The Expanding Surveillance State: ICE's Growing Arsenal of Spyware and Biometric Tools
ICE has confirmed the use of commercial spyware while expanding its acquisition of facial recognition, iris scanners, and location tracking technologies — all amid ongoing legal battles over privacy and civil liberties.
Spyware Use and Contract Status
Agency Confirmation
In an April 1 letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons confirmed that the agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division has been approved to use commercial spyware tools. The letter stated that the tools are intended for operations targeting foreign terrorist organizations and fentanyl traffickers.
Contract with Paragon Solutions
ICE entered into a contract with Paragon Solutions, an Israeli-founded spyware company, in 2024 for its Graphite spyware tool. The contract was valued at approximately $2 million. The Biden administration paused the contract for a compliance review related to a 2023 executive order. The Trump administration reinstated the contract in August 2025. Federal procurement records show the contract was closed on January 20, 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated it has no current contract or relationship with Paragon Solutions, Inc. or its acquirer. Paragon Solutions was acquired by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners in late 2024 and merged with REDLattice. DHS declined to clarify whether ICE retains access to Paragon's tools through third-party arrangements.
NSO Group Status
NSO Group, manufacturer of the Pegasus spyware, remains on the Commerce Department's Entity List. The company has hired David Friedman, a former ally of President Trump, as chairman and has spent nearly $8 million on lobbying since 2020. The Trump administration lifted sanctions on three individuals affiliated with Intellexa, maker of the Predator spyware.
Facial Recognition and Biometric Technologies
Mobile Task Force App
DHS has outlined plans for a mobile application called the ICE Task Force Module, as described in a DHS Privacy Threshold Analysis. The app allows local police officers participating in the 287(g) Task Force Model to scan the faces of individuals encountered during routine duties. The scan is compared against over 250 million government records, including State Department visa records and TSA's Traveler Verification Service.
After scanning, the app provides instructions to officers either "not to detain or arrest" or to contact ICE for further information. Photos captured by the app are stored in an internal DHS system for 15 years. The document acknowledges that a photo taken by a local officer could be of a U.S. citizen.
The DHS document indicates the app launched in September 2024. The app is similar to existing tools such as Mobile Fortify, which is used by ICE and CBP. CBP has also made an app called Mobile Identify available on Google's app store for deputized law enforcement.
Iris Scanning Contract
DHS awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to BI2 Technologies for more than 1,500 iris scanners, along with access to the company's mobile app and database. DHS stated the technology is used to identify individuals during immigration enforcement and removal operations. BI2 Technologies has provided iris scanners to law enforcement for two decades.
Field Incidents
A video posted on TikTok in Aurora, Illinois, appeared to show masked Border Patrol agents approaching two individuals on bicycles, questioning their citizenship, and requesting identification. One individual, who identified himself 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. The specific app used was not identified.
Information Collection on Observers and Protesters
Portland, Maine Incident
In January 2025, federal immigration agents conducted an operation in Portland, Maine. Xenia Pantos stopped to observe the operation. She later received a call from a DHS official who warned that observers were being added to a domestic terrorist watch list. DHS has repeatedly denied maintaining a database of protesters.
Agency Letter to Congress
In an April 21 letter to Congress, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons acknowledged that ICE collects information, including biographic and biometric data, on individuals suspected of potential violations of law, interference with operations, or officer safety concerns, even if those individuals are not arrested. The letter stated that ICE does not maintain a database of protesters or a standalone database for encountered individuals not arrested, but that information collected is kept as official government records.
Observer Reports
Observers in states including Maine, Minnesota, and Tennessee reported that agents photographed them, recorded license plates, and later identified them. Some had their Global Entry status revoked. In Minneapolis, an observer reported that an ICE agent identified her by name and recited her home address after she followed an ICE vehicle.
2020 Polling Site Incident
On November 3, 2020, Paigelynne Gonyea was working as a poll worker at the Central Library in Syracuse, New York. Two individuals with ICE badges entered the library to speak with her regarding an Instagram post she had made about ICE agent Jonathan Ross. The agents presented a document from ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility stating the post may have violated federal law. Gonyea did not sign the document or delete any posts. Kevin Ryan, the local Republican county election commissioner, confirmed the agents were present.
Subpoenas for Social Media Accounts
Sherman Austin, who manages an Instagram account critical of ICE, received a subpoena from Meta for his account data after identifying an ICE agent using publicly available information. The subpoena cited "Officer Safety/Doxing." Austin and another anonymous user challenged the subpoenas in federal court, leading DHS to withdraw them. A federal judge found an IRS data-sharing agreement with ICE to violate federal tax law by disclosing address information.
Surveillance Infrastructure and Data Sources
Agency Statements
DHS has stated that its methods abide by the Constitution and Fourth Amendment. A DHS spokesperson stated that ICE officers use iris recognition technology to accurately identify individuals during immigration enforcement and removal operations. DHS has said that any technology utilized by its components must adhere to established requirements and oversight frameworks.
Data Aggregation
A 2022 report by Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology indicated that ICE could locate three out of four U.S. adults via utility records and had scanned one-third of adult Americans' driver's license photos. ICE spent $5 million on a subscription to Thomson Reuters for license plate reader data. The agency also employs tools for tracking cell phone location data.
Proposed Rule
DHS has published a proposed rule that would broaden the agency's authority to collect biometric data from noncitizens and their U.S. citizen relatives during immigration status adjustment applications, including green cards and citizenship applications. The proposed data collection includes facial images, iris scans, finger and palm prints, voice prints, and DNA. A public comment period is open.
Congressional and Legal Responses
Representative Summer Lee and other lawmakers have requested information on ICE's spyware use. Representative Maxwell Frost and 11 other Democrats requested information on data collection practices. More than 70 Democratic members of Congress requested an investigation into warrant-less cell phone location tracking.
The ACLU has filed lawsuits in Minnesota and Maine alleging First Amendment violations by federal agents. Government attorneys have denied constitutional violations. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is suing for records regarding the existence of a protester database.
Congressional Hearing Testimony
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin acknowledged at a congressional hearing that the agency has used facial recognition on protesters. An ICE agent, testifying under oath, described an app called ELITE, developed by Palantir, which shows locations of potentially deportable individuals and the likelihood of their residence there, drawing from DHS systems and data from other agencies.