Australia is preparing to hand over its citizens' biometric data and identity documents to Donald Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising serious questions about privacy and sovereignty.

The data-sharing arrangement, first reported by Crikey, would give ICE access to sensitive Australian identity information including fingerprints, facial recognition data, and official documents.

Mate, there's a whole continent and a thousand islands down here. And now the government wants to hand our biometric data to an administration that's openly hostile to migrants and doesn't exactly have a stellar track record on civil liberties.

The arrangement appears to stem from discussions between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Trump at the White House in October 2025. What's unclear is whether Parliament approved this data-sharing deal, or whether it was done through executive arrangements that bypass democratic scrutiny.

Privacy advocates are sounding alarms. Once biometric data leaves Australian servers, there's no guarantee how it will be used or who else might access it. ICE operates under U.S. law, not Australian privacy protections.

The timing is particularly concerning. Trump's second administration has promised mass deportations and aggressive immigration enforcement. Giving ICE access to Australian biometric databases means our citizens' data could be swept up in American immigration dragnets.

What safeguards exist? What oversight mechanisms prevent misuse? Can Australians opt out? These questions remain unanswered.

This isn't just about privacy - it's about sovereignty. When a government hands over citizens' most sensitive data to a foreign power, especially one as unpredictable as Trump's United States, it raises fundamental questions about whose interests are being served.