Facial recognition and gang database systems raise civil rights concerns under new mayor’s watch
The New York Police Department’s extensive surveillance infrastructureincluding facial recognition technology, gang databases, and the controversial Domain Awareness Systemcontinues to target communities of color and immigrant neighborhoods as Mayor Zohran Mamdani considers whether to fulfill his campaign promise to eliminate the gang database. Civil rights organizations are pressing the new administration to take action on surveillance systems that they argue violate constitutional protections and facilitate immigration enforcement.
The Domain Awareness System and Mass Surveillance
The NYPD’s Domain Awareness System (DAS) represents one of the nation’s most comprehensive municipal surveillance infrastructures, merging tens of thousands of cameras, microphones, license plate readers, facial recognition tools, drones, and biometric databases. Amnesty International has characterized the facial recognition component as “digital stop and frisk,” arguing that the technology replicates the harms of the unconstitutional policing practice through algorithmic means. The system collects and integrates data from multiple sources including public records, social media surveillance, and information shared by federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Surveillance Targets and Accuracy Concerns
The DAS has been used to disproportionately target Muslim Americans and communities of color, according to civil rights advocates and independent researchers. In October 2025, two New Yorkers filed a federal lawsuit challenging the DAS as unconstitutional mass surveillance violating First and Fourth Amendment protections. The plaintiffs alleged that the system’s cameras peer directly into their homes and that the indiscriminate data collection constitutes unreasonable search. They also alleged that data sharing with ICE creates risk of immigration enforcement based on surveillance data. For detailed analysis of surveillance technology and constitutional rights, see the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which provides resources on digital rights and surveillance accountability.
The Gang Database Targeting Immigrants and Communities of Color
The NYPD gang database has been characterized by critics as a tool for systematic harassment of young people in communities of color and immigrant communities. The database lacks transparent criteria for inclusion, and individuals can remain on it for years without clear recourse for removal. Civil rights organizations including Brooklyn Defender Services have documented cases where gang designation has been used to justify stops, arrest, and prosecution. More troublingly, the database is sometimes shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, turning police records into deportation weapons.
Mamdani’s Campaign Promise on Gang Database
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani explicitly called for elimination of the gang database, positioning it as part of broader police accountability and criminal justice reform agenda. He argued that the database perpetuates discriminatory policing and criminalizes entire communities based on geography and race. Civil rights advocates who supported his campaign viewed the gang database elimination as a signature reform that would demonstrate the new administration’s commitment to community protection. However, weeks into his administration, Mamdani has made no public statements about the gang database or concrete steps toward its elimination.
The Brooklyn Defender Services Perspective
Brooklyn Defender Services has led advocacy for gang database accountability and published detailed reports documenting the system’s harms. The organization points to the database as a fundamental threat to sanctuary city status and community trust in police. “If the NYPD gang database continues to facilitate immigration enforcement through data sharing with ICE, New York City cannot claim to be a sanctuary city,” the organization has stated. The argument reflects concerns that elimination of the gang database is necessary, not just as criminal justice reform, but as core infrastructure protecting immigrant communities. For more on the intersection of police practices and immigration enforcement, see the Brooklyn Defender Services and their work documenting gang database harms.
Facial Recognition and Biometric Surveillance
The NYPD’s facial recognition technology has expanded dramatically in recent years, with the system being trained on millions of images from driver’s licenses, passport photos, and other government sources. Studies indicate that facial recognition technology demonstrates higher error rates when applied to people of color, raising concerns about discriminatory application. The NYPD has used facial recognition to identify protest participants and has shared results with other law enforcement agencies. Civil liberties organizations including the New York Civil Liberties Union have called for moratorium on facial recognition technology pending comprehensive regulation.
Mamdani’s Silence on Special Response Group
During his campaign, Mamdani also called for elimination of the NYPD’s Special Response Group (SRG), a plainclothes unit that the ACLU describes as one of the department’s “most dangerous units.” The SRG was implicated in excessive use of force against Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 and was subject to court restrictions on how it handles First Amendment activities. Yet like the gang database, Mamdani has made no public statements about the SRG since taking office, raising questions about whether he intends to pursue the elimination he promised.
Immigration Implications and Sanctuary City Status
Immigrant rights advocates stress that police surveillance systems and gang databases directly undermine sanctuary city protections. If NYPD surveillance data flows to ICE, sanctuary policies lose meaning. Mayor Mamdani has appointed Faiza Ali as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs specifically to defend the city’s sanctuary status against Trump administration threats. Yet sanctuary defense becomes difficult if surveillance systems provide ICE with information that facilitates deportations. The connection between police surveillance reform and immigrant protection creates urgency for Mamdani to act on campaign promises about surveillance accountability.
The Path Forward on Surveillance Accountability
Civil rights organizations have presented detailed proposals for surveillance reform including elimination of facial recognition technology, dismantling the gang database, scaling back the Domain Awareness System, and restricting data sharing with federal immigration enforcement. Some proposals would transfer surveillance oversight to an independent civilian board with authority to restrict deployment of certain technologies. Others call for complete elimination of certain systems, particularly those used for immigration enforcement. Whether Mayor Mamdani will translate his campaign rhetoric about police accountability into concrete action on surveillance systems remains an open question weeks into his administration.
