ICE Deploys ‘Neighborhood-Scale’ Phone Tracking Systems to Accelerate Mass Deportation Efforts

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dramatically expanded its surveillance capabilities, transitioning from targeted tracking to a “neighborhood-scale” monitoring system that identifies every mobile device within a specific geographic area.

Internal documents and recent procurement records reveal that the agency has integrated high-powered platforms, including Webloc and Tangles. These systems, provided by the surveillance firm PenLink, allow federal agents to draw digital “fences” around city blocks to harvest the location data of hundreds of millions of unsuspecting residents.

From Targeted Tech to Neighborhood Dragnets

For years, ICE relied on cell-site simulators, commonly called “Stingrays.” These devices mimic legitimate cell towers to trick nearby phones into connecting, revealing their unique identifiers. However, the latest technological shift represents a move toward “virtual” tracking that does not require agents to be physically present with a Stingray vehicle.

The Webloc system operates by tapping into the massive global ecosystem of mobile advertising data. Every time a smartphone user opens an app that displays an ad—from weather updates to mobile games—the device often transmits its precise GPS coordinates to ad exchanges. ICE now purchases access to this “commercial” data in bulk.

Using a map-style interface, agents can select a specific neighborhood and see a history of every device that has passed through it. The software allows agents to follow a single device over time, identifying “patterns of life” that reveal where a person sleeps, works, and prays.

Bypassing the Fourth Amendment

The deployment of this technology has sparked a firestorm among privacy advocates. In the landmark 2018 case Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the government generally needs a warrant to access cell-site location information for 7 days or more.

However, internal ICE legal memos suggest the agency believes it has found a loophole. Because the data is purchased from commercial brokers and tied to a Mobile Advertising ID (MAID) rather than a name or phone number, ICE argues it does not constitute a “search” under the Fourth Amendment.

“This is a massive end-run around the Constitution,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “By purchasing access to these tools, ICE is effectively conducting a digital dragnet of entire communities, ensnaring immigrants and citizens alike.”

Real-Time Integration

The tracking is often paired with Tangles, a social media surveillance tool. When a device is flagged in a certain neighborhood, agents can use Tangles to scan for social media posts originating from that same location. The software uses artificial intelligence to perform sentiment analysis and facial recognition, allowing ICE to build “detailed dossiers” on individuals who have committed no crime other than being in a monitored area.

Reports indicate that ICE has spent over $5 million on these combined systems since 2025. The tools are reportedly being used to generate “leads” for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) teams, who then use the data to plan residential raids.

Community Impact and “Chilling Effects”

In immigrant-heavy neighborhoods, the knowledge of this surveillance is creating a “chilling effect.” Local activists report that residents are increasingly leaving phones at home or deleting apps to avoid being tracked.

As of January 2026, several civil liberties organizations have filed lawsuits to compel ICE to release more information regarding the “Mobile Fortify” initiative and other secret tracking programs. For now, the digital fences remain active, quietly logging the movements of millions of Americans every hour.

Sources

• 404 Media: “Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods” (Jan 8, 2026)
• ACLU: “DHS is Circumventing Constitution by Buying Data It Would Normally Need a Warrant to Access” (Jan 12, 2026)
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): “How Hackers Are Fighting Back Against ICE” (Jan 7, 2026)
• Brennan Center for Justice: “ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants” (Nov 21, 2025)
• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: “USA: Additional companies named as allegedly using surveillance tech to facilitate mass deportations” (Oct 7, 2025)
• MPR News: “How ICE uses phone and internet data to identify and track people” (Jan 12, 2026)