{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-14T10:55:52.358Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"mexico","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2023","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":1,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":2,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2023-us-mexico-border-cbp-one-asylum-app-face-capture-failed-black-applicants-advocates-say","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The government announced in early January that the new CBP One mobile app would be the only way migrants arriving at the border can apply for asylum and exemption from Title 42 restrictions; which is now required to apply for asylum","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"the Biden administration announced in early January that the CBP One app would be the only way people at the border can apply for asylum and an exemption from Title 42.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In early January 2023 the US government announced that the CBP One app would be the only way migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border could apply for asylum and exemption from Title 42 restrictions; uploading a photo through the app was required to obtain an appointment.","causal_attribution":"Government announcement as reported; the photo requirement is the reporter's and advocates' description."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Non-profits that assist Black asylum seekers are finding that the app, CBP One, is failing to register many people with darker skin tones, effectively barring them from their right to request entry into the US.; The facial recognition is not picking up [images] if people have darker skin tones,; held a workshop for Haitians in Tijuana on how to use the app a day after it went live on 12 January. But with the app unable to map the features of many darker-skinned asylum seekers, they cannot upload their photos in order to receive an asylum appointment with the US immigration authorities, Pinheiro said.; The Haitians at the workshop were getting error after error message on the app","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Because the app cannot map the features of darker-skinned asylum seekers, they cannot upload their photo to receive an asylum appointment, Pinheiro said.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Non-profits assisting Black asylum seekers said the app's facial recognition was failing to register many people with darker skin tones, so they could not upload their photos to receive asylum appointments; Al Otro Lado's executive director said Haitians at a Tijuana workshop held the day after the app went live on 12 January got error after error message.","causal_attribution":"Advocates' accounts of what they observed; no technical analysis or CBP confirmation is reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"There are about 4,000 Black asylum seekers waiting in Reynosa and at least another 1,000 Haitians in Matamoros. Hardly anyone is getting an asylum appointment.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The co-director of the Sidewalk School said about 4,000 Black asylum seekers were waiting in Reynosa and at least 1,000 Haitians in Matamoros, and that hardly anyone was getting an asylum appointment.","causal_attribution":"The non-profit's estimate; the figures describe people waiting and are not counted as people harmed."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"One fix they’ve come up with is installing bright construction lights at the shelter in Reynosa, which Haitians and others shine on their faces as they take the photo to upload to the app. “So far it seems to be working, so the adults can get past that,; still not working for children under the age of six.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"This prevents families from being able to apply for asylum, since the app will accept only one or two members of the family, but not the rest.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Sidewalk School said shining bright construction lights on faces let adults get past the photo step, but it still did not work for children under six, which prevented families from applying because the app accepted only some family members.","causal_attribution":"The non-profit's account of its workaround and of families blocked."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"said the CBP One app has helped “lighter-skin toned people from other nations” obtain their asylum appointments “but not Haitians” and other Black applicants.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A Haitian Bridge Alliance staff attorney said the app had helped lighter-skinned people from other nations obtain asylum appointments, but not Haitians and other Black applicants.","causal_attribution":"Advocate's comparison; not measured."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Besides the face recognition technology not registering them, there are other barriers, too. Many asylum seekers have outdated cellphones – if they have cellphones at all – that don’t support the CBP One app and often have limited or no access to the internet.; If you can afford to spend $1,000 on a new cellphone, then you can upload the image no problem.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The advocates also described barriers unrelated to facial recognition: many asylum seekers had outdated phones that did not support the app, or limited internet access, and a new phone could upload the image.","causal_attribution":"Kept as context: other causes of failed uploads that the sources do not separate from the face capture."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"CBP did not reply with comments before publication, after being approached with questions by the Guardian.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The Border Chronicle contacted CBP with several detailed questions about the CBP One app, including the problems with its facial-recognition technology. A spokesperson for CBP, Justin Long, said no one was available to respond.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"CBP did not reply to the Guardian's questions before publication, and a CBP spokesperson told the Border Chronicle no one was available to respond.","causal_attribution":"The agency's non-response."}],"effects":[{"label":"advocates say darker-skinned asylum seekers could not pass the app's photo step to obtain appointments","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"advocates say families with children under six could not apply","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/08/us-immigration-cbp-one-app-facial-recognition-bias","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-31; no translation.","independence_group":"del-bosque-cbp-one-2023-02"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theborderchronicle.com/p/facing-bias-cbps-immigration-app","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-31 from an Internet Archive capture of 26 February 2024; no translation. Same reporter as the Guardian article.","independence_group":"del-bosque-cbp-one-2023-02"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["public_services","justice"],"unknowns":["How many people the app's face capture rejected; the advocates give no count.","Whether the rejections came from the facial recognition itself, phone cameras or lighting; no technical analysis is reported.","Whether CBP changed the face capture or how long the problem lasted; neither source reports a later response."],"geography":{"basis":"The advocates describe asylum seekers using the app while waiting in the Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Reynosa and Matamoros to request entry into the United States.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["MX"],"affected_person_countries":["MX"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a government asylum app whose facial recognition, according to non-profits that assisted applicants, rejected the photos of many Black asylum seekers so they could not obtain appointments, the only route then available. The account is attributed to the advocates; other barriers and CBP's non-response are recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-31"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Non-profits running workshops and shelters for asylum seekers told the Guardian and the Border Chronicle that the CBP One app's facial recognition did not register the faces of many darker-skinned applicants: the app returned error messages and would not accept their photos, which were required to obtain an asylum appointment through the app, the only route CBP allowed at the time. The rejection of the photo is the system's own output and the advocates connect it to applicants being unable to get appointments. The attribution rests on the advocates' observations; no technical analysis is reported, CBP did not respond, and the advocates also cite old phones and poor connectivity.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_decision_about"]},"name":"Advocates say CBP One asylum app's facial recognition rejected photos of Black asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, blocking appointments","summary":"In January 2023 US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made its CBP One mobile app the only way for migrants at the US-Mexico border to apply for asylum appointments and exemption from Title 42 restrictions; applicants had to upload a photo of themselves through the app. In February 2023 the Guardian and the Border Chronicle, both reporting by Melissa del Bosque, quoted three non-profits working with Haitian and African asylum seekers in Tijuana, Reynosa and Matamoros who said the app's facial recognition was failing to register many people with darker skin, so they could not upload their photos and obtain appointments. The executive director of Al Otro Lado said Haitians at a workshop her organisation held in Tijuana the day after the app went live got error after error message. The Sidewalk School said hardly anyone among about 4,000 Black asylum seekers in Reynosa and 1,000 Haitians in Matamoros was getting an appointment, and that shining construction lights on faces let adults get past the photo step but not children under six, which kept families from applying. A Haitian Bridge Alliance attorney said the app had helped lighter-skinned applicants but not Haitians. The advocates also described other barriers, such as outdated phones and poor internet access. CBP did not answer the Guardian's questions before publication and told the Border Chronicle no one was available to respond. No technical analysis of the failures is reported.","incidentDate":"2023-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2023-02-07","aiSystem":"Facial recognition photo capture in US Customs and Border Protection's CBP One mobile app, required in 2023 for migrants at the US-Mexico border to request asylum appointments, as described by non-profits quoted by the Guardian and the Border Chronicle","aiProduct":"CBP One app","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["legal_harm","other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Advocates say the app's facial recognition failed to register many darker-skinned asylum seekers, so they could not upload their photos or obtain the asylum appointments the app had become the only route to; they say lighting workarounds helped adults but not children under six, which kept families from applying.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The advocates describe groups (Haitians at a Tijuana workshop, families with young children at a Reynosa shelter) without counts. The figures of about 4,000 Black asylum seekers in Reynosa and 1,000 Haitians in Matamoros describe people waiting, not people whose photos the app rejected, so they are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/08/us-immigration-cbp-one-app-facial-recognition-bias","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian, Facial recognition bias frustrates Black asylum applicants to US, advocates say, 8 February 2023","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-31T03:21:06.698324+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-31T03:21:06.698324+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["cbp-one","facial-recognition","asylum","immigration","public-services","us-mexico-border"]},{"id":"2023-espanola-new-mexico-flock-alpr-misread-plate-sisters-handcuffed-lawsuits","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'pulled the sisters over July 23 on Calle Duran after they had passed through an intersection equipped with a Flock Safety camera, which incorrectly flagged their car’s license plate as belonging to a stolen vehicle, according to the lawsuits.'; 'officers pulled the vehicle over and handcuffed them before placing them in the back of police vehicles prior to discovering the error.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'when Flock notified police that her Kia was stolen.'; 'Body camera footage from the July 2023 stop shows officers stopping the sisters and ordering them to exit the car, before handcuffing them.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In July 2023 Española police stopped the sisters' car after a Flock camera alert identified it as stolen, and officers ordered both sisters out and handcuffed them, including the 12-year-old.","causal_attribution":"The lawsuits as reported, and Business Insider's separate review of the body-camera footage."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The plate number ended in 2, which the camera incorrectly read as 7, according to the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'According to an incident report, the camera misread a \"2\" for a \"7.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The camera misread a 2 on the plate as a 7.","causal_attribution":"The sisters' complaint (as reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican) and the police incident report (as reported by Business Insider) agree on the misread."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'compensation for personal injuries including “anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement.”'; 'Instead, officers handcuffed the girl and put her in the back of a different police vehicle, according to the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The sisters' lawsuits sought damages including compensation for anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement; the older sister had asked an officer to call their mother to collect the 12-year-old, and officers instead handcuffed the girl.","causal_attribution":"The sisters' complaints as reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Two Rio Arriba County sisters have filed lawsuits against the city of Española'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The family filed a lawsuit and settled with the city in 2025.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The family filed lawsuits against the city of Española and settled with the city in 2025.","causal_attribution":"Filing reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican; settlement reported by Business Insider without terms."},{"id":"c5","status":"disputed","evidence":[{"locator":"'Officers said the number was obscured by a license plate cover, though it'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Officers said a license plate cover obscured the number; Business Insider says the number is visible in the body-camera footage it reviewed.","causal_attribution":"Officers' explanation as reported by Business Insider, contradicted by Business Insider's own review of the footage."}],"effects":[{"label":"both sisters, one aged 12, handcuffed and held in police vehicles after a misread license-plate-camera alert flagged their car as stolen","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"lawsuits claimed anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sisters-sue-espa-ola-over-traffic-stop-they-say-was-illegal/article_1c949c30-ae3e-11ee-ad85-f71a8c9ecb1e.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-04 from the Internet Archive 2026 capture (Santa Fe New Mexican, 8 January 2024); the live site returned HTTP 429. Reports the two complaints and the attorney's comments.","independence_group":"espanola-sisters-lawsuits"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.businessinsider.com/flock-safety-alpr-cameras-misreads-2026-3","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-04 (Business Insider, 9 March 2026); full text present in the served page. Draws on its own review of body-camera footage and the incident report.","independence_group":"business-insider-records-review"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["justice"],"unknowns":["Settlement terms and date in 2025.","The state district court case numbers; the complaints were not read.","How long the sisters were held before officers found the error."],"geography":{"basis":"The stop took place on Calle Duran in Española, New Mexico; the sisters are from Rio Arriba County, and the suits were filed in New Mexico state district court (Santa Fe New Mexican).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an institutional-use case consistent with the held Flock misread rows: the sisters' lawsuits (Santa Fe New Mexican) and the police incident report and body-camera footage reviewed by Business Insider describe a Flock license-plate-camera misread that led officers to handcuff a 21-year-old and her 12-year-old sister. Neither sister is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sisters' lawsuits (Santa Fe New Mexican) say a Flock Safety camera incorrectly flagged the plate as belonging to a stolen vehicle, reading a 2 as a 7; Business Insider reports the incident report records the same misread and describes the cameras as Flock's AI cameras. The plate match against a stolen-vehicle record is the automated system's claim about the car; the decision to handcuff both sisters was the officers'.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Police in New Mexico handcuffed two sisters, one a child, after a Flock plate camera misread a digit and flagged their car as stolen, lawsuits say; settled 2025","summary":"On 23 July 2023 Española police officers pulled over a car driven by a 21-year-old woman with her 12-year-old sister as a passenger, after a Flock Safety camera at an intersection flagged the car's plate as belonging to a vehicle stolen in Rio Rancho. According to the sisters' lawsuits, reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican in January 2024, the camera had read a 2 on the plate as a 7, and officers handcuffed both sisters and placed them in the backs of separate police vehicles before discovering the error; the older sister had asked an officer to call their mother, who lived nearby, to collect the girl. The suits sought damages for anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement. Business Insider, which reviewed the body-camera footage and incident report, reported in March 2026 that officers said the number was obscured by a license plate cover although it is visible in the footage, and that the family settled with the city in 2025.","incidentDate":"2023-07-23","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-01-08","aiSystem":"Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader camera at an Española intersection (described by Business Insider as one of Flock's AI cameras) that misread the car's plate, matched it to a stolen-vehicle record and notified police","aiProduct":"Flock Safety license plate readers","aiCompany":"Flock Safety","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["loss_of_liberty","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Both sisters, one of them 12, were handcuffed and held in the backs of police vehicles after the misread alert; their lawsuits claimed anxiety, fear, worry and restriction of movement (Santa Fe New Mexican). The family settled with the city in 2025 (Business Insider).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people, the sisters, both handcuffed and placed in police vehicles (Santa Fe New Mexican; Business Insider). Exact 2.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-NM","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sisters-sue-espa-ola-over-traffic-stop-they-say-was-illegal/article_1c949c30-ae3e-11ee-ad85-f71a8c9ecb1e.html","primarySourceLabel":"Santa Fe New Mexican, 8 January 2024: Sisters sue Española over traffic stop they say was illegal","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:31:48.559655+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-10T03:03:27.071855+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["flock","alpr","license-plate-reader","misread","wrongful-stop","handcuffed","minor","new-mexico","espanola","justice","made-claim-about","settlement"]}]}