Trump’s Megabill Expands Biometric Surveillance

Not only is the BBB signed by President Trump going to put us further in debt, and sets up the structure for digital currencies, but it also expands the surveillance state.

Biometric Update has the story.

The lauded “One Big Beautiful Bill” includes several provisions expanding the AI driven surveillance state.

As debate intensifies in the United States over H.R. 1, otherwise known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Senate Republicans advanced the sweeping reconciliation package with a razor-thin 51–49 vote, with Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis joining Democrats in opposition. While its core structure remains consistent with the version passed by the House, particularly regarding immigration enforcement, the bill reflects an aggressive expansion of federal biometric surveillance infrastructure under the Trump administration’s second term.

Officially styled as a budget reconciliation package, the 940-page bill does much more than allocate dollars; it would codify a vision of the national security state where biometric surveillance, AI, and immigration enforcement converge at unprecedented scale.

Passed out of the House along party lines earlier this year, the Senate version now reflects the Trump administration’s deepening focus on internal surveillance and deportation infrastructure. Although a final vote is pending in the Senate and will need to be passed by the House, what’s already in the legislative text that likely will remain intact is deeply consequential for civil liberties, biometric privacy, and immigration governance.

At its core, H.R.1 dedicates over $175 billion in immigration-related funding for fiscal year 2025 alone, which is by far the largest such allocation in U.S. history and represents a dramatic technology buildout. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would receive nearly $30 billion in funding through 2029, earmarked not only for personnel and deportation operations, but also for digital modernization efforts that lean heavily on AI and biometric surveillance. More than $5.2 billion within ICE’s share is dedicated to infrastructure modernization, including $2.5 billion specifically for artificial intelligence systems, biometric data collection platforms, and digital case tracking.

These systems are not vaguely defined. DHS officials familiar with the bill’s intent say the funds are aimed at expanding ICE’s access to mobile biometric tools, integrating facial recognition into field operations, automating risk scoring for individuals in deportation proceedings, and accelerating case processing through AI-driven platforms.

These developments mirror and dramatically amplify previous pilots conducted under DHS’s Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), particularly the use of tools like ICE’s Mobile Fortify app, which allows agents to perform facial and fingerprint checks in real time. H.R.1, by design, turns those small-scale pilots into foundational infrastructure.

Biometric provisions also extend to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is slated to receive $6.168 billion for modern surveillance, biometric, and screening technologies. The legislative text outlines the deployment of Autonomous Surveillance Towers (AST) and artificial intelligence for threat detection, language that suggests an operational integration of facial recognition, gait analysis, and predictive behavioral models along the southern border.

Autonomous towers are equipped with a variety of sensors to detect activity along the southwest border, enhancing surveillance capabilities and providing real-time information to Border Patrol agents. Since 2020, 300 ASTs have been deployed by Anduril, providing approximately 30 percent of the coverage of the U.S. southern land border.. H.R.1 would scale this system up nationally and integrate it with broader DHS surveillance infrastructure. The AST program is part of CBP’s larger Consolidated Tower and Surveillance Equipment (CTSE) program which encompasses the existing 150 Integrated Fixed Towers and the Remote Video Surveillance System.

Under H.R. 1, CBP would gain broader authority to deploy facial recognition tools at ports of entry and along transportation corridors, in line with DHS’s 2024 strategic plan that envisions end-to-end biometric travel. The plan states that “DHS is aggressively pursuing innovative technologies for detection and strengthening identity verification for travelers within the United States through biometric and biographic techniques and technologies.” While framed as anti-terror and anti-trafficking measures, critics argue the systems normalize mass biometric surveillance with minimal oversight.

In addition to these biometric expansions, the bill’s AI-related language introduces a ten-year moratorium on the enforcement of state and local biometric privacy laws. This preemption clause bars states from enforcing protections like Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act or similar consent and data use restrictions in California and Texas. The moratorium is tied to funding conditions, meaning states risk losing federal broadband and AI development funds unless they suspend their own biometric safeguards.

The Security Industry Association (SIA), which supports the bill’s ten-year moratorium disallowing the states’ ability to regulate AI, said in a statement that, “within the safety and security space, AI helps to better analyze and more quickly respond to information needed to protect lives and property, as we have all seen in the highly successful use cases deploying AI for detection capabilities along the border and analyzing digital evidence to revolutionize the fight against human trafficking. AI is the driver of innovation in our industry, which contributes over $430 billion to the U.S. economy. It is important to ensure that we don’t stifle innovation by forcing businesses small and large to navigate a hodgepodge of inconsistent state measures like we have seen proposed – and adopted in some cases – at the mercy of local politics.”

“Many existing laws already cover misuses of technology, and the moratorium does not affect enforcement of these consumer protection laws and criminal statutes when it comes to potentially harmful uses of AI,” SIA argued.

By adopting H.R.1, Republicans believe they can preserve some consistency and predictability in the U.S. regulatory environment for the next decade. Its Republican backers claim the moratorium will encourage businesses to invest in innovation, ensure the U.S. remains a global technology leader, and that AI-driven life-safety and security technologies can be confidently adapted to address new threats.

The bill’s biometric buildout is bolstered by extensive financial incentives for staffing and expansion. ICE is authorized to hire 8,500 new agents, along with over 2,000 legal and support personnel. To secure these hires, the bill offers signing bonuses up to $20,000 and annual retention bonuses of $15,000 in high-attrition areas. ICE agents will also qualify for law enforcement availability pay and premium overtime – further embedding biometric-enabled enforcement capacity into day-to-day field operations.

Meanwhile, a 1 percent excise tax on cash-based remittance transfers is expected to generate over $1.5 billion annually, funds that may ultimately reinforce immigration enforcement activities. Though not biometric in nature, the remittance tax is emblematic of the financial and surveillance ecosystem the bill aims to expand.

Despite its momentum, the bill remains in flux. Further amendments could alter biometric provisions before a final vote, though most observers do not believe that that is likely to happen. Whatever the Senate does end up passing, it will still need to be sent back to the House for reconsideration and passage. President Trump has said he wants a final bill on his desk to sign by July 4. Whether he gets one by then remains to be seen.

Given the speed and scale of the bill’s advancement, biometric surveillance and data privacy landscapes across the U.S. may soon look dramatically different and be further centralized under federal authority, stripped of local safeguards, and deeply intertwined with AI-driven immigration enforcement.

Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

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