Facial Recognition in NYC: A Real ICE Risk for Immigrants
Your grocery store may already have a scan of your face — and your landlord might too. In New York City, businesses and residential buildings are quietly collecting biometric data, including facial images, and their privacy policies allow them to share it with law enforcement. For immigrants worried about ICE, that is not a hypothetical threat.
What if the data your building collected to let you through the front door ends up in ICE's hands? That question is no longer abstract. Stores like Wegmans, Fairway, ShopRite, and Macy's have confirmed they use facial recognition in New York City. All of them state in their privacy policies that they may share biometric data with law enforcement agencies for investigations. Biometric data can also be subpoenaed or obtained through a judicial warrant. And in June 2026, hackers breached Madison Square Garden's systems and published 45 gigabytes of stolen data — including facial recognition records from up to 26 million visitors — after the venue refused to pay a ransom.
Landlords, Biometric Data, and ICE
The threat is especially sharp for renters. Scores of residential buildings across New York City market facial recognition as a security feature. The real estate platform StreetEasy lists 182 apartments rented since 2021 that explicitly advertised facial recognition access, plus more than 900 currently available units with a "virtual doorman" that sometimes includes biometric access. Current city law says landlords may share biometric data "if required by law" — but advocates and housing attorneys point out that it is not always clear which ICE requests are actually lawful. The Associated Press has reported that ICE agents have subpoenaed landlords for tenant information even without legal justification. Ibrahim Ramoul, a housing attorney at Make the Road NY, testified before the City Council in April that landlords have threatened to call ICE on tenants — sometimes to force an illegal eviction or push for higher rent. Sharing a tenant's face scan could become the next version of that threat.
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Facial recognition also carries a built-in accuracy problem that hits immigrants of color hardest. A landmark 2019 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that many facial recognition algorithms were 10 to 100 times more likely to misidentify non-white individuals, especially Black women. A 2022 follow-up found that false positives — wrongly matching two different people — were "widespread." The Federal Telecommunications Commission banned pharmacy chain Rite Aid from using facial recognition for five years in 2023 specifically because it led to false accusations of shoplifting, disproportionately targeting non-white individuals and women.
Bills in the City Council — Where Things Stand
City Council member Shahana Hanif, who represents Brooklyn's 39th district, introduced a bill to ban facial recognition in public-access businesses. A separate bill introduced by Council member Pierina Sanchez would ban it in residential buildings. Both bills were referred to the Council's technology committee in March 2026 and may come to a vote during this legislative session. Hanif's bill has the support of 26 of the 51 council members — the highest number since she first introduced it in 2023. If passed, New York would join Portland, Oregon, which has already banned facial recognition in storefronts. "This bill protects everybody," Hanif said, "but we know who experiences disproportionate surveillance, and our immigrant community is among them."
What to Do
- Look for biometric collection notices at the entrance of stores and your building. Under current city law, businesses must post these signs — but they can be easy to miss. If you see one, you know your data is being collected.
- Ask your landlord or building management in writing whether they use facial recognition and what their data-sharing policy is. Keep a copy of any response.
- If your landlord threatens to share your information with ICE or has already done so, contact a housing attorney or an immigrant rights organization like Make the Road NY immediately. This may be an illegal eviction tactic.
- Contact your City Council member to express support for the facial recognition ban bills currently under consideration — especially if you live in a district whose representative has not yet co-sponsored Hanif's bill.
A full breakdown of this topic — in our guide “Bond Hearing: How to Get Released”.
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Immigrants should know that an ICE subpoena to a private company or landlord does not automatically make compliance lawful — recipients have the right to challenge overbroad or legally deficient demands in court. If you learn that your biometric data was shared with law enforcement without a valid court order, that fact may be relevant to any removal proceedings (deportation case) you face, and a judge can be asked to suppress improperly obtained evidence. Given how fast this area of law is moving, consult an immigration attorney before assuming any data-sharing by your landlord or a business was legal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ICE legally get my face scan from a store or my building?
Yes, in many cases. Stores like Wegmans and Fairway state in their privacy policies that they may share biometric data with law enforcement in response to legal requests, subpoenas, or court warrants. Current New York City law does not clearly prohibit this. Advocates warn that some ICE requests may lack proper legal authority, but companies often comply anyway.
What if I never agreed to have my face scanned?
Under current city law, businesses must post a notice at their entrance if they collect biometric data. But your consent is not required — the notice is enough. The law prohibits selling that data but does not stop companies from sharing it with law enforcement. The bills currently before the City Council would go further and ban the collection entirely in certain settings.
My landlord is threatening to call ICE. Can they also share my face scan?
City law allows landlords to share biometric data "if required by law," but housing attorneys say not every ICE request meets that standard. If your landlord is using the threat of ICE — or of sharing your biometric data — to pressure you into leaving or paying more rent, that may constitute an illegal eviction tactic. Contact a housing attorney or an organization like Make the Road NY as soon as possible.
What happens if facial recognition wrongly identifies me and ICE gets involved?
Facial recognition systems have documented high error rates for non-white individuals. A false match could lead to an ICE encounter even if you have done nothing wrong. If you are detained based on mistaken identity, you have the right to remain silent and the right to speak with an attorney. Do not sign any documents without legal counsel.