Inside ICE’s High-Tech Arsenal: How Surveillance Tools Track Suspects and Protesters
In recent years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ramped up its use of advanced surveillance technologies to locate and monitor undocumented immigrants—and, increasingly, citizens protesting immigration policies. This expansion comes as part of a broader push to enhance the agency’s enforcement capabilities, fueled by a 2025 congressional bill that transformed ICE into the most highly funded law enforcement agency in the United States.
As ICE agents deploy across states like Minnesota with new biometric trackers, cellphone location databases, spyware, drones, and other cutting-edge surveillance tools, concerns grow over privacy, civil liberties, and the boundaries of ICE’s authority.
Expanded Surveillance Following Increased Funding
After receiving a major funding boost last summer, ICE quickly invested in an array of high-tech equipment to bolster its enforcement operations. These technologies include biometric identification tools such as facial recognition apps and iris scanners, license plate readers, cellphone tracking devices known as Stingrays, as well as spyware and drones. The agency has also relaxed some previous restrictions on how it uses these systems.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—under whose umbrella ICE operates—the use of these advanced technologies is expanding to new areas and applications. In a recently released annual report, DHS confirmed ICE’s wider operational scope for facial recognition, artificial intelligence, and other surveillance techniques.
Notably, ICE has indicated plans to use these tools not only against suspected undocumented immigrants but also to monitor and investigate networks of anti-ICE protesters, which can include U.S. citizens. This move has alarmed Democratic lawmakers and civil rights organizations, who warn that such surveillance could infringe on constitutional rights such as privacy and free speech.
A DHS spokesperson told The Washington Post, “ICE’s use of innovative technologies in investigations is no different than other law enforcement agencies,” but declined to elaborate on specific methods citing “law enforcement sensitive” considerations.
Facial Recognition Technologies
One of ICE’s most visible and controversial tools is facial recognition technology. Over the past year, ICE agents have begun using a mobile app called Mobile Fortify, developed by Japanese tech firm NEC, which allows officers to quickly scan faces and fingerprints in the field and compare them to immigration databases in real time. In addition, ICE acquired an iris-scanning app by BI2 Technologies, capable of identifying individuals from up to 15 inches away within seconds.
While designed primarily to verify immigration status, these technologies are sometimes used on U.S. citizens. For example, Julio Garcia, a Minnesota resident, recounted how agents scanned his face and confirmed his citizenship before releasing him after being detained.
DHS asserts that Mobile Fortify operates under “formal privacy oversight” with “strict limits” on data collection and retention. The system is said to have a high threshold for matches and queries only limited datasets from Customs and Border Protection.
ICE’s use of Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition system that scrapes publicly available images from the internet, was previously restricted to investigations of child exploitation. However, a recent $3.75 million contract renewal suggests broader use, including investigations of assaults against law enforcement officers.
Clearview AI states its technology is an “after-the-fact research tool” designed to assist law enforcement investigations.
License Plate Readers and Vehicle Tracking
To track vehicles associated with targeted individuals or groups, ICE relies on license plate readers provided by companies like Motorola Solutions and database services such as Thomson Reuters, which maintains over 20 billion scans—including feeds from private surveillance cameras. These readers photograph passing cars, convert license plate numbers into data, and cross-reference it with vast databases to map vehicle locations over time.
For instance, this can help determine if a person regularly parks near a different address than their official residence, potentially signaling suspicious activity. While controversy over public access to some systems like Flock Safety license plate readers forced that company to pause a limited pilot with ICE, the agency continues to obtain similar data via cooperation with local police departments.
Cellphone Location Tracking with Stingrays
One of the most intrusive tools in ICE’s possession is the cell-site simulator or “Stingray.” This device mimics a cell tower, tricking nearby phones to connect, allowing ICE agents to pinpoint a phone’s location in real time. These simulators are often mounted on vehicles and can operate in two ways: either by specifically searching for a known phone number or by scanning all phones in the vicinity.
This technology provides ICE with powerful means of monitoring movements and gatherings, potentially including those of activists and protesters.
Implications and Concerns
The deployment of these surveillance tools marks a significant shift in ICE’s operational approach. While the agency is legally tasked with immigration enforcement, its expanded use of technology to monitor protest networks blurs the lines between immigration enforcement and political surveillance.
Civil liberties advocates emphasize that ICE’s growing technological power raises serious questions about accountability, oversight, and respect for constitutional protections. Privacy concerns are heightened by the potential for errors in facial recognition systems, especially with people of color, and the broad sweep of location tracking technologies.
As ICE continues to roll out this high-tech surveillance arsenal across the country, the debate intensifies over how to balance law enforcement objectives with fundamental rights in a democratic society.
By Eva Dou, Artur Galocha, and Kevin Schaul
The Washington Post
January 29, 2026
