Related videos:
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has invested over $1.4 billion in contracts with technology companies to enhance its surveillance capabilities, including systems for facial recognition, social media monitoring, and software for hacking mobile phones.
According to official reports and sources consulted by NBC News and Telemundo, the agency has deployed tools capable of tracking individuals through mobile devices and tablets, as well as analyzing large volumes of online data to identify potential targets for detention or investigation.
Among the contracted companies is BI2 Technology, specializing in biometric scanning. ICE paid them $4.6 million for technology capable of remotely scanning people's irises and cross-referencing that information with national and international databases.
Other companies involved include providers of social media analytics software and communication interception tools such as Palantir, which, according to internal sources, "enhance ICE's ability to locate and apprehend suspicious individuals in real time."
The agency has justified these investments as part of its strategy to "protect national security and combat transnational criminal networks." However, critics are raising concerns about the risk of political abuse and violations of privacy.
The constitutional lawyer Joseph Malouf, analyst for Telemundo, warned that this technological expansion could lead to political persecutions without judicial oversight.
“It is very dangerous to have technology in the hands of a government that does not control its authority or the limits of its authority. The risk is that they can investigate and pursue political enemies without legal justification”, stated Malouf.
According to documents leaked to the press, ICE officials admitted that some tools could also be used to investigate "individuals and groups opposed to government policies," even if they are U.S. citizens.
Concern is growing among civil organizations, who fear that ICE is exceeding its immigration mandate and using its surveillance infrastructure to monitor activists, journalists, and political opponents.
"Assuming that anti-fascist individuals or government critics are terrorists is a direct violation of the Constitution," warned Malouf.
In recent years, ICE has faced criticism for its growing reliance on mass tracking technologies, including smart cameras, biometric databases shared with the FBI, and social media monitoring systems developed by private companies.
The entity is already using drones to monitor protests.
Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch have called for a moratorium on the use of facial recognition by federal agencies, arguing that the lack of transparency and oversight could lead to systemic violations of civil rights.
"We are facing an unprecedented form of surveillance. If the government can identify, track, and scan individuals without a judicial order, the concept of privacy disappears," stated a spokesperson for the ACLU.
For now, ICE has not publicly commented on the details of its new technological contracts nor clarified whether the systems will be applied only to foreigners without immigration status or also to U.S. citizens.
Filed under: