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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is pitching a bold new plan that feels like it came straight out of a dystopian novel—except it’s real, and it’s happening soon.
ICE is looking to build a round-the-clock social media surveillance team. According to federal documents, they want to hire nearly 30 private contractors to monitor platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and even lesser-known sites across the globe. The aim? To identify targets for deportation raids and arrests.
Where this is happening
This operation will be based out of two ICE targeting centers in the U.S.:
- Williston, Vermont (National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center) – focused on cases from the eastern U.S.
- Santa Ana, California (Pacific Enforcement Response Center) – covering the west, and set up to run 24/7.
These facilities are key to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, which handles lead generation for immigration enforcement.
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What contractors will be doing
The job description for these contractors is intense. It includes:
- Scanning public social media posts, photos, and messages
- Compiling dossiers on individuals based on their online activity
- Using subscription-based surveillance tools
- Leveraging commercial databases like LexisNexis Accurint and Thomson Reuters CLEAR—databases that can connect phone bills, property records, utility accounts, and more
In short, they’re expected to turn your online footprint into enforcement intel under tight deadlines. Urgent cases—like national security threats—need to be processed within 30 minutes. High-priority cases get up to an hour. Even the lower-priority leads need to be wrapped up by the end of the day.
And yes, ICE expects contractors to hit those deadlines in 75% of cases, ideally even 95%.
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What’s new this time?
This isn’t ICE’s first foray into digital surveillance, but the scale and ambition of this proposal stand out.
Some key upgrades to the program include:
- 24/7 operations with dedicated teams in both Vermont and California
- Incorporating AI tools to help automate the analysis process
- A tech budget topping $1 million per year for cutting-edge surveillance software
And while the program is technically still at the “request for information” stage (meaning ICE is gauging interest), the planning documents show a pretty clear vision of what they want.
Yes, there are “rules” but…
ICE’s documents mention some guardrails: no fake social media profiles, no direct interaction with users, and no storing data on private networks. Work must happen on ICE-controlled servers.
But if history tells us anything, those rules can be more flexible than they appear. In past cases, insiders have found informal workarounds between federal and local law enforcement. A recent example: Oregon police conducting license plate checks for ICE, and ICE returning the favor with federal database access.
Deeper concerns
Civil liberties groups aren’t exactly reassured.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center has already sued ICE, calling the agency’s reliance on data brokers a “significant threat to privacy and liberty.” And earlier this year, ICE explored the idea of using software to detect “negative sentiment” on social media—essentially flagging people who might be mad at them.
Let’s be honest: It’s unclear how a social media analyst, or even an algorithm, can responsibly interpret frustration, sarcasm, or political dissent as signs of a “proclivity for violence.” And that’s a big deal when decisions could lead to field operations or arrests.
So what’s next?
This isn’t a done deal yet—ICE is still collecting proposals from vendors. But it’s a clear signal of what’s ahead.
If approved and fully implemented, this program could mark a major step in the normalization of always-on social media surveillance by government contractors. And while ICE says it’s all about enforcement, that enforcement now comes with a massive digital dragnet.
This raises real questions about privacy, speech, and the growing partnership between social media and federal surveillance.
As always, it’s worth being aware of how our digital lives—public posts and all—can now feed directly into government systems. Because according to ICE, those weekend selfies, protest tweets, or even that sarcastic meme might not just live on your profile anymore. They could end up in a government file.
Stay smart. Stay aware. And yep, maybe think twice before you post.
Image by David Trinks on Unsplash
