Robots, spyware, AI: What tech arsenal ICE has to freeze immigrants

The article reveals a significant expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) technological arsenal used for immigration enforcement, highlighting contracts with multiple tech firms that provide advanced surveillance, data analytics, and tactical equipment. Key contracts include a $3.75 million deal with Clearview AI for facial recognition software built from extensive online image databases, supplementing previous purchases of forensic and facial-recognition tools. Palantir, a major data analytics provider, secured contracts totaling over $100 million for systems like Investigative Case Management and ImmigrationOS, which streamline case tracking, real-time monitoring of departures, and visa overstay tracking. Beyond data systems, ICE has procured physical tactical technology, such as a $78,000 robot from Icor Technology capable of opening doors, climbing stairs, and deploying chemical or smoke devices, raising civil liberties concerns about its use in home-entry operations. The agency also invests heavily in large-scale data searches and social media/dark web monitoring, spending millions on LexisN