Activist uses facial recognition AI to unmask ICE agents from arrest videos

A Netherlands-based immigration activist is using AI and facial recognition technology to identify masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents captured in viral arrest videos. Dominick Skinner’s project has reportedly identified at least 20 ICE agents, turning surveillance technology against federal law enforcement in a striking reversal of conventional power dynamics.

How it works: Skinner’s team uses AI to reconstruct complete facial images from partially visible faces, then runs those images through existing facial recognition systems.
• The process involves using AI to predict what the rest of an ICE agent’s face likely looks like based on visible portions, then searching that reconstructed face through PimEyes, a controversial facial recognition service available to the public.
• Skinner claims his team can “reveal a face using AI, if they have 35 percent or more of the face visible.”
• The technique targets agents who wear masks during arrests of students, children, mothers, and American citizens in various public and private locations.

Why this matters: The project highlights the erosion of anonymity in an age of sophisticated AI surveillance tools, even for federal agents attempting to shield their identities.
• ICE agents have increasingly worn masks during operations, with the agency claiming this protects officers from harassment, while critics view it as reducing accountability and transparency.
• The technology demonstrates how easily accessible facial recognition tools can be weaponized by anyone, raising concerns about privacy and the potential for misidentification.

The bigger picture: This represents a reversal of traditional surveillance power structures, as ICE itself continues expanding its own AI-powered “deportation machine” using private data of Americans.
• The irony is stark: federal agents using AI for mass surveillance are now being surveilled by activists using similar technology.
• Privacy experts question the accuracy of facial recognition when applied to artificially generated images, given law enforcement’s history of wrongful arrests based on flawed facial recognition.

What they’re saying: ICE spokesperson Tanya Roman told Politico that “misinformed activists and others like them are the very reason the brave men and women of ICE choose to wear masks in the first place.”
• Skinner stated he doesn’t believe in “public justice,” but does believe in “public shaming and public accountability.”

Broader implications: The technique could easily be applied to other masked individuals, including protesters exercising First Amendment rights in an increasingly hostile political environment.
• The project serves as a reminder that AI and facial recognition have made genuine anonymity nearly impossible, regardless of physical disguises.