According to a report by “Newsweek,” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is investing millions of dollars to purchase new tools to advance its policy of mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
Another report by “Politico” magazine states that ICE is currently using over $300 million in federal funding to develop new technologies for immigration enforcement actions, including social media screening, facial recognition, license plate recognition, and location tracking.
These technologies are expected to play a core role in ICE’s immigration enforcement process.
Federal contract records show that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded over $139 million to Palantir Technologies for the development of the Investigative Case Management system for ICE. This system is a law enforcement platform used to track immigration cases.
The contract, effective as of September 2022, is scheduled to run at least until April 2026, covering operations, maintenance, and software enhancement customization. If all options are exercised, the total contract value could reach approximately $159 million.
Other federal records show that DHS has awarded a $3.75 million contract to Clearview AI for the development of facial recognition software to support the work of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the contract taking effect in September 2025.
Federal expenditure data indicates that the contract is for one year (with the option to renew until 2027) and has a potential value exceeding $9.2 million, primarily funded by ICE immigration user fees and operational accounts.
DHS informed “Newsweek” that “DHS does not engage in discussions regarding specific suppliers or operational tools, but any technology used by DHS departments must comply with DHS policies, privacy requirements, and oversight frameworks, and any requests for DHS records must be submitted through official DHS channels for access.”
Multiple media reports suggest that ICE is deploying and expanding the use of mobile biometric identification applications, which help immigration enforcement officers collect fingerprints and facial images on-site. For example, the agency’s Mobile Fortify application and other tools can access government databases to instantly identify individuals encountered by ICE in public places.
Currently, under President Trump’s executive orders on immigration enforcement and fraud prevention, ICE has signed extensive data-sharing agreements with various federal agencies including the Social Security Administration (SSA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Under the agreement with SSA, ICE can request up to 50,000 records per month, including addresses, banking data, and contact information. According to the agreement with the IRS, ICE requested over a million records within four months of the agreement taking effect.
Critics argue that this move may undermine privacy protections for U.S. residents, potentially extending beyond immigration enforcement to affect American citizens and legal residents.
Jay Stanley, a policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), mentioned, “Facial recognition is a mass surveillance technology that law enforcement agencies have been expanding for the past 20 years, constantly facing criticism for infringing on privacy, being inaccurate, unreliable, and disregarding racial differences.”
(This article referenced reports from “Newsweek.”)