Remote Immigration Reporting via Facial Comparison Technology

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has developed a voluntary smartphone app called ReportIn (supported by the Client Reporting and Engagement System, or CRES) to allow foreign nationals and permanent residents subject to immigration enforcement conditions to report to the CBSA remotely, instead of attending a CBSA office in person. When an individual reports through the app, they submit five facial photos from different angles and their GPS location. Amazon Rekognition software then compares these photos to a reference photo taken at enrollment and generates a similarity score indicating whether the person reporting is the same person subject to reporting conditions.

The system is designed as an alternative to detention and in-person reporting, making it easier for people to comply with their conditions regardless of geographic distance, employment obligations, or childcare responsibilities. All reports undergo 100% human review by a trained CBSA officer (ATD Monitoring Centre Officer), who makes the final match or no-match decision. If a case cannot be resolved at that level, it is escalated through two additional review levels before any enforcement action is considered.

The public should know that this system uses facial biometric data, which is sensitive personal information. Participation is voluntary and requires individual consent. Data is stored on Canadian cloud servers (AWS Government Cloud in Canada) and is subject to a Privacy Impact Assessment. A third-party bias evaluation (by Credo AI on behalf of Amazon) found a 99.9% facial match rate across six demographic groups. Individuals have the right to contest decisions and will be given the opportunity to provide information or evidence during any follow-up investigation.