The New York Times: “When Republicans muscled President Trump’s signature domestic policy bill through Congress last year, they gave a windfall to the Department of Homeland Security — including for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — with effectively no strings attached. Republicans allocated a total of $190 billion over four years, including $75 billion for ICE alone, making it the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency. At the time, Democrats warned that the money would supercharge the department without any checks on its operations. But Republicans used a special maneuver to shield the measure from a filibuster and get it to Mr. Trump’s desk on a simple majority vote, leaving Democrats powerless to block it…”
Companies reap $22bn from Trump’s immigration crackdown. (FT.com – non paywall version not available) Companies including Palantir and Deloitte have collectively reaped more than $22bn from contracts linked to Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The windfalls come as ICE spending on contracts has more than doubled to $3.7bn in the two quarters following the passage of Trump’s landmark bill, compared with $1.5bn in the previous six months. Spending by CBP on private-sector contractors increased sevenfold between the first and second halves of 2025. The agency has reported almost $2bn in new contracted work this month alone — more than in the entire first half of 2025…”
Washington Post – The powerful tools in ICE’s arsenal to track suspects — and protesters [no paywall] – “Biometric trackers, cellphone location databases and drones are among the surveillance technologies that federal agents are tapping in their deportation campaign. Federal immigration officers fanning out across Minnesota and other parts of the country are newly equipped with an array of state-of-the-art surveillance technologies, thanks to a bill These new surveillance powers come at a time when ICE is also pushing the bounds of its traditional role of immigration enforcement. In recent months, ICE leaders, backed by top Trump administration officials, have asserted the authority to use all available tools to monitor and investigate anti-ICE protester networks, including U.S. citizens. Democratic lawmakers and civil rights groups say the agency’s expanding use of its surveillance tools infringes on privacy and free speech rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, disclosed in an annual report that the agency has significantly expanded the operational scope for its use of facial recognition, AI and other advanced technologies. Here’s a look at some of the technologies in ICE’s tool kit…”
No Risk Management Assessment or Use Cases – See also Memo from OMB Russell Vought to All Agency Heads – “…On January 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14179, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, to advance the United States’ global AI dominance and to promote responsible AI innovation. Now more than ever, agencies are empowered to drive AI innovation and seize the opportunity to apply the best of American AI. Through this memorandum, agencies are directed to provide improved services to the public, while maintaining strong safeguards for civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy. This memorandum provides guidance to agencies on ways to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness and national security. Agencies must follow the detailed implementation instructions and requirements included in the Appendix. This memorandum rescinds and replaces Office of Management and Budget (0MB) Memorandum M-24-10, Advancing Governance, Innovation, and Risk Management for Agency Use of Artificial Intelligence.”
