ICE Expands Iris Scanning Capabilities With $25 Million No-Bid Contract

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to BI2 Technologies, a company specializing in iris scanning technology, significantly expanding ICE's biometric data collection infrastructure. The contract, announced last week, represents more than five times the value of the company's previous DHS contract from the prior fall. As part of the agreement, DHS requested over 1,500 iris scanners and access to BI2's mobile application and associated iris scan database.

DHS stated that ICE officers use iris recognition technology to accurately identify individuals encountered during immigration enforcement and removal operations, including confirming identities and backgrounds of those subject to enforcement actions. The iris scanning capability has become part of ICE's expanded toolkit during detention and deportation procedures. Privacy experts have raised concerns about the agency's mass collection of biometric data, particularly given the recent influx of funding supporting such expansion.

The technology captures the intricate, unique patterns present in each person's iris—similar to fingerprints—providing a distinctive identifier. One documented case involves Norelly Mejías Cáceres, who was detained during an immigration raid in Chicago. According to her account and her legal representatives at the University of Chicago Immigrants' Rights Clinic, officers pointed a smartphone at her face during the raid to capture what legal experts believe was an iris scan rather than a standard photograph. Mejías, who had a pending asylum case, was subsequently detained and deported, and is now living in Venezuela.

Iris scanning technology has been used by law enforcement for decades. BI2 Technologies' technology was created approximately 20 years ago and has been adopted by sheriffs across the country. During the first Trump administration, the company donated iris scanners to sheriffs in the Southwestern Border Sheriffs' Coalition. Justin Smith, executive director of the National Sheriffs Association and former sheriff in Larimer County, Colorado, noted that BI2 iris scanners were used in jail booking procedures as camera devices mounted on poles that detainees viewed upon arrival, with captured images stored in databases. Smith indicated the smartphone app version was particularly useful for officers attempting to quickly identify individuals without identification in the field, reducing the need for time-consuming fingerprint procedures.