In May 2022, a coalition of digital-rights, immigrant-rights and human-rights organizations asked Amazon Web Services (AWS) to end its reported agreement to host the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) database. The advocates argued that the biometric system could threaten privacy and civil rights. Their request was a campaign demand, not a finding that AWS collected the data or controlled DHS policy.
What happened in May 2022?
On May 24, 2022, organizations including Access Now, Immigration Defense Project and Just Futures Law sent a letter to AWS CEO Adam Selipsky. They asked AWS to end its HART hosting agreement and respond publicly. CyberScoop reported that AWS had not responded by the time of its report; that does not establish whether the company responded later or whether the agreement remains in place today. CyberScoop’s report
What is DHS’s HART database?
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) described HART as a centralized, department-wide biometric database planned to replace and expand the capabilities of DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT). DHS said the system would store and process biometric and related biographic information for national security, law enforcement, immigration and border management, intelligence, background investigations and associated administrative uses. GAO’s 2021 report on HART
In the 2022 account, AWS’s role was to host the system as a subcontractor. That is different from DHS owning the program and from other contractors building or operating its components. The reported hosting role does not mean AWS collected biometrics or made DHS’s decisions about how the database would be used.
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What data did advocates say HART could contain?
The coalition’s 2022 letter said DHS expected the initial database to include records on more than 270 million people, including 6.7 million iris scans and 1.1 billion face images. Those figures were projections cited in the letter and contemporaneous coverage—not a verified inventory of HART today. The coalition’s May 2022 letter
Why did advocates object?
The signatories argued that HART could create privacy, data-protection, discrimination, free-expression, assembly and association risks, particularly for immigrant communities and communities of color. They pointed to concerns about collection without meaningful consent; inaccurate or unsubstantiated records; how long information would be retained and whether it could be deleted; broad sharing with agencies and foreign governments; and the lack of accessible ways for people to challenge records. These were the coalition’s concerns about the program and DHS disclosures, not adjudicated findings that every risk had occurred.
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The letter also asked AWS whether it had conducted human-rights due diligence, what mitigation measures it would take and whether its contracts included human-rights obligations. Those questions show what the advocates sought from the company; they do not establish AWS’s practices or prove a violation.
The coalition characterized AWS’s hosting role as “directly facilitating” an invasive database that could intensify surveillance and deportation. Access Now’s U.S. policy and advocacy manager Jennifer Brody also argued that people could not know how the data might be used or repurposed. Both statements represent the advocates’ position, not independent technical findings. Coalition letter · CyberScoop interview and coverage
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What do oversight reports say about HART’s timeline?
HART’s schedule changed across successive government documents. A planned milestone is not proof that it was reached, and a status report applies to the date and scope it describes.
| Source and date | What it reported | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| GAO, June 2021 | DHS had deployed no HART segments as of GAO’s review. The total cost estimate was $4.3 billion; initial deployment was planned for December 2021, with later increments planned for 2022 and 2024. GAO report | The cost and dates are historical estimates and plans, not final cost or a current schedule. |
| GAO, September 2023 | The May 2022 baseline set September 30, 2023, as the planned date for initial operational capability. GAO said no full-program completion date had yet been planned. DHS officials said in April 2023 that another rebaseline was needed because of software defects and performance issues. GAO report | The date was a baseline target, not confirmation of operational capability. |
| DHS privacy assessment, August 2024 | DHS said HART was not yet operational and described development as Increment 1 plus future capabilities, rather than the previously expected four-increment approach. DHS privacy assessment | This is the latest explicit operational status in the sources available for this account. |
| DHS FY2025 budget overview | DHS planned initial operational capability in FY2025 and said HART would become the system of record at that milestone. DHS FY2025 budget overview | A budget plan does not confirm that the milestone occurred. |
Does AWS host the DHS biometric database now?
The 2022 campaign and contemporaneous reporting described AWS as the reported host through a subcontracting arrangement. The sources cited here do not establish whether AWS remains a provider, whether HART became operational after DHS’s August 2024 statement, whether the planned FY2025 milestone was achieved, or whether AWS later responded to the letter. Those points should not be treated as settled.
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