Cleland said she hasn’t performed any observation of federal agents since January 10, but has “continued to engage in peaceful protests” and is “assessing when I will return to active observations.”
We contacted the Department of Homeland Security about Cleland’s declaration and will update this article if we get a response.
Extensive use of facial recognition
Federal agents have made extensive use of facial recognition during President Trump’s immigration crackdown with a face-scanning app called Mobile Fortify. They use facial recognition technology both to verify citizenship and identify protesters.
“Ms. Cleland was one of at least seven American citizens told by ICE agents this month that they were being recorded with facial recognition technology in and around Minneapolis, according to local activists and videos posted to social media,” The New York Times reported today, adding that none of the people had given consent to be recorded.
The government also uses facial recognition technology from Clearview AI. A Clearview AI spokesperson told Ars that the “central focus of Clearview AI’s contract with DHS is supporting HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] and their child exploitation and cyber crimes investigations.”
The Washington Post wrote that a “January 2025 DHS report said ICE restricted its use of the Clearview AI facial recognition system to investigations of child sexual exploitation and abuse. But when ICE signed a new $3.75 million contract with Clearview AI in September, the agency indicated in the procurement record that it also would be used to investigate ‘assaults against law enforcement officers.’” Clearview AI was quoted as saying that it provides “an after-the-fact research tool that uses publicly available images” to assist law enforcement investigations.
ICE also uses a variety of other technologies, including cell-site simulators (or Stingrays) to track phone locations, and Palantir software to help identify potential deportation targets.
Although Cleland vowed to continue protesting and eventually get back to observing ICE and CBP agents, her declaration said she felt intimidated after the recent incident. “The interaction with the agents on January 10th made me feel angry and intimidated,” she wrote. “I have been through Legal Observer Training and know my rights. I believe that I did not do anything that warranted being stopped in the way that I was on January 10th.”
This article was updated with a statement from Clearview AI.