Sponsors (6)
The bill quickly limits retention and interagency sharing of biometric data and mandates rapid removal of specified apps to protect privacy, but these protections may hinder DHS investigative capabilities, disrupt other agencies' workflows, impose operational costs, and raise questions about remote actions on private devices.
All U.S. residents (and the agencies that handle their data): biometric images (photos/fingerprints) collected by the specified apps will be deleted promptly and sharing of the apps/data to non‑DHS agencies is banned, reducing long‑term retention and broader government use of sensitive biometric data.
Device owners and DHS system users: DHS must remove and remotely disable the specified apps on DHS systems and on non‑DHS devices where those apps are present, lowering the risk of unauthorized app operation and reducing potential misuse on government devices.
General public and oversight stakeholders: DHS is required to implement the standards quickly (30‑day deadline), which can shorten the window of exposure from these apps and bring privacy protections into effect sooner.
Border travelers and DHS immigration/security operations: requiring deletion of biometric captures within a short time window and limiting app use to ports may reduce DHS's ability to investigate identity fraud, conduct follow‑ups, or reuse data for lawful security inquiries.
State, local, Tribal, and non‑DHS federal agencies: losing access to these apps/data removes a tool they may have relied on for identity verification or operational workflows, potentially disrupting interagency processes.
Taxpayers and DHS IT staff: the requirement to locate, delete, and remotely disable app copies and purge images across systems on short notice could create significant one‑time operational costs and workload for DHS.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Department of Homeland Security to ban two named mobile biometric apps across DHS except for use to identify people at ports of entry, prohibit sharing the apps with other government agencies, remove and remotely disable copies on devices, and destroy previously captured biometric images/prints of U.S. citizens (with port-of-entry captures deleted within 12 hours). DHS must issue department-wide standards and guidelines to implement these actions within 30 days of enactment. The measure focuses on removal, prohibition of sharing, remote disabling, and strict short-term retention limits for port-of-entry biometric captures.
Introduced January 15, 2026 by Bennie Thompson · Last progress January 15, 2026
Requires DHS to ban two named mobile biometric apps outside ports of entry, stop sharing them, remove/disable copies, and destroy prior U.S. citizen biometric data (port captures deleted within 12 hours).