ICE expands surveillance tech for mass deportations

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has intensified its deportation efforts, with data showing that ICE and Customs and Border Protection have deported at least 350,000 people in one year. This campaign has involved ICE raiding homes, workplaces, and public parks in search of undocumented people across the United States. To support these operations, the agency is relying on a growing suite of surveillance technologies.

The agency’s tech stack spans several specialized tools, supported by contracts totaling millions of dollars:

• Cell-site simulators: ICE has signed contracts for more than $1.5 million with TechOps Specialty Vehicles (TOSV) to provide customized vans. A contract dated May 8, 2025, worth more than $800,000, specifies that TOSV will provide vehicles to support the program. TOSV president Jon Brianas stated that the company integrates the simulators into the overall design of the vehicle rather than manufacturing them. These simulators, also known as IMSI catchers, mimic cell towers but gather the data of many innocent people. In a 2019 Baltimore court case, prosecutors were instructed to drop cases rather than disclose their use.
• Facial recognition: In September 2024, ICE signed a $3.75 million contract with Clearview AI. The agency also purchased forensic software for $1.1 million and paid nearly $800,000 for facial recognition licenses.
• Spyware: Paragon Solutions has reactivated its contract with ICE. The $2 million contract was signed in September 2024 and later reactivated. Paragon, a spyware maker that faced scrutiny in Italy, was acquired by private equity firm AE Industrial.
• Phone hacking: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE’s law enforcement arm, signed a $3 million contract with Magnet Forensics, which merged with Graykey maker Grayshift in 2023, to acquire phone-unlocking software.
• Location data: ICE spent $5 million on Penlink tools to search historical cellphone location data and open-source intelligence.
• License plate readers: ICE tracks vehicles using automated license plate readers (ALPRs) from local agencies contracting with Flock Safety, which operates over 40,000 scanners in the U.S.
• Data analytics: ICE paid $4.7 million this year to LexisNexis. In 2022, FOIA documents showed ICE performed more than 1.2 million searches over seven months using its tool. ICE also has an $18.5 million contract from September 2024 with Palantir for its Investigative Case Management system, building on a $95.9 million deal from 2022, and a $30 million contract for ImmigrationOS.

These practices have drawn legal scrutiny. Legal experts warn that forcibly entering homes to arrest people without a judicial warrant violates the Fourth Amendment, the U.S. Constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Critics also argue that tools like LexisNexis enabled ‘mass surveillance’. In response, LexisNexis spokesperson Jennifer Richman stated that the company has provided data and analytics solutions for decades across several administrations, adding, “Our commitment is to support the responsible and ethical use of data, in full compliance with laws and regulations, and for the protection of all residents of the United States”

Why it matters

ICE is relying on a suite of surveillance technologies, including cell-site simulators, facial recognition, and data analytics, to support mass deportation efforts, raising significant legal and ethical concerns regarding privacy and Fourth Amendment protections.