Surprise, Surprise: CBP Officers Are Misusing Surveillance Tech

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have reportedly misused electronic databases to spy on family members, try to get dates and even provide intelligence to suspected drug traffickers, according to freedom of information (FOIA) files seen by Wired. Officers allegedly abused databases that can draw from sources like license plate readers, facial recognition and smartphone searches to violate the privacy of numerous individuals. 

The FOIA files, ranging from 2009 to 20222, show a number of troubling incidents. A CBP officer is alleged to have used a government database to contact a flight attendant, and another was accused of using data from trusted-traveler applications to ask people out. One employee provided border-crossing data to someone involved in a divorce, and another abused internal policies by tracking coworkers cellphones with ad-tech-derived location data.

Of 300 incidents tracked by Wired, 138 were referred to CBP management and 78 assigned to criminal investigators, while 43 others weren’t investigated. Many of the claims were handled internally or put under the category of minor misconduct, but 21 were withheld due to potential law-enforcement proceedings that suggest criminal misconduct were involved. 

The report is noteworthy because the DHS has more access to private citizens’ data than ever before and has built one of the largest surveillance systems in the world, Wired noted. Its sources include records on immigration arrests, border screening records, naturalization applications and the SENTRI trusted-traveler program. The agency also has access to Palantir’s ICM and FALCON systems, along with the DHS Mobile Fortify facial-recognition app deployed on agents phones. 

CBP told Wired that it takes misconduct allegations seriously and works to “uphold the rule of law and hold ourselves accountable… [and takes] appropriate investigatory, corrective, and disciplinary action.”