Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is rapidly expanding its surveillance operations with funds from President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which granted the agency a $75 billion boost.
While the law was touted as a means to hire more agents and expand detention space, ICE has diverted a sizable portion toward biometric and digital monitoring technologies.
Surveillance technologies purchased by ICE in recent weeks include spyware that can hack into smartphones remotely and cellphone location software that can enable the tracking of a phone’s movements without a court warrant. https://t.co/KGTSbjLhCK pic.twitter.com/9FpMc6rtru
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 17, 2025
The agency has signed contracts with Clearview AI for facial recognition, BI² for iris scanning, and Penlink for real-time cellphone location tracking.
It also renewed a deal with Paragon Solutions, a spyware firm previously banned under the Biden administration, according to The Washington Post.
ICE windfall from Trump megabill fuels surveillance juggernaut https://t.co/acswn7Zd8d
— Axios (@axios) October 21, 2025
Civil liberties groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation warn the technology could enable the surveillance of U.S. citizens, not just undocumented migrants.
Lawmakers, including Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), have voiced concern over ICE’s opaque spending and its growing reach into domestic data collection networks.
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TIPP Staff
