Georgia state Sen. Jaha Howard, D-Smyrna, has introduced legislation that would ban federal immigration agents from using biometric technologies, such as facial recognition software, to verify individuals’ immigration status. One of the freshman state lawmaker’s first bills, SB 464, challenges a federal rule, DHS’s statutory authority, and seeks to delay enforcement amid existing court backlogs—potentially prolonging detentions.
Howard introduced Senate Bill 464 on Feb. 4, 2026, to amend state law and address a federal rule change regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of biometric data.
The bill starts by defining “biometric data” broadly to include: “any unique physical representation, including, but not limited to, fingerprints, voice prints, retina or iris images, or DNA profiles, facial recognition software, voice prints, retinal imaging, fingerprints, iris images, or DNA profiles.”
The bill then defines “biometric surveillance technology,” before explicitly stating that
“Federal immigration authorities shall not use biometric surveillance technology to identify individuals for the purpose of verifying immigration status.”
Howard framed the measure – currently assigned to the Senate Public Safety Committee – as a step toward humane treatment and accountability, citing faith-based principles of hospitality.
“Like many of my colleagues, my faith teaches me to treat the foreigner in our homeland with hospitality, love and respect,” Howard said. “We must consistently engage the idea of loving our neighbors as ourselves.”
The proposal comes amid a federal budget standoff in which Senate Democrats are holding up DHS funding over a list of demands for ICE reform—including body-worn cameras.
DHS, which began updating agency guidance last year to incorporate body-worn cameras, hosted months of public comment before adopting an ongoing program from 2004 that incorporated limited biometric identification collection at ports of entry. Effective Dec. 26, 2025, the rule finalized the use of data collected – digital fingerprints and facial recognition – for exits as officers attempt to match criminal aliens to the roughly 700,000 warrants issued by Immigration Law Judges.
If passed, the state bill would not only challenge federal preemption but exacerbate delays in identity verification, especially in non-compliant encounters or cases involving fraudulent documents. Without real-time biometric tools like ICE’s Mobile Fortify app—deployed in May 2025 for field facial and fingerprint matching—agents would have to rely on slower methods, temporary detentions, and facility-based fingerprint checks against DHS databases.
In Georgia, where courts are already inundated with cases, such delays could compound backlogs amid staffing shortages and surging filings. Prolonged field detentions also risk increasing short-term holds of U.S. citizens or mismatches, as seen in a recent Minnesota incident.
While the bill’s proponents say it’s an important step towards securing privacy and showing southern hospitality, facial recognition – which citizens and non-citizens can opt-out of – has emerged due to non-compliance and an increasing level of document fraud prevalence.
Fraud rings compound these challenges with high-quality fake IDs, including those using stolen identities and travel documents from U.S. citizens. Recent cases include nationwide operations producing thousands of counterfeit documents—some digital templates for passports, Social Security cards and driver’s licenses—seized by Homeland Security Investigations on counterterrorism.
In the press release, Howard said SB 464 is a means of slowing down ICE, framing the bill as “legislation to protect immigrants’ privacy rights.”
“We must slow down ICE,” Howard said. “President Trump’s harmful immigration policy produces the bitter fruit of fear, indignity and intimidation. I introduced this bill to protect the immigrant communities I represent in Cobb and Fulton counties, and for immigrants all throughout our state.”
While legislation has been proposed at the federal level to limit facial recognition and the use of other biometric tools, only Congress – not the states – actually has the authority to oversee federal agencies or review rule changes.
Yet, as a federal shutdown looms amid Friday’s funding deadline, Senate Democrats have made no efforts to solve court backlogs, nor demands related to the agency’s biometric data rules.
The fate of the new state lawmaker’s bill remains uncertain in committee.
