ICE - Iris scanners, facial-recognition apps, phone-hacking software and cellphone location data are among the agency's

[cliffside]

recent technological purchases.

Gift link ...
https://wapo.st/47MPcyk

"The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has been rapidly building out its surveillance capabilities in recent weeks, signing a string of contracts for technologies to identify individuals by their irises or facial features and to monitor their cellphone activity, social media posts and physical movements, according to a review of federal spending disclosures.

.... Technologies purchased by ICE in recent weeks include an iris-scanning app that agents plan to use in the field, spyware that can hack into smartphones remotely and cellphone location software that can enable the tracking of a phone’s movements without a court warrant.
“The acquisition and deployment of this technology in this environment is going to raise substantial concerns,” said John Sandweg, who was an acting director of ICE under the Obama administration.

In one contract that ICE signed last month for Clearview AI facial recognition software, the agency said in a filing that it would be used to investigate “assaults against law enforcement officers.” Other federal contracts show ICE has been expanding its fleet of small, remote-controlled drones, which it has said it is using to film protestors.

ICE’s contracted obligations in September tallied up to $1.4 billion, its highest monthly sum in at least 18 years, according to USASpending.gov. The upsurge in awards coincides with the agency’s access to more than $170 billion in funding that Congress allocated for border security and immigration enforcement in its July spending bill...."

[lame54]

1. Repug congress...

Gave them a ridiculous budget

[cliffside]

2. Exactly, like a kid in a candy store with too much money - Big Budget Act Creates a "Deportation-Industrial Complex"

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/big-budget-act-creates-deportation-industrial-complex

"The so-called One Big Beautiful Act allocates more than $170 billion over four years for border and interior enforcement, with a stated goal of deporting 1 million immigrants each year. That is more than the yearly budget for all local and state law enforcement agencies combined across the entire United States. The bill adds billions of dollars to border enforcement, but the largest percentage increase goes to finding, arresting, detaining, and deporting immigrants already living in the U.S., most of whom have not committed a crime and many of whom have had lawful status....


.... What are the risks of the rapid, massive funding surge?

ICE will likely rush to spend its full allocation of funds, but it takes more than money to build detention facilities, hire additional staff, and buy equipment. It also requires staff to do the hiring and to ensure compliance with rules governing hiring and procurement. The rush to spend money fast is likely to result in large amounts of funding flowing to private contractors, with pressure to cut corners.

Private prison firms will reap most of the financial benefits of the detention budget, as nearly 90 percent of people in ICE custody are already held in for-profit prisons. Months before the president signed the budget bill in July, ICE already had solicited contracts from private firms, setting up an expedited contract process. The two largest for-profit companies have been significant financial supporters of the president and one has hired several former high-level ICE officials. Oversight of these private facilities is significantly diminished because the administration has gutted the oversight offices at DHS and is defying some efforts at Congressional oversight.

The rush to spend a 300% budget increase will also strain ICE’s ability to hire quality staff (roughly 10,000 deportation officers). According to a 2017 Inspector General report, to hire 10,000 officers, ICE would need 500,000 applicants, but the push to hire comes at a time when law enforcement agencies nationwide have had difficulty filling their ranks and unemployment rates are low..."

[HAB911]

3. Time for Faraday cellphone bags

designed to block all wireless signals, making your device untraceable and secure from hacking. They use specialized materials to prevent signals from GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks from reaching your phone.

[Prairie_Seagull]

4. Wow, who would have thunk!