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ICE Preparing to Track You Using Drones & Your Phone, Nationwide – Most Americans HAVE NO IDEA // Kim Iversen
Kim Iversen | Trusted Newsmaker
ICE’s Expanding Surveillance Powers Signal a New Phase of Domestic Monitoring
Federal immigration authorities are preparing to deploy advanced surveillance tools that would allow the government to monitor Americans at an unprecedented scale. Newly disclosed documents and public statements show Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to roll out drone surveillance and warrantless phone-tracking systems capable of mapping entire neighborhoods, following individuals from home to work, and collecting mass location data during routine enforcement operations 0.
The expansion comes amid a wave of highly visible ICE raids and confrontations across U.S. cities, particularly in Minneapolis. On social media, Americans are being shown sharply divergent narratives. Some feeds highlight violent confrontations involving protesters, while others focus on videos of ICE agents detaining citizens, pointing weapons at unarmed individuals, and conducting aggressive operations in public spaces. Civil liberties advocates argue the polarization is not accidental, but part of a broader conditioning effort.
Drones Over the “Interior of the United States”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently confirmed the creation of a new Department of Homeland Security office dedicated to unmanned aircraft systems. In public remarks, Noem described drones as “the new frontier of American air superiority,” explicitly stating they would be used not only at the border, but within the interior of the United States.
The justification offered is familiar: protecting Americans from cartels, illegal immigration, and threats at public events. DHS officials have linked drone deployment to upcoming national celebrations, including major sporting events and the country’s 250th anniversary, signaling that persistent aerial monitoring may become a normalized feature of daily life.
Phone Tracking Without Warrants
Alongside drones, ICE has acquired new digital surveillance platforms capable of tracking mobile phones without warrants. According to internal materials obtained by journalists, systems known as WebLock and Tangles allow agents to query commercial location data harvested from hundreds of millions of phones. The data, sourced through a private company, can be used to follow individuals across time and space, mapping their movements from residences to workplaces and other locations.
An internal ICE legal analysis reportedly concluded that such tracking does not require a warrant. Civil liberties experts say this interpretation effectively sidesteps Fourth Amendment protections by relying on data purchased from private brokers rather than collected directly by the government.
Conditioning Public Consent Through Division
Critics argue the rollout of these tools is being paired with a deliberate media strategy. By amplifying extreme footage on both sides of the immigration debate, the public is pushed toward fear and anger rather than scrutiny. Some Americans are encouraged to view ICE as heroic defenders restoring order, while others see an increasingly militarized force acting with impunity.
This polarization, analysts warn, makes it easier to sell expanded surveillance. Immigration becomes the pressure point used to revive measures that faced widespread resistance during the COVID era, including digital identification systems, mass tracking, and movement monitoring.
Influencers, Propaganda, and Paid Narratives
Further complicating the picture are disclosures that ICE has spent millions of dollars paying social media influencers to promote pro-ICE messaging. According to reporting, the agency operates a media and recruitment budget exceeding $100 million annually, with a portion allocated directly to online personalities.
The revelation has fueled suspicion that some viral content portraying protesters as violent extremists may be staged or selectively framed to justify harsher enforcement. While such claims remain difficult to verify, the government’s admission of paid influence campaigns has intensified calls for transparency.
From Immigration Enforcement to General Surveillance
Opponents of the surveillance expansion warn that immigration enforcement has historically served as a testing ground for broader state powers. Tools introduced to target non-citizens often migrate to wider use once normalized. The concern is not limited to immigration, but to future scenarios where phone tracking and drones could be repurposed for public health enforcement, protest monitoring, or political control.
Legal scholars point out that once infrastructure exists, its scope tends to expand. Surveillance justified today as protection against outsiders can tomorrow be turned inward, applied to citizens whose behavior falls outside shifting definitions of compliance.
A Turning Point
The United States is approaching a critical moment. With ICE preparing to monitor neighborhoods from the sky and track phones on the ground, the boundary between targeted enforcement and mass surveillance is eroding. Supporters frame the measures as necessary security upgrades. Critics see the architecture of a permanent surveillance state taking shape in real time.
What remains unresolved is whether democratic oversight will meaningfully intervene, or whether fear-driven consent will allow extraordinary powers to become routine. As drones lift off and digital nets tighten, the question is no longer theoretical. The systems are already being built.
