Summary
ICE is using a large amount of money from a recent $75 billion funding bill to expand its surveillance abilities. This includes contracts for facial recognition, biometric identification, and smartphone data access. There are concerns this could lead to increased surveillance of both undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens.
Key Facts
- ICE received $75 billion from a recent funding bill for expansion.
- The funding is used for biometric systems, cellphone tracking, and facial recognition technology.
- ICE has a contract with Clearview AI for facial recognition.
- ICE renewed its contract with Paragon Solutions for accessing smartphone data.
- The agency plans to increase detention capacity by about 50,000 beds, aiming for a total of 100,000 beds.
- ICE is recruiting new agents and has a goal to hire 10,000 more.
- Concerns exist about surveillance possibly targeting American citizens as well as undocumented immigrants.
- There are claims that ICE is not transparent about how it uses this new funding.
