Congress Must Investigate ICE’s Mass Surveillance

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is quietly deploying tools that allow agents to monitor people across the United States. Reports show that ICE is using facial recognition apps, phone-tracking technology, and vast databases during everyday encounters. These tools were designed for serious criminal investigations. Now they’re increasingly being used in routine immigration enforcement.

One new system, called Mobile Fortify, lets agents scan someone’s face with a phone and instantly search government databases containing hundreds of millions of images. According to reporting from NPR and Mother Jones, the tool has already been used more than 100,000 times in the field. Civil liberties advocates warn that it can misidentify people and store biometric data even if someone has done nothing wrong.

At the same time, DHS agencies have been caught buying Americans’ location data from private brokers. That data can reveal deeply personal information, like visits to doctors’ offices, religious services, or meetings with friends and family. Senator Ron Wyden has warned that these warrantless purchases may violate federal law and sidestep the Fourth Amendment.

People across the country are pushing back. Privacy advocates, immigrant rights groups, and more than 70 members of Congress have already called for investigations into DHS’s surveillance practices and its purchase of Americans’ location data.

Tell Congress: Launch a full investigation into DHS and ICE’s surveillance programs, stop warrantless data purchases, and protect Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights.

Add your name to demand accountability today.