An investigation by industry watchdog Tech Inquiry has revealed that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency paid $224,000 to Clearview AI for licenses to biometric facial recognition services on August 12, 2020. Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That confirmed the contract, though says it is with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in an email to The Verge, saying the technology is used by ICE's "Child Exploitation Unit and ongoing criminal investigations. Ton-That claims the company's technology has enabled the unit to rescue children from sexual abuse. The contracting office named in a document obtained by Tech Inquiry is "DHS: ICE; mission support dallas [sic]." Federal records indicate Clearview entered into a $50,000 contract with the U.S. Air Force last December.