A new report from 404 Media says Immigration and Customs Enforcement has obtained technology that can map movements across entire city neighborhoods by analyzing residents’ phone-location data—without first securing a warrant. The disclosure is fueling fresh concerns about expanded government surveillance under the Trump administration.
On Sunday night, journalist Shane Proteus reacted on X, warning that tools capable of tracking people at this scale could be misused, including by abusers and stalkers.
According to 404 Media, which reviewed internal ICE data describing the system, the agency purchased two products from U.S. software company Pen-Link in September: Tangles and Webloc.
The report says the products allow users to search by geographic areas—such as neighborhoods or city blocks—based on signals associated with mobile devices. It also claims ICE can flag particular devices for deeper tracking, including historical and real-time location information, potentially enabling agents to trace a person’s movements to a home or workplace without obtaining a warrant.
“This seems bad,” wrote California filmmaker Gabriel Montoya on X, in a post to his more than 12,000 followers.
The report adds that ICE has been expanding its surveillance toolkit, investing heavily in technologies such as iris scanning, facial recognition, and phone-hacking tools as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda.
Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told 404 Media that these capabilities could increase the risk of misuse.
“It’s dangerous for ICE or any government agency to be vacuuming up this type of sensitive data in bulk and absent checks,” Laperruque said. “This type of surveillance dragnet will enable draconian policing and abuse.”
