Why It Matters
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is lobbying to support S. 3779, the ICE Out of Our Faces Act, which would ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from using facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies and require deletion of all previously collected biometric data within 30 days of enactment. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is the only organization listed in the Legis1 bill record for S. 3779, the ICE Out of Our Faces Act.
By the Numbers
The third-quarter 2026 report from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights lists a filing amount of $270,000. That is up $50,000 from the in-house second-quarter 2026 report of $220,000. Year over year, in-house spending is down $260,000 from the $530,000 reported in the third-quarter 2025 report. Outside firm NVG LLC filed a separate third-quarter 2026 report for the same client, listing $60,000, bringing the combined client total to $330,000 this quarter.
Four lobbyists are named on the in-house filing:
- Rahul S. Randhava, who served as a legislative assistant to Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA-4) in 2000
- Jonathan Walter, senior policy counsel, who has prior government experience
- Meeta Anand, senior director, Census and Data Equity
- Maya Wiley, president and CEO
Broader Context
Frank Torres III, who appeared on the second-quarter 2026 in-house filing, is not listed on this quarter's report. S. 3779 was introduced Feb. 4, by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; the House companion, H.R. 7363, sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7), remains in committee. The Electronic Frontier Foundation publicly supports S. 3779, and cosponsors include Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
The filing also lists support for the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act by title, without a bill number. On Sept. 25, Sens. Markey (D-MA) and Merkley (D-OR) and Reps. Jayapal (D-WA-7), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7) announced the bill's reintroduction, with cosponsors including Sens. Wyden (D-OR) and Warren (D-MA) and several House members. Sponsors argue the technology disproportionately exposes Black and Brown communities to misidentification, citing research that Black, Brown, and Asian people are up to 100 times more likely than white men to be misidentified, and that nearly half of U.S. adults' faces are already in facial-recognition databases. A broad coalition backs the moratorium bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Fight for the Future, Color of Change, Access Now, and UnidosUS.
In May 2026, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) opposed H.R. 2853, a bill that she said would give the Department of Homeland Security sweeping new power to collect, analyze, and share Americans' personal data; her press release listed the Leadership Conference among the organizations opposing it.
H.R. 9125, the Sectoral AI Governance Act of 2026, was introduced June 3, 2026, by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), and its most recent action is its referral to the Committee on the Judiciary and, in addition, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. S. 4143 would extend federal minimum wage and labor protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act to incarcerated workers in government-run and privately operated facilities.
The Bottom Line
Both the Senate and House versions of the ICE Out of Our Faces Act have been referred to committee, with the House bill listed as "In Committee," and the in-house filing names one fewer lobbyist than the second-quarter report because Frank Torres III no longer appears.
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