According to a document viewed by TechCrunch, the interim director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed legislators that the agency has acquired and deployed surveillance software developed by Paragon Solutions in cases related to narcotics smuggling.
Todd Lyons, the Interim Director for ICE, articulated in the correspondence addressed to three congressional members that he authorized Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the agency’s criminal investigation division, to utilize “advanced technological instruments” – alluding to surveillance software – to combat “the pervasive misuse of encrypted messaging systems by international terrorist groups.”
The incapacity of policing authorities to gain entry to encrypted information is frequently presented as a rationale for their requirement to employ device monitoring software for computers and mobile phones in significant felony investigations, given its capability to extract an individual’s data directly from their equipment. Detractors and advocates for human rights, however, have consistently highlighted the expanding roster of reporters, public officials, and civic activists whose mobile devices have been compromised by state entities deploying commercial surveillance tools.
Within the correspondence, Lyons affirmed that ICE’s deployment of surveillance software would “adhere to constitutional mandates.” He also stated that he “attested that HSI’s practical application of this particular instrument presents no substantial security or counter-intelligence hazards, nor considerable dangers of misuse by an overseas administration or individual.”
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Bloomberg initially publicized ICE’s correspondence to legislative bodies.
During 2024, ICE entered into an agreement with Paragon Solutions, a developer of surveillance software based in the U.S. and Israel. This arrangement was swiftly put on hold by the Biden administration to determine if it conformed to an executive directive which limits U.S. governmental bodies from deploying surveillance software that might be employed to monitor U.S. citizens internationally or infringe upon human rights.
By September 2025, ICE rescinded the suspension and reinstated the agreement. However, until this point, there was no clarity regarding ICE’s intentions to utilize Paragon’s surveillance software.
The developer of surveillance software has become entangled in an extensive controversy in Italy, where it was disclosed that reporters and proponents of immigration rights had been subjected to monitoring using Paragon’s Graphite surveillance software during the previous year. Consequently, Paragon ceased providing its surveillance instruments to Italy’s intelligence services.
Upon being contacted for a statement, Congresswoman Summer Lee, a Democrat and one of the legislative members who had sought details from ICE, informed TechCrunch that the agency is currently proceeding “with intrusive surveillance software within the U.S. borders.”
The congressional representative further remarked, “rather than addressing the grave constitutional and civil liberties issues we brought forth, DHS is requesting the populace to accept imprecise guarantees and rationales rooted in apprehension.”
“Those most vulnerable, including migrants, communities of color, reporters, activists, and any individual vocalizing dissent against governmental misconduct, merit more than obfuscation and evasion from an entity with an extensive history of exceeding authority and misconduct,” stated Lee.
Paragon and ICE failed to reply to an inquiry for commentary and questions posed by TechCrunch concerning the agency’s deployment of surveillance software.
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