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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building
In February 2025, Techdirt’s Tim Cushing reported on Sam Biddle’s Intercept investigation into a new ICE bid solicitation seeking private contractors to “monitor and locate ‘negative’ social media discussion” about the agency.
The request, also covered by the Independent, appeared as the agency prepared for a more aggressive role under the returning Trump administration. ICE’s plan, Biddle wrote, could pull “people who simply criticize ICE online” into its surveillance dragnet.
Biddle noted the solicitation was “nearly identical” to a 2020 request that resulted in a $5.5 million contract with Barbaricum, a Washington-based defense and intelligence firm. But the new version, arriving amid ramped-up enforcement rhetoric, signaled a broader threat. Cushing observed that ICE justified the program by citing increased risks—yet provided no evidence.
The scope of potential targets is massive. Social media criticisms of ICE number in the millions, but contractors would be required to assess users’ “proclivity for violence” using “social and behavioral sciences” and “psychological profiles.”
After scraping personal details—Social Security numbers, addresses, affiliations—contractors would deliver ICE dossiers containing photos, partial legal names, birth dates, education or work ties and identified family members. The request also sought facial recognition tools capable of scanning the internet for additional information tied to a subject.
Although framed as a safety measure for ICE employees, Cushing wrote that the document “makes it clear ICE is looking for tech that allows it to monitor people simply because they don’t like ICE.” The First Amendment implications, he added, are unmistakable: the government should not monitor social media users to quantify criticism, especially when it conflates negativity with threats.
ICE’s digital surveillance ambitions are not new. Past investigations revealed fake ICE social-media profiles, entrapment schemes, and systems designed to flag “derogatory” posts. While Forbes and the New York Times have addressed ICE’s tech investments targeting immigrants, no corporate outlet has covered this planned monitoring of ICE critics.
For the next installment of Project Censored, visit shepherdexpress.com, News Features, on December 29
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