken steps “to consult and incorporate feedback from end users of this AI use case and the public” as it continues developing the tool.
