Rep. Chaffetz Says Facial Recognition Software Should Be Used On Illegal Immigrants

United States Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) suggested in a Congressional hearing on the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement officials Wednesday that facial recognition software should be used to identify “people that are here illegally,” according to Gizmodo.

The Representative who previously drew criticism for saying that Americans who can’t afford healthcare should just give up their iPhones, is the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Chaffetz’s comment on the facial recognition software was in reference to the FBI’s use of databases that have more than 400 million American’s faces. Prior to the Wednesday morning hearing Chaffetz tweeted out an ABC News article regarding the matter.

Representative Chaffetz argued Wednesday that the databases are a privacy concern that could spread to the limiting of certain citizen’s rights. He also suggested that if the databases were smaller, or limited “to known criminals, wanted criminals, people that are here illegally, maybe those are the types of things that we should be focused on, as opposed to everybody,” they would be more useful because it would be easier for the software to accurately identify people.

His comment grouped criminals and individuals who have illegally immigrated to the United States. His website lists immigration, technology and privacy all as issues he’s concerned with. His stance on immigration reform is now secret, his “top priorities” for immigration say he wants to “lock down the border” and “Get rid of the rewards and incentives to be here illegally,” among others, according to his site.

Germany uses automated dialect speech analysis to determine where refugees and immigrants come from in cases where origin is in question. The country plans to begin a pilot program of the software in two weeks and fully implement it by 2018.