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ICE Expands Surveillance Capabilities, Acquiring Advanced Technologies and Prompting Privacy Concerns

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ICE Expands Surveillance with Advanced Technologies, Drawing Civil Liberties Concerns

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly expanded its surveillance capabilities by acquiring and deploying advanced technologies. This includes mobile facial recognition applications, sophisticated location data software, iris scanners, and spyware. These tools serve various purposes, from identifying individuals in the field and monitoring immigration status to disrupting fentanyl trafficking and foreign terrorist organizations. This expansion has ignited scrutiny from civil liberties organizations, privacy advocates, and some Democratic members of Congress, who raise serious concerns about potential impacts on privacy, civil liberties, and constitutional rights.

ICE, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), states that law enforcement has historically leveraged technological innovation to combat crime while asserting respect for civil liberties and privacy interests. DHS maintains that any technology utilized adheres to established requirements and oversight frameworks.

This growth aligns with prior administrative efforts to aggregate Americans' personal data and increase its accessibility to ICE.

Key Technologies and Tools Employed by ICE

ICE's expanded technological toolkit encompasses a range of cutting-edge surveillance instruments:

  • Mobile Facial Recognition Applications:

    • Mobile Fortify is a primary application used by federal agents to identify individuals and determine immigration status in the field. It queries Customs and Border Protection (CBP) databases, including entry/exit photos, to provide biographical data and "Possible Overstay Status." Notably, the app stores photos for 15 years, regardless of a match, and individuals cannot decline being photographed. DHS defends its accuracy and confirms it does not access open-source material or scrape social media.
    • Mobile Identify is another app made available by CBP on Google's app store for deputized state and local law enforcement.
    • CBP has also contracted with Clearview AI, a facial recognition company known for utilizing images scraped from the internet.

  • Location Tracking Software:

    • ICE utilizes Automatic License Plate Readers, gaining access to extensive vehicle movement data. The agency spent $5 million on a Thomson Reuters subscription for license plate reader data. Agents can also access Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) data by running license plates and obtain data from brokers like Thomson Reuters or LexisNexis if state access is restricted.
    • The agency also employs tools specifically for tracking cell phone location data.
    • An application named ELITE, developed by Palantir, functions like a mapping service. It displays locations of individuals identified as potentially deportable and assesses the likelihood of their residence there. This app draws data from DHS systems and other agencies, including Medicaid records.
    • Newly licensed software provides access to "vast amounts of location-based data."

  • Spyware:

    • ICE reactivated a contract with Paragon Solutions, an Israeli company known for developing spyware. Its tool, Graphite, is capable of remotely monitoring a phone, including intercepting encrypted messages, without user interaction.
    • Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons confirmed in an April 1 letter that ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is employing these spyware tools to disrupt fentanyl traffickers and foreign terrorist organizations. This followed an inquiry from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Graphite has reportedly been used in Europe to target journalists and civil society members.

  • Biometric Data Collection:

    • DHS published a proposed rule to broaden its authority to collect biometric data from noncitizens and their U.S. citizen relatives during immigration status adjustment applications. The proposed data collection includes facial images, iris scans, finger and palm prints, voice prints, and DNA. A public comment period for this rule was open until early January.

  • Social Media Monitoring:

    • ICE is enhancing its social media surveillance efforts through new AI-driven software contracts. It has considered deploying 24/7 contractor teams to analyze online platforms and databases for user information.
    • The administration has utilized administrative subpoenas to demand personal information from tech companies to unmask anonymous accounts, citing "Officer Safety/Doxing."

Reported Incidents and Public Interactions

Individuals observing ICE operations and those targeted for deportation have reported various concerning encounters:

  • Observer Encounters:

    • In Minneapolis, an observer named Emily reported an ICE agent identifying her by name and reciting her home address.
    • In Portland, Maine, Colleen Fagan stated agents photographed her face and license plate, with an agent reportedly telling her they possessed a "nice little database" and that she was "considered a domestic terrorist." Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons denied the existence of a protester database at a congressional hearing.
    • Photojournalist Olga Fedorova in Minneapolis described witnessing agents scan individuals' faces with phones, noting that those scanned often appeared Hispanic.

  • Targeted Individuals:

    • Immigration lawyers reported clients being subjected to facial recognition technology. Some clients were detained after Mobile Fortify failed to identify them.
    • An ICE agent testified under oath about an application that identifies likely home addresses of individuals targeted for deportation.

  • Youth Encounter:

    • A video posted on TikTok in Aurora, Illinois, appeared to show masked Border Patrol agents approaching two young individuals on bicycles, questioning their citizenship and requesting identification. One individual, identifying as a 16-year-old U.S. citizen without an ID, was reportedly subjected to a facial scan by an officer using a cell phone.

  • Social Media-Related Actions:

    • Two individuals reported their Global Entry status being revoked after making posts critical of ICE.
    • Sherman Austin, who manages an Instagram account critical of ICE, received a subpoena from Meta (Facebook/Instagram parent company) for his account data after identifying an ICE agent using publicly available information. Austin and another anonymous user challenged these subpoenas in federal court, leading DHS to withdraw them.

Legal and Privacy Concerns Intensify

The expansion of these surveillance capabilities has led to significant concerns and legal actions:

  • Civil Liberties Organizations:

    • The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed lawsuits in Minnesota and Maine, alleging agents violated the First Amendment rights of protesters and observers. The ACLU emphasizes that the ability to criticize the government anonymously is a fundamental First Amendment right.

  • Congressional Scrutiny:

    • Over 70 Democratic members of Congress requested an investigation into ICE's warrant-less use of cell phone location data.
    • Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and other senators have urged ICE to cease using a mobile facial recognition app and sought answers regarding its development, legal basis, inclusion of U.S. citizens in databases, and use on minors or protesters.

  • Privacy Advocates:

    • Organizations like the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) state that these tools pose a severe threat to privacy and constitutional rights. They attribute this to what they describe as an insufficient regulatory framework and oversight.
    • These groups suggest such tools contribute to a "massive surveillance apparatus" and that spyware constitutes "extremely dangerous surveillance tech that really goes against our Fourth Amendment protections."
    • David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, described the ability for agents to instantly identify individuals in public spaces as a "big leap" that could diminish anonymity and potentially deter participation in public protests.

  • Data Aggregation and Legality:

    • Immigration attorney Stephen Manning suggested that technology aggregating data from various sources could bypass Fourth Amendment protections that would typically require a warrant.
    • A federal judge previously found an agreement between the IRS and ICE to violate federal tax law by disclosing address information to ICE.
    • DHS declined to comment on agents knowing observers' personal information, stating it would not reveal law enforcement methods.

Context and Scope of DHS Surveillance

Studies by Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology indicated that by 2022, ICE could locate three out of four American adults via utility records and had scanned one in three Americans' driver's license photos. The Department of Homeland Security has consistently expanded its surveillance capabilities since its establishment following 9/11, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.