Protecting Personal Data Can Thwart Mass Deportation, Tech Expert Says

“ICE has a long history of using covert tactics to obtain sensitive information from public and private databases, violating the fundamental right to privacy,” he said. “This data, combined with facial recognition software and other surveillance and biometric technologies, are part and parcel of ICE’s arsenal to mass surveil our communities, pinpoint people’s whereabouts, and violently target our communities -- practices that frequently result in racial profiling, wrongful arrests, and fractured families. Sharing and selling personal data to terrorize and tear apart communities is not only evil, it is a full-fledged attack on privacy and freedom -- plain and simple.”

With mere days until Trump takes office, Febres said schools, employers, and state and local officials must use tools to cut off access to personal data. State and local governments, for example, can give residents the authority to remove their data from both public and private databases and require consent for the collection or sharing of any personal data, he said. Schools can ban the sharing of student information without a judicial warrant, he said, to protect all students regardless of immigration status. Employers should also refuse participation in voluntary audits and not share worker data without judicial warrants or a subpoena, said Febres. "Now is the time to show up and fight back like never before."