TL;DR
A large 2025 budget for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is financing new contracts for phone spyware, location tracking, and social-media monitoring tools. Civil liberties groups and prior reports warn the purchases expand an already extensive surveillance apparatus with potential impacts beyond undocumented migrants.
What happened
Under a 2025 appropriation of $28.7 billion — described in the source as nearly triple ICE’s 2024 budget — the agency has moved to buy a range of surveillance technologies and signed multiple contracts in 2025. Publicly reported purchases include renewed and new agreements for phone-forensic vendors (Cellebrite and Magnet Forensics), commercial spyware (Paragon’s Graphite), location and social-media intelligence tools from Pen Link (Webloc and Tangles), and an AI-enabled social-media analysis product from Fivecast called ONYX. A 2022 Georgetown Law Center for Privacy and Technology report cited in the source documents ICE’s prior reach into driver license databases, utility records and large-scale tracking built from private-sector data. The source also notes ICE spent about $2.8 billion on surveillance programs from 2008–2021 and highlights tens of thousands of devices searched by customs and border authorities in 2025. Advocates and civil-liberty groups warn these acquisitions broaden a domestic surveillance footprint that can affect many categories of people, not only undocumented migrants.
Why it matters
- Budget scale enables rapid acquisition of invasive technologies that can map location, communications and social networks.
- Some tools gather data from commercial brokers or scrape public social media, potentially allowing access without traditional warrants.
- Capabilities like spyware and phone-forensics can extract encrypted messages and sensitive personal files, raising privacy and safety concerns.
- Surveillance systems purchased now can be repurposed over time and used against groups beyond initial targets, increasing long-term civil liberties risks.
Key facts
- ICE’s 2025 budget reported at $28.7 billion and an additional $56.25 billion over the following three years in the source.
- The source says that budget level would place ICE approximately 14th among world militaries by funding.
- Contracts reported in 2025 include $11 million for Cellebrite, $3 million for Magnet Forensics, and $2 million for Paragon (Graphite spyware).
- Pen Link tools Webloc and Tangles were acquired for about $5 million to provide location and social-media intelligence, per the source.
- Fivecast’s ONYX social-media and AI analysis tool is cited with a $4.2 million contract in the source.
- A Georgetown Law 2022 report cited in the source found ICE had scanned or had access to driver license data and could link location and utility records for large portions of the adult population.
- The source reports CBP searched 14,899 devices between April and June 2025, a high-water mark for device searches quoted in the piece.
- The source states ICE spent roughly $2.8 billion on surveillance, data collection and sharing programs from 2008–2021.
What to watch next
- Whether congressional or inspector-general oversight actions result in limits, audits, or disclosures about how purchased tools are used (not confirmed in the source).
- Legal challenges or policy changes around warrant standards for data obtained from brokers, social-media scraping, or commercial spyware (not confirmed in the source).
- Public reporting or transparency data showing how often and against whom these tools are deployed, and any demographic breakdowns (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement): A U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency responsible for enforcement of federal immigration laws and related criminal investigations.
- Spyware: Software designed to covertly access and exfiltrate data from devices, which can include messages, location, files, and microphone or camera recordings.
- Phone-forensics tools: Commercial products used by law enforcement to extract and analyze data from mobile devices; capabilities vary by tool and device model.
- Location data broker: A private company that aggregates and sells location information about devices and people, often collected from apps and other commercial sources.
- Open-source intelligence (OSINT): Information gathered from publicly available sources, including social media, news sites, forums and public records.
Reader FAQ
Is ICE buying spyware and phone-forensics software?
Yes. The source lists reported 2025 contracts including Cellebrite, Magnet Forensics, and the Paragon Graphite spyware.
Can these tools access encrypted messages?
According to the source, some systems and spyware referenced are capable of harvesting messages from encrypted chat apps and extracting broad phone data.
Who could be affected by this surveillance?
The source says ICE has targeted undocumented people as well as people on work permits, asylum seekers, permanent residents, naturalized citizens and birth citizens.
What can individuals do to reduce risk of phone surveillance?
The source recommends keeping phone software updated, using device protections (e.g., Lockdown Mode or Advanced Protection), using strong passwords, and powering devices off when feasible.
Are there federal safeguards limiting this spending or use?
not confirmed in the source
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a new budget under the current administration, and they are going on a surveillance tech shopping spree. Standing at $28.7 billion dollars for…
Sources
- ICE Is Going on a Surveillance Shopping Spree
- ICE's interest in high-tech gear raises new questions
- ICE windfall from Trump megabill fuels surveillance …
- ICE Uses a Growing Web of AI Services to Power Its …
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