Trump's mass deportation plan can leverage AI to intensify immigration enforcement.

• The DHS has set aside $5 million in its 2025 budget for the establishment of an AI office, and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has characterized AI as a "transformative technology."
• Homeland security is currently utilizing AI-aided surveillance towers, "Robodogs", and facial recognition tools, and these technologies could be intensified under President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plan.
• There are concerns among experts that the increased use of AI by the DHS could result in privacy and due process violations.

During a Sept. 12 campaign stop in Tucson, Arizona, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to start the largest mass deportation in the country's history.

The appointment of Thomas Homan as "border czar" and Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy by Trump indicate that the administration will take a tough stance on immigration and enforce its promise to crack down, although specifics have not been disclosed by the transition team.

Trump has stated that he will commence mass deportation of criminals and repeal Temporary Protected Status for individuals. In a post-election interview with NBC News, he emphasized that he has "no choice" but to pursue mass deportation after the election results and that there is "no price tag."

Earlier this year, Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stated that "No one is safe from deportation. If you are in the country illegally, you need to be aware of the consequences," and he promised to establish the largest deportation force in the country's history.

Though fulfilling these promises is challenging, artificial intelligence can assist.

The technology used by AI has become more accessible and widely deployed across many systems and government agencies, and President Biden's administration has started to prioritize its use in the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Homeland Security established the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board in April to create boundaries and procedures for the technology's use. The 2025 DHS budget includes $5 million to launch an AI Office in the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer. As per the DHS budget memo, the office aims to promote the "responsible use" of AI by developing standards, policies, and monitoring to support the increasing adoption of AI across DHS.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated during the inauguration of the new board that AI is a transformative technology that can advance our national interests, but it also presents real risks that can be mitigated by adopting best practices and taking other studied concrete actions.

DHS's mission may shift towards deportation and utilizing untested AI, causing concern among experts. Security experts near DHS are concerned about how an empowered and reoriented DHS might employ AI.

A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on how AI could be utilized in the Trump administration.

The Trump transition and Homan did not respond to requests for comment.

Petra Molnar, a lawyer and anthropologist who specializes in the effects of migration technology on border crossings and is the author of "The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," has studied the use of technology along the border, including drones and robodogs, as a faculty associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. She has been critical of AI's use at the border under Democratic Party administrations but believes that the weaponization of AI will increase under Trump's administration.

The Trump administration's plan to conduct the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, coupled with their possession of such tools, has created a surveillance dragnet not only at the border but also inland, which could ensnare communities across the country. According to Molnar, an entire industry has been established to monitor borders and immigration.

The private sector has had a significant impact on the growth of the border-industrial issue, as evidenced by the introduction of robodogs, drones, and AI-powered towers by private companies, according to Molnar.

Democratic administrations have expanded much of the surveillance technology, but there is a signal from the incoming administration that technology will be used as a tool to achieve their goals, according to Molnar.

An AI immigration dragnet vs. AI deregulation and growth

The acting commissioner for Homeland Security in the District of Columbia, Remaya Campbell, stated that AI technology could streamline immigration-related decision-making, thereby circumventing conventional procedures.

AI could be used to identify individuals for deportation without regard for privacy or due process, according to Campbell. She noted that AI decision-making systems reflect the values of their users, and in the Trump administration, this could mean reinforcing intersectional biases to align with political priorities. Campbell added that at a minimum, AI should not be used as a tool for efficiency, fairness, and safety in immigration-related decision-making but as an instrument of systemic bias and authoritarian rule.

Neil Sahota, an AI advisor to the United Nations AI for Good Initiative, expressed his agreement with those concerns because AI is already being used to manage the complex and difficult-to-monitor US borders, and its usage is expected to increase under Trump.

Sensor towers with AI capabilities offer 24/7 monitoring, enabling quicker response times and reducing the need for human intervention.

Sahota stated that there is a possibility that an AI surveillance system would be implemented by a Trump administration, which could include autonomous patrols and biometric screening.

The use of AI surveillance systems could improve border security but could also raise privacy concerns, particularly for those living near borders. Sahota stated that the Trump administration's use of AI could go beyond security and aid in deportation. According to Sahotra, AI surveillance systems would be a crucial component of Trump's deportation strategy. Sahota added that enhanced AI could speed up deportations, which could result in rights violations and racial profiling.

What if the AI system mistakenly flags a legal resident or citizen for deportation? The consequences are devastating for families and our community, as these systems use facial recognition and behavior analysis capabilities to identify people suspected of being in the country illegally, but Sahota cautioned that these systems don't always get it right.

The accuracy issues with AI systems are widely recognized, as they often produce incorrect results, particularly when dealing with data related to people of color.

AI could enhance DMV records, utility bills, and facial recognition technology at the border and airports to aid in deportation.

MacCleery stated that the use of AI by immigration enforcement and its ability to monitor public data are concerns about mass deportations in a different administration, as these technologies could be altered and have different guardrails.

It is unavoidable, she stated, that AI will capture American citizens.

MacCleery stated that the use of these technologies could result in violating the due process rights of U.S. citizens who live with people of different immigration status, and that this is a problematic and inevitable consequence of overusing such technologies.

Marina Shepelsky, CEO, co-founder, and immigration attorney at New York-based Shepelsky Law Group, stated that she does not view AI policy in the Trump administration as a dystopian technology to fear. Instead, she believes that as a businessman, he will recognize the value in allowing AI to progress and grow to simplify the lives of professionals like herself, doctors, and scientists.

I believe that with Elon Musk's support, President Trump will promote the growth of AI and deregulate it in a Trump administration," Shepelsky stated. "While I may not agree with all of Trump's policies, I am optimistic that he will prioritize the development of AI and create more flexible regulations to allow it to flourish.