The Brief

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is acquiring powerful new surveillance tools to identify and monitor people.

They include apps that let federal agents point a cell phone at someone's face to potentially identify them and determine their immigration status in the field and another that can scan irises. Newly licensed software can give "access to vast amounts of location-based data," according to an archive of the website of the company that developed it, and ICE recently revived a previously frozen contract with a company that makes spyware that can hack into cell phones.

The federal agency is also ramping up its social media surveillance, with new AI-driven software contracts, and is considering hiring 24/7 teams of contractors assigned to scouring various databases and platforms like Facebook and TikTok and creating dossiers on users.

The Trump administration is seeking to employ new technology as it tries to boost deportations to a million a year, a target that could be helped with tech to identify and locate noncitizens subject to removal.

Some Democratic members of Congress are raising legal concerns about the new technologies and are asking questions of ICE that are going unanswered. A group of U.S. senators have called on ICE to stop using a mobile facial recognition app.

"Americans have a right to walk through public spaces without being surveilled," Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Masschusetts told NPR.

Privacy and civil liberties advocates also warn these surveillance tools represent a grave threat and say there is not a sufficient regulatory framework in place or oversight to ensure federal agents are using new technologies in a way that protects privacy and constitutional rights.

"Immigration powers are being used to justify mass surveillance of everybody," said Emily Tucker, the executive director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law.

"The purpose of this is to build up a massive surveillance apparatus that can be used for whatever kind of policing the people in power decide that they want to undertake," she said.

Scanning teens' faces

The way ICE and Border Patrol agents use these technologies was on display in a video posted to TikTok last month by an account in Aurora, Ill. The video appears to show a group of masked Border Patrol agents as they jump out of an SUV and approach two young people on bikes on the sidewalk near East Aurora High School. The agents ask them their citizenship and to show ID.

One of the young men, who is filming the incident and does not appear on camera, says he is 16 and is a U.S. citizen but does not have an ID.

"Can you do facial?" an officer is heard asking. Another officer then takes out a cell phone and points it as if taking a photo. He then asks the young person's name and the video ends shortly after that.

The person who posted the video did not respond to a message but said in comments on the post that the video was of their cousins. NPR was able to verify the location where the video was shot.

It is not clear which app the officer used. ICE has a mobile facial recognition app known as Mobile Fortify that uses images of people's faces and fingerprints to try to identify people in the field. A Department of Homeland Security document says the app searches for matches against Customs and Border Protection databases, including photos taken when people enter and exit the U.S., and can return information like a subject's name, birth date, alien number, possible citizenship status and "Possible Overstay Status."

In another section of the document, it says ICE will receive "limited biographic data" if the individual matches a photo from a specific list of targets, called the "Fortify the Border Hotlist," and non-matches "will not return any additional information."

It also says individuals cannot decline to be photographed and that photos are stored for 15 years, even if there is no match.

The existence of the app and documentation on how it works were both first reported by 404 Media, which obtained the DHS document through a Freedom of Information Act request.

This week, the outlet also reported that Customs and Border Protection made a different facial recognition app, Mobile Identify, available on Google's app store for state and local law enforcement agencies that are deputized to work with ICE.

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, called it a "big leap" that DHS now can have agents in the field simply point their phone at someone's face and instantly learn details about them.

"The whole idea of anonymity in public, it's really gone when the administration or the government can immediately identify who you are," Bier said, adding that this technology could have a chilling effect on people's willingness to attend public protests.

A group of Democratic senators, led by Markey, called on ICE in September to stop using the technology and answer questions about its use. ICE did not respond to their questions and the senators renewed their demand on Monday.

"This type of on-demand surveillance is harrowing and it should put all of us on guard," Markey told NPR. "It chills speech and erodes privacy. It ultimately undermines our democracy."

In their letter, the senators ask a long list of questions, including the legal basis to use the app, how it was developed, whether U.S. citizens are included in the database of photos the app matches to, whether there are policies for using it to identify U.S. citizens and if it has been used to identify protesters and minors.

Markey told NPR facial recognition is unreliable, especially for people of color, and expressed concern the Trump administration would "weaponize that technology against anyone who disagrees with the government."

Neither ICE or DHS responded to NPR's specific questions about mobile facial recognition apps.

An ICE spokesperson said in a statement, "Nothing new here. For years law enforcement across the nation has leveraged technological innovation to fight crime. ICE is no different. Employing various forms of technology in support of investigations and law enforcement activities aids in the arrest of criminal gang members, child sex offenders, murderers, drug dealers, identity thieves and more, all while respecting civil liberties and privacy interests."

DHS sent a statement that said, "While the Department does not discuss specific vendors or operational tools, any technology used by DHS Components must comply with the requirements and oversight framework."

The growing use of facial recognition technology comes as DHS published a proposed rule that would expand the agency's ability to ask for biometric data from noncitizens and their U.S. citizen relatives when they apply to adjust their immigration status, such as to obtain a green card or citizenship. Under the rule, the agency could ask for facial images, iris scans, finger and palm prints, voice prints and even DNA.

The public has an opportunity to comment on the rule until early January.

Spyware delivered by text

In August, the Trump administration revived a previously paused contract with Paragon Solutions, an Israeli-founded company that makes spyware. A Paragon tool called Graphite was used in Europe earlier this year to target journalists and civil society members, according to The Citizen Lab, a research group based at the University of Toronto with expertise in spyware.

Little is known about how ICE is using Paragon Solutions technology and legal groups recently sued DHS for records about it and tools made by the company Cellebrite. ICE did not respond to NPR's questions about its Paragon Solutions contract and whether it is for Graphite or another tool.

Graphite can start monitoring a phone — including encrypted messages — just by sending a message to the number. The user doesn't have to click on a link or a message.

"It has essentially complete access to your phone," said Jeramie Scott, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a legal and policy group focused on privacy. "It's an extremely dangerous surveillance tech that really goes against our Fourth Amendment protections."

Adding to an already robust surveillance infrastructure

DHS has been steadily expanding its surveillance capabilities under both Republican and Democratic administrations since its founding in the wake of 9/11.

As of 2022, a report by Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology found ICE could locate three out of four U.S. adults through utility records and had scanned a third of adult Americans' driver's license photos.

But Georgetown's Tucker, who co-authored the report, said the situation is more dramatic now because of the Trump administration's aggressive posture on immigration enforcement and willingness to push legal boundaries.

"Even if there weren't robust laws and regulations for rights protection, there were some norms that were seen as not really transgressible basically by all the presidential administrations up until that point," Tucker said of the situation a few years ago. "Not only are the norms gone, but this administration is willing to break whatever laws do exist."

NPR's Martin Kaste contributed to this report

In what could be a major change in oversight of L.A. homelessness spending, the City Council’s homelessness committee is recommending the city start shifting some programs away from the L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) over the course of the upcoming fiscal year. Which programs and who would oversee them remains to be seen.

The move comes a year after L.A. County decided to pull its funding from the joint city-county agency in response to multiple audits that found LAHSA failed to properly track and manage billions of homelessness dollars. Officials are also warning homelessness services may have to be cut due to ongoing, years’ long delays on LAHSA’s part in reimbursing service providers for their work. The committee’s chair, Councilmember Nithya Raman, describes LAHSA as “plagued with scandal” in her mayoral platform.

On Wednesday, the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee voted to recommend multiple changes to city homelessness spending, including a recommendation by Raman to shift management of some city programs away from LAHSA during the next fiscal year that starts July 1.

Another recommendation advanced by the committee, which was proposed by Councilmember Tim McOsker, is to pursue negotiations to give the city “a clear majority” in the governance and decision-making control at LAHSA — including over federal funding meant for 84 other cities in L.A. County. Currently, LAHSA’s governing commission is split 50-50 between city and county appointees. Starting next year, the city will be by far the largest funder of LAHSA.

[Click here to read the recommendations a majority of the committee voted to make.]

The recommendations call for city officials to send the council a report by July 1 analyzing which city programs make sense to shift away from LAHSA and instead be managed by the county, the city or another entity. If approved by the council, $450,000 would be budgeted to hire consultants to advise the city about the funding shift, and city officials would be directed to update the council every 30 days about the transition.

The recommendations now go to the full City Council for a decision.

Mayor Karen Bass has expressed concern that moving too quickly to shift funds from LAHSA could harm services for unhoused people. That concern was echoed at Wednesday’s committee meeting by Gita O’Neill, who is serving as LAHSA CEO during a year-long leave from being an attorney at the city attorney’s office.

“ I would just ask this committee to take their time to look at the issues. Sometimes when things are rushed and hurried, unfortunately our unhoused folks fall through the cracks,” O’Neill said. “Seeing it go really quickly, sometimes things can get lost, sometimes contracts can get lost.”

Councilmember Heather Hutt, who is on the council’s homelessness committee, said Wednesday she does not support shifting spending yet to the county or in-house.

“It's too premature, too early and too rushed,” Hutt said. “Given the actions of the county and the federal government, we need to make sure our system is stabilized over the next two years before we think about what a longer transition looks like.”

She voted against Raman’s recommendations to start shifting funding over the next fiscal year, and voted for McOsker’s recommendations to try to beef up city control of LAHSA.

The full City Council is expected to decide on the recommendations at a future meeting. Regardless of what the city does, all of the county’s funding of services through LAHSA will be pulled as of July 1 and moved to full county control.

East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress on Tuesday, days after sexual assault and misconduct allegations against the Democratic front-runner upended California’s wide-open governor’s race.

Swalwell dropped out of the race Sunday and resigned from Congress on Tuesday. His exit comes as a new accuser came forward Tuesday, alleging that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018. Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly set Aug. 18 as the date for a special election to fill Swalwell’s seat.

Here’s what happened and what it means for the June 2 statewide primary and the future of Swalwell’s congressional seat.

Why did Swalwell resign from Congress and drop out of the governor’s race?

Swalwell, 45, is accused of sexually assaulting two women and harassing others.

On Friday, he was accused of raping a former staff member twice, when she was too intoxicated to consent, and of harassing three other women, including by sending nude photos and making unwanted physical advances.

Those allegations were detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle investigation and a subsequent report by CNN. The latest allegation was made by another woman, Lonna Drewes, who told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018 in a West Hollywood hotel.

Attorney Lisa Bloom (right) comforts Lonna Drewes during a press conference in which Drewes accused U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexual assault Tuesday in Beverly Hills.

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Swalwell has denied the allegations since they broke April 10, and his lawyers sent the women accusing him cease-and-desist letters demanding they retract their claims. In a video message Swalwell posted late Friday, he seemed to acknowledge he’d been unfaithful to his wife.

On Tuesday, after the second allegation of rape, Swalwell issued a statement through an attorney, which the lawyer posted on social media. It said that Swalwell “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault” and calls them a “calculated and transparent political hit job." His lawyer, Sara Azari, also went on News Nation on Tuesday night and said that “regret is not rape.”

The most serious allegations involve a woman who worked for Swalwell’s presidential campaign and in his congressional office, a job she began at age 21. She told the Chronicle that Swalwell, who is 17 years older than she, began pursuing her within weeks of joining his office in 2019, sending her explicit pictures on Snapchat and asking for nude photos in return.

She alleged that in September 2019, she went out drinking with a group, including Swalwell, in Pleasanton and woke up the next day naked in his hotel room, feeling the effects of vaginal intercourse.

The woman also described a similar alleged assault in 2024 in New York City after a night of drinking, recalling portions of the night, including being in Swalwell’s hotel room, pushing him off of her and telling him no. She said she woke up alone in his hotel room with vaginal bleeding and bruising.

Swalwell is also facing possible criminal investigations in both New York and California. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday that it is looking into the alleged 2024 assault, and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said over the weekend that prosecutors there are “evaluating whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred within Alameda County.” And on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it is investigating Drewe’s allegations.

What happens to Eric Swalwell’s seat now?

Swalwell represented California’s 14th Congressional District, which includes the East Bay cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and Hayward. He submitted his resignation Tuesday. The seat is now vacant.

Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly called a special election this summer to replace him. Whoever wins will fill the seat for the remaining months of Swalwell’s term, which ends in January. In the meantime, the district has no voting representation in Congress, only the staff who have remained to assist constituents.

Meanwhile, the election cycle for the next term, beginning in January, continues on its regular schedule, with the June 2 primary and a potential runoff in the November general election.

Swalwell is not on the ballot for his congressional seat because he was running for governor. However, his name will still appear on the June ballot for governor, since it’s legally too late to remove it.

When is the special election for Swalwell’s seat and who might run?

Newsom has scheduled a special election to fill the remainder of Swalwell’s term. First, a special primary election will be held June 16. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they would win outright and immediately take his seat in Congress.

A frontrunner for California governor, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign Sunday after a series of women accused him of sexual assault and harassment.

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If no candidate clears that threshold, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff election Aug. 18. Whoever wins will serve only the remainder of Swalwell’s term until January.

That means that if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in both the statewide primary and the special primary, voters in Swalwell’s East Bay district could potentially cast four separate ballots for their congressional representative this year.

Nine candidates already were running to succeed Swalwell in the 14th District in the June 2 primary for the full term set to begin in January. State Sen. Aisha Wahab is the only one with statewide elected experience. Former Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who serves as president of the BART Board of Directors, also is running.

Those candidates also may run in the special primary election.

Who is running for governor of California now?

The top-polling candidates in the crowded field include two Republicans: businessman Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Two Democrats other than Swalwell also have been enjoying double-digit support in most polls: former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer.

Other Democratic candidates include Xavier Becerra, who previously served as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California attorney general; San José Mayor Matt Mahan; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; California Superintendent for Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; and former state Controller Betty Yee.

Swalwell’s departure stands to further shake up what has long been an unsettled race — and California’s first wide-open campaign for governor in two decades.

How does Swalwell dropping out affect the California governor’s race?

Prior to Swalwell dropping out, he, Porter and Steyer were the top-polling Democrats. It seems likely that Porter and Steyer could now attract some of his supporters.

California has a “top-two” primary system, meaning the two candidates who receive the most votes in June, regardless of party, will move on to a November runoff. That means two Republicans or two Democrats could face each other in a runoff election.

There’s been concern among Democrats that because no Democratic candidate has consolidated support, Hilton and Bianco could make it into the runoff, shutting out Democrats and resulting in a Republican governor. That seems less likely now, especially since Hilton recently received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, which is likely to play well among Republican voters. The state GOP failed to endorse either candidate at their convention this weekend, though Bianco did get more votes than Hilton from party insiders.

If Hilton surges ahead of Bianco, the race could come down to a contest between Porter and Steyer for a second spot in the runoff.

When is the primary for California governor, and for whom will I be able to vote?

Election Day is June 2. The last day to register to vote is May 18.

Counties will begin sending out mail-in ballots May 4, and in-person early voting starts May 23.

To register to vote, contact your county elections office. The official state information guide is available here.

After about two decades of planning, six years of construction and a cost of $720 million, L.A. County Museum of Art officials gave a preview of the new David Geffen museum galleries on Wednesday.

“This museum is very experimental,” said Michael Govan, LACMA’s CEO. “It's very new, it's very fresh. It's a new way to think about our history and being more accessible at the same time that I think it's more meditative."

Gone is LACMA’s 1965 iconic, boxy gallery building, replaced by an exposed concrete and glass structure distinguished by a soft, curved profile.

“You can stand in the building and know where you are, not in a box… you are here in the city, you can look around the perimeter and know exactly where you are,” said Diana Magaloni, LACMA’s senior deputy director overseeing conservation, curatorial and exhibitions.

LACMA's new David Geffen galleries have floor to ceiling windows and are more open than traditional museum art galleries.

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The feeling of knowing where you are is due largely to the acres of open space and plazas next to the building and ground level, as well as the floor to ceiling windows in the galleries’ second level that allow you to see L.A.’s mountains and urban skylines.

LACMA officials say the design by renowned minimalist Swiss architect Peter Zumthor will better serve the public’s interaction with its massive art collection that spans 6,000 years and cultures from around the globe. The collection includes Southeast Asian sculptures, paintings by Diego Rivera, as well as contemporary art by Southern California artists.

LACMA CEO Michael Govan, left, with Peter Zumthor, the architect who designed LACMA's new David Geffen galleries.

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“One of the nice things about this building is there are many new works of art and then there are old friends,” said Stephanie Barron, head of modern art at LACMA, as she stood next to a 12-foot-tall by 18-foot-wide piece by Henri Matisse.

The 2,000-pound work features multicolored leaves made of ceramic. It’s well known to LACMA’s visitors because it hung for years near the old gallery’s entrance. Now, the work faces northwest toward the Hollywood Hills and the Pacific Ocean.

LACMA opens its new David Geffen galleries to members on April 19 and to the general public on May 4.

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Success, Govan said, will be measured by visitors’ reactions to seeing art in this new setting, as well as what the setting does to people visiting by themselves or with groups of people.

“The way this building works, the way you can wander through galleries, the way the light works, the way it brings collections and thinking together, the way we’re collaborating” centers human interactions, Govan said. “It’s a launch pad, not an end point.”

LACMA’s David Geffen galleries are open to members from Sunday April 19 to Sunday May 3, then to the general public after that.