One of the Oregon lawmakers who crafted a bill that would grant people without proof of citizenship or legal residence access to legal driver’s licenses said federal investigators and immigration officers wouldn’t be able to mine the state’s driver’s database using facial recognition software.

Rep. Diego Hernandez, one of the chief sponsors behind Oregon’s House Bill 2015, said the bill included “significant privacy provisions” that would address the situation outlined in a bombshell Washington Post story published Sunday.

Hernandez’s comments came in the wake of a Washington Post story that described a widespread practice by FBI and officials of using facial recognition software to scan millions of driver’s licenses nationwide – often without states’ knowledge or drivers’ consent. The searches are the latest indication of the federal government’s extensive effort to find – and potentially deport – people without proof of citizenship or legal residence.

Facial recognition software also aided federal and immigration officers, the report said with assistance in tracking down not just “criminal suspects, but also to detect possible witnesses, victims, bodies, and innocent bystanders and other people not charged with crimes.”

The newspaper’s report – and subsequent stories in the New York Times and on NPR -- were based on public records requests and analysis filed by Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology. The records highlighted facial recognition searches in Utah, Vermont and Washington, three states that allow people without proof of citizenship or legal residence to legally obtain driver’s licenses.

As The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported, at least a dozen states and the District of Columbia allow people without proof of citizenship or legal residence to legally obtain driver’s licenses. According to the Post and the Government Accountability Office, some of those states are already cooperating with the federal government to grant access or negotiating plans to do so.

“The state has told [people without proof of citizenship or legal residence], has encouraged them, to submit that information,” Clare Garvie, Georgetown Law’s scenario associate leading the research said to the post. “To me, it’s an insane breach of trust to then turn around and allow ICE access to that.”

Both the Oregon House of Representatives and Senate approved HB2015 last month. Gov. Kate Brown intends to sign the bill into law, according to communications director Chris Pair. Brown wasn’t available for comment in reaction to the Post story.

Hernandez, the second-term legislator, said Oregon’s DMV database is not accessible in the same way as other states. “Photos can only be requested by law enforcement on a case by case basis (a specific request for a specific person’s photo) and not in mass,” he said in an email. “Nor can any outside agency access the database.”

Hernandez said his office plans to work closely with the DMV to oversee implementation of the new law, pending Brown’s final signature.

The bill eliminates language requiring potential drivers prove their legal residency to get a driver’s license. They must still pass all driver’s tests to get a license.

“We intend to address any concerns that may arise and work closely with agency leaders so that all Oregonians can be assured of a high degree of privacy,” he said.

Alvaro Bedoya, founding director of the Georgetown Law privacy center, said in an interview with NPR News on Monday that facial recognition was a “biased tool” that was also ineffective.

He cited studies that showed the software was ineffective in accurately identifying people of color, women and children based on pictures, calling it a “flawed algorithm.”

“In our view this is a huge scandal and a betrayal,” he said of the ICE and FBI efforts.

The FBI has said previously the driver’s license database scans were an investigative tool.

According to the Post, the FBI has previously its agents been the ones that make the final call on a person’ identity before arrests or criminal charges, saying facial recognition searches often offer initial leads.

ICE did not respond to to the Post’s specific questions about how it would use the facial recognition searches and subsequent data, saying “investigative techniques are generally considered law-enforcement sensitive.”

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen