ICE (the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is now investing in new surveillance tools that cost millions of dollars, Politico reported. They are also signing deals with hacking giants and surveillance experts to get to immigrants.
Meanwhile, some reports claim Donald Trump has allegedly ensured the department has access to civilian data by compromising their privacy. This also works in favor of the massive immigrant crackdown he promised when he took office as the president of the US for the second time.
So far, they have spent $300 million on new technologies, including facial recognition, license plate readers, and social media monitoring tools. These tools help them identify not just immigrants but also citizens who are anti-ICE and are protesting against them.
Increasing ICE’s access to the residents’ data, along with these advanced surveillance technologies, may lead to even more deportations in the coming months. However, this has created more fear among Americans due to a lack of privacy and legal ways to protect themselves.
WaPo: ICE has been rapidly signing spyware contracts in recent weeks, including for iris scanning software, drones to film protests, and cellphone hacking technology. There’s a $30 million contract for Palantir.
They refuse to rule out using this tech on anti-fascist activists. pic.twitter.com/CzU8r44X0T
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) October 17, 2025
With new technology, ICE can easily track individuals’ locations and conduct iris scans. Their social media monitoring has become more efficient through the use of AI.
In addition, they are using the same technology employed by bounty hunters and debt collectors, tools designed to locate people who have changed their identities in some way.
The department allegedly gave out two contracts for skip-tracing in October for a total amount of $8 million. The department has also spent $3.8 million on facial recognition tech from Clearview AI. They have a huge database of more than 30 billion images.
Sharon Bradford Franklin, who was on an independent board to keep a check on the increasing surveillance, said, “It’s very troubling, especially when you pair the ramp-up of these capabilities and the increasing exercises of these capabilities with the undermining of independent oversight.”
For years, ICE has used the latest surveillance technology to target immigrants. Now, it’s using this technology to target anti-ICE protesters. pic.twitter.com/JwSk5gTfmO
— Brennan Center (@BrennanCenter) December 20, 2025
Many have argued that facial recognition and surveillance tools are unconstitutional because they infringe on citizens’ fundamental right to privacy. To deal with this, states such as New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Minnesota have moved to block ICE from accessing vehicle records.
These states justified their decisions by stating that such access would give agents “unjustified” entry to DMV records. Republicans have been supportive of the new tech as long as it’s “constitutional,” while Democrats are speaking against it.
The upgrade in tech signals that they will be even more serious when it comes to finding immigrants. It’s also a measure to combat the increasing violence that ICE agents are facing in their job.
Republicans have expressed support for the new technology as long as it remains “constitutional,” while Democrats have spoken out against it.
The technological upgrades signal that ICE will take immigrant enforcement even more seriously. At the same time, the changes are presented as a measure to address the increasing violence that ICE agents facing at work.
