What Happened?

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights reported a lobbying filing amount of $270,000 for the third quarter of 2026, and it's lobbying to support a bill that would ban immigration agents from using facial recognition and other biometric tools. ​

The push targets the ICE Out of Our Faces Act, a Senate bill introduced Feb. 4 that would also require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to delete all biometric data already collected within 30 days of enactment, according to a Legis1 review of federal lobbying disclosures.

The Leadership Conference is the only organization listed in the bill record as lobbying for this measure.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Sponsors cite research showing Black, Brown, and Asian people are up to 100 times more likely than white men to be misidentified by these systems, and note that nearly half of U.S. adults' faces are already in facial-recognition databases.

A broad coalition backs the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Fight for the Future, Color of Change, Access Now, and UnidosUS.

Both Sides, Now

Sponsors, including Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7), argue facial recognition disproportionately exposes Black and Brown communities to misidentification. Cosponsors include Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Critics point to documented harm: Detroit police arrested Robert Williams in January 2020 based on a facial-recognition match, and he spent roughly 30 hours in custody before charges were dropped, according to the ACLU.

In May 2026, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) opposed H.R. 2853, which she said would give the Department of Homeland Security sweeping new power to collect and share Americans' personal data; her press release listed the Leadership Conference among the groups opposing it.

Neither the current administration nor Republican members of Congress have a stated position in the filing record.

What Happens Next?

The Senate bill, the ICE Out of Our Faces Act, was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, while its House companion, sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7), remains in committee.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights reported $270,000 in in-house lobbying spending in the third quarter of 2026, down about 49 percent from $530,000 in the same quarter of 2025. Any bill that does not become law before this Congress ends on Jan. 3, 2027, would have to be reintroduced from scratch.

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