Biometric Transactions / Year (millions)
Possessed of a massive database with massive capabilities, the current administration—and
any subsequent administration—could abuse this powerful tool to investigate the activities and
relationships of virtually anyone it chooses to target. The “good moral character” and “attachment” requirements for naturalization (and denaturalization), leave considerable flexibility for
citizenship stripping based on alleged “subversive” activities.467 As scholar Patrick Weil has
shown regarding the attachment cases of the 20th century: denaturalization cases could use
potential “fraud or illegality committed before” naturalization, as a means to punish people for
something “they had done after they obtained American citizenship.”468 Given the increased
likelihood of false positives for people with darker skin tones, and overrepresentation of
minority populations in the data, denaturalization cases alleging involvement in criminal
activity and relying on such data could also proliferate, disproportionately affecting people of
color. To date, courts have not been amenable to the introduction of rebuttal evidence that
demonstrates these complex technical flaws and interrogates their potential impact on an
individual case. It is critical that the U.S. government comes to grips with the racial and gender
disparities associated with these new technologies.
200
DHS Biometrics Systems - From IDENT to HART
180
Growth of Biometrics in DHS
160
140
120
100
80
60
Historical
40
Projected
20
0
FY10
FY11
FY12
FY13
FY14
FY15
FY16
FY17
FY18
FY19
FY20
FY21
FY22
IDENT Gallery Size – 220m Unique Identities
Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM)
Slide from “DHS Identity Applications for Homeland Security Slide Presentation-9/12/17,”
available at: https://www.eff.org/document/dhs-identity-applications-homeland-security-slide-presentation-91217
II. Denaturalization: A Radical Measure in the Hands of Zealots
105
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