The White House didn’t deny Wednesday that US border officials are giving cellphones to some suspected illegal immigrants — arguing it could make them easier to track after they are released into the US even though they can be easily ditched, unlike ankle monitors.
“We need to take steps to ensure that we know where individuals are and we can track and we can check in with them,” press secretary Jen Psaki said with a straight face at her daily briefing.
It’s unclear how many phones are being distributed or what models are included. Government-subsidized cellphones can become a touchy political issue — such as in 2012 when a viral video depicted a low-income woman boasting of the free “Obamaphone” she received.
Psaki claimed that the phones are a monitoring tool and are not intended as a perk for those suspected of illegally entering the country.
“The alternatives to detention programs… has three unique forms of technology to monitor participants enrolled in the program,” Psaki said. “Telephonic, which is one of them, uses a participant’s voice to create a biometric voice print during the enrollment process. And when the participant has a check-in call, their voice is compared to the voice print.
“SmartLink, which is another option, enables participant monitoring via smartphone or tablet using facial-matching technology to establish identity. And Global Positioning System monitoring is of a participant’s location and movement history, using satellite technology through an ankle bracelet.”
Psaki concluded, “This is all part of our effort, as individuals come into the United States and individuals who are entering who will proceed to immigration proceedings, to monitor and track where they are.”
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