A group of Democratic lawmakers is sounding the alarm about a potential privacy breach impacting millions of Americans. They’ve sent urgent letters to several state governors, including those in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Wisconsin, expressing serious concerns over how their states are sharing driver’s license data with federal immigration authorities.
The heart of the issue lies with the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (Nlets), a nonprofit organization managed by state police agencies that facilitates data exchange between various law enforcement bodies across the U.S. and Canada.
Lawmakers argue that through Nlets, states are inadvertently providing “frictionless, self-service access” to the personal information of all their residents – including driver’s license details – to ICE and other federal agencies. This access isn’t being granted with individual oversight or knowledge; instead, state DMVs feed data directly into the system, allowing agencies to search and retrieve it without any state employee review.
The concern is amplified by the sheer volume of data shared. According to the letter from lawmakers, Nlets handled over 290 million queries for DMV information in a recent year, with ICE accounting for more than 290,000 requests and Homeland Security Investigations logging around 600,000.
Adding another layer of worry is the potential use of driver’s license photos by ICE in their facial recognition program, Mobile Fortify. This app, which leverages a database of 200 million images, has been used to identify individuals on the street. The lawmakers express concern that Nlets-sourced data could be feeding this system, raising significant privacy implications.
While acknowledging the potential need for information sharing in serious criminal investigations, the lawmakers emphasize that states retain control over how their residents’ data is accessed through Nlets. They urge the governors to take immediate action by restricting ICE and other federal agencies’ access, forcing a review process for data requests that would increase accountability and prevent potential abuse.
The letter highlights that several states – including Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington – have already implemented stricter controls on the type of information ICE can access through Nlets. The message to remaining governors is clear: it’s within their power to stop this practice at any time.
