ICE Awards $25M No-Bid Contract for Iris Scanners, Expands Biometric Surveillance
ICE awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to BI2 Technologies for over 1,500 iris-scanning devices to expand biometric identification during immigration enforcement operations. Detainees reportedly experienced trauma during iris scans used to identify them, and privacy experts raised concerns about the lack of oversight and the scope of data access.
What happened
On May 22, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security awarded a no-bid contract worth $25.1 million to BI2 Technologies for iris-scanning technology. The agreement includes over 1,500 iris-scanning devices, access to BI2's mobile app, and databases where scans are stored, with unlimited scope allowing bulk searches and downloads.
Federal immigration officers used iris scanners during immigration raids to identify detainees. In one Chicago case documented by NPR, officers pointed a smartphone at asylum seeker Norelly Mejías Cáceres's face during a raid in fall 2025, scanning her irises after federal agents descended on her apartment in a Black Hawk helicopter.
Reported impact
Detainees reported being traumatized by the scanning process. Norelly Mejías Cáceres fainted during her raid and woke with swollen eyes from crying before officers scanned her irises, leading to her identification, detention, and eventual deportation to Venezuela.
Multiple detainees from the same raid reported that officers suddenly knew personal details about them after the scans, raising concerns about how the technology is being deployed against people who may have been illegally arrested.
Index analysis
Privacy and civil rights experts, including Nicole Hallett, law professor and director of the Immigrants' Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago, have raised concerns about the scope of access to sensitive data and the lack of external oversight mechanisms in the contract.
The contract was awarded with no FedRAMP review and no congressional notice. Privacy experts describe the biometric expansion as part of a broader push to expand surveillance under the agency's mass deportation efforts.
Governance controls
The contract documents do not require prior federal security review. The agreement stipulates no external oversight mechanisms for how iris data is used or stored.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.