The U.S. government has significantly expanded its domestic surveillance capabilities to identify, track, and deport individuals residing in the country without legal status. This system enables thousands of federal agents across the nation to access and analyze vast amounts of data from over 300 million people, including U.S. citizens, by aggregating information from both public and private sources. Contractors involved in the program include Palantir Technologies, Deloitte, NEC Corporation, and several specialized spyware firms.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repurposed technologies originally designed for counterterrorism and drug enforcement—such as facial recognition, location tracking, and social media monitoring—to assist immigration agents in pinpointing targets. Officials can input names, license plates, or use a person’s photo to collect detailed information and trace individuals. The system has evolved substantially since the September 11 attacks, utilizing artificial intelligence and integrating government records with extensive commercial databases.

Several individuals have raised concerns about these surveillance practices, alleging misuse of data and intimidation tactics. In Maine, at least five residents, including a 48-year-old named McLellan, claim they were targeted and threatened by federal agents after documenting DHS activities. Two plaintiffs in an ongoing civil rights lawsuit argue that the department unlawfully used their biometric data and license plate information to intimidate them while they exercised their First Amendment rights. DHS maintains it operates lawfully and respects constitutional protections. "The retaliation we’ve seen against Americans who chose to lawfully record DHS activities should alarm everyone," said attorney Rush Atkinson, representing the plaintiffs.

Congressional backing and support from the Trump administration have fueled increased DHS spending on surveillance technology, which reached $425 million last year—a 17% rise over the previous year—and is projected to grow further in 2026. DHS was allocated $191 billion for immigration enforcement under last year’s omnibus spending bill. However, some Democratic lawmakers and civil rights advocates question the department’s use of intrusive tools, including cellphone hacking software. In response, the DHS inspector general launched an investigation in February into the agency’s biometric data collection methods.

Civil liberties groups have filed four federal lawsuits accusing DHS of constitutional violations tied to warrantless arrests, visa revocations based on surveillance, and intimidation of bystanders observing immigration enforcement. DHS denies these allegations, emphasizing that immigration enforcement is essential to national security, public safety, and economic stability. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is charged with monitoring more than seven million immigrants, including those released from custody and awaiting court hearings. The department asserts it monitors and addresses threats or obstruction of its officers consistent with the Constitution.

Palantir Technologies has been the principal recipient of increased DHS funding, expanding its contracts to $81.3 million last year, primarily for integrating data streams used in immigration tracking. A four-year, $1 billion agreement signed in February allows continued support for DHS operations. One Palantir-developed tool, the Enhanced Leads Identification and Targeting for Enforcement (ELITE) app, installed on agents’ smartphones, aggregates data from multiple sources—including government and private investigators known as “skip tracers”—to allow officers to locate and profile individuals by name, criminal history, or location, displaying results on maps or lists.

Other contractors support DHS with technical capabilities such as forensic phone data extraction (Cellebrite), vehicle data retrieval (Berla), and hacking tools capable of infiltrating encrypted messaging applications (Paragon Solutions’ Graphite). DHS also invests in biometric identification technology through contracts with Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis, NEC, and Clearview AI, the latter maintaining a facial recognition database with over 70 billion images.

DHS deployed Mobile Fortify last year, an application that enables agents to scan a person’s face to immediately access personal details related to identity and immigration status. During this period, the department reportedly removed and later restored internal policies restricting the use of facial recognition, including rules barring investigations of lawful protesters. Former DHS employees involved in policy development have indicated uncertainty about current guidelines and noted a loosening of limits on surveillance technologies.

Privacy experts and previous department officials caution that the accelerated use of these tools tests legal and ethical boundaries regarding citizen surveillance and privacy rights, with current interpretations of existing regulations seeming more aggressive than under prior administrations. As DHS acquires increasingly sophisticated means—including the ability to monitor encrypted communications—the debate over the balance between enforcement and civil liberties continues to intensify.