Collectively, these groups would function as the intelligence branches of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. They will gather tips and incoming cases, investigate individuals online, and compile the findings into reports that could assist field offices in strategizing arrests.
The range of information contractors are anticipated to accumulate is extensive. Draft guidelines indicate open-source intelligence: public posts, images, and messages from platforms such as Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok. Analysts may also be assigned to explore less well-known or foreign websites, including Russia’s VKontakte.
They would be equipped with robust commercial databases like LexisNexis Accurint and Thomson Reuters CLEAR, which consolidate property records, phone bills, utilities, vehicle registrations, and other personal information into searchable documents.
The strategy includes precise turnaround times. High-priority cases, such as potential national security risks or individuals on ICE’s Top Ten Most Wanted list, need to be investigated within 30 minutes. Cases marked as high priority are given one hour; lower-priority leads must be finalized within the workday. ICE anticipates that at least three-quarters of all cases will meet those timelines, with leading contractors aiming for closer to 95 percent.
The initiative extends beyond personnel. ICE is also seeking algorithms, requesting contractors to delineate how they could integrate artificial intelligence into the search—a request that aligns with other recent proposals. The agency has allocated over a million dollars annually to equip analysts with the most advanced surveillance technologies.
ICE did not promptly reply to a request for comment.
Earlier this year, The Intercept disclosed that ICE had proposed a system that could automatically monitor social media for “negative sentiment” toward the agency and highlight users believed to exhibit a “tendency for violence.” Previous procurement records examined by 404 Media identified software leveraged by the agency to compile dossiers on flagged individuals, gathering personal information, family ties, and even employing facial recognition technology to link images across the internet. Observers cautioned that it was uncertain how such technology could differentiate between real threats and political discourse.
