ICE Approves $300M in New Surveillance Tech to Track Undocumented Migrants, Records
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expanding its arsenal of surveillance technology to track undocumented immigrants, spending hundreds of millions on new digital tools amid a push for increased deportations. Federal records reviewed by Newsweek and Politico show the agency is ramping up contracts for monitoring systems that could transform how ICE locates people subject to removal.
The technology increase raises fresh conflict between enforcement goals and civil liberties advocates who warn the tools may extend far beyond migrant populations. Critics say the lack of clear guardrails could bring broader domestic surveillance concerns to U.S. citizens and residents.
Confirmed figures in the records show more than $300 million slated for social-media monitoring, facial recognition, license-plate readers and detailed location-tracking services, originally budgeted in part under the previous administration.
Independent reporting also shows ICE and the Department of Homeland Security acquiring mobile biometric apps that let agents identify individuals in the field by pointing a phone at them, and reviving previously frozen contracts for technology with expansive data access.
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“Americans have a right to walk through public spaces without being surveilled,” said Democratic Sen. Edward Markey on the use of mobile facial recognition tech, highlighting privacy concerns.
The issue matters because surveillance infrastructure built for immigration enforcement could set precedents for broader government tracking of civilians, especially given weak federal privacy protections.
Lawmakers are now pressing for more transparency and oversight as the technology is deployed.
What happens next could shape how far federal agencies are allowed to use automated tracking tools in domestic contexts.
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