Trump's Immigration Crackdown May See Expanded Use Of AI And Surveillance Tools

President-elect Donald Trump, who will be taking office in January, reportedly plans to use advanced technology, including surveillance systems and artificial intelligence (AI), to fulfill his promise of stricter immigration controls.

The Biden administration was already using similar technologies to make key decisions about tracking, detaining and deporting immigrants without legal status, AP News reported.

The government uses a mobile app called SmartLINK, which relies on facial recognition and location tracking to monitor immigrants' specific movements.

Around 200,000 immigrants without legal status, who are in the process of removal, are part of the Alternatives to Detention program. This program allows certain immigrants to live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are being reviewed.

However, they are closely monitored through SmartLINK and GPS trackers, which are managed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These tools use facial recognition and location data to track individuals, and in some cases, this technology has been used to locate and detain users of the app.

A letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seen by AP News, explained how these tools, some of which used AI, were utilized to decide whether immigrants should be detained or monitored.

One example of the technology was an algorithm that assigned immigrants a "Hurricane Score" from 1 to 5, which helped determine the likelihood that someone might stop cooperating with immigration authorities.

In the letter from DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, it was explained that the score evaluated the risk of an immigrant with a pending case not checking in with the ICE officers.

The algorithm also used factors like the number of rule violations, how long the person has been in the program and whether they have a travel document. Hysen noted that ICE officers used the score, along with other information, to make decisions about each immigrant's case.

"The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making," Hysen wrote, AP News reported. "DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits."

While Trump suggested using wartime powers and military forces, the plan would have big logistical problems like figuring out where to hold detainees and how to locate people all over the country. AI surveillance tools could help with these challenges.

A spokesperson for Trump, Karoline Leavitt didn't specify how the new administration planned to use the Department of Homeland Security's technology. However, she did mention in a statement that "President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation."

Trump, earlier this week, said 11 million undocumented immigrants would be part of his mass deportation plan, which meant the backlog would be done only by 2040.

The president-elect's border czar, Tom Homan, on the other hand, said the administration would prioritize dealing with the most dangerous cases first, focusing on public safety and national security threats.