S.T.O.P. Condemns TSA Facial Recognition Scans Of Migrants

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For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns TSA Facial Recognition Scans Of Migrants (New York, NY 3/15/2024) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for requiring migrants without passports to submit to facial recognition for domestic flights. This is the first time that any travelers have been required to submit to facial recognition for domestic flights. TSA will compare travelers to law enforcement databases, but TSA failed to identify any measures to prevent the sort of false matches which are quite common for BIPOC travelers, given facial recognition’s proven bias. SEE: AP - Migrants lacking passports must now submit to facial recognition to board flights in US https://apnews.com/article/immigration-airport-security-facial-recognition-37b8f40ad768706cd335d9254e6a07e4 “Inch by inch, TSA is transforming airports into panopticons,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Let’s be clear, this sort of security theater is about politics. Sadly, the sort of scans we require for migrants today, will become required for U.S. citizens tomorrow. These sorts of measures do little to change our vulnerabilities in the air, but they make it even easier to track our movements on the ground. I worry about a future where flying to a different state feels more like going to a different country. You don’t need my passport for a domestic flight, and you also don’t need my face.” In November, S.T.O.P. welcomed a bill introduced by Sens. John Kennedy and Jeff Merkley to end involuntary facial recognition screenings at airports, but also urged Congress to go further and outlaw all facial recognition at airports. In 2022, the civil rights group welcomed a letter from Democratic senators Ed Markey and Ron Wyden calling on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end its use of facial recognition. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Welcomes TSA Facial Recognition Bill, Calls For Full Ban https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/11/30/stop-welcomes-tsa-facial-recognition-bill-calls-for-full-ban Press Release - S.T.O.P. Welcomes Senators’ Call For ICE To Stop Facial Recognition https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2022/9/13/stop-welcomes-senators-call-for-ice-to-stop-facial-recognition The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. --END-- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.