The Era of Total Control: Technology Finds Us Wherever We Are
The Era of Total Control: Technology Finds Us Wherever We Are
Publish Date: 2026-03-04 12:00:00
Source Domain: americancommunitymedia.org
“There’s nowhere left to hide!” was the title of a recent press conference in San Francisco, where a panel of experts in technology, law and immigration policy warned about the transformation of law enforcement agencies into technological powerhouses operating with little democratic oversight.
The conference at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, organized by American Community Media in collaboration with the San Francisco Local Media Coalition, focused on how tools originally designed for warfare and counterterrorism are now being used for mass deportation and the everyday surveillance of citizens.
Invisible Online Raids
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, senior analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, describes the breaking down of “data silos” between federal agencies. (Photo by Selen Ozturk)
Ariel Ruiz Soto, senior analyst at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), was the first panelist to address how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become the best-funded law enforcement agency in the country, after receiving a budget of $10 billion, plus an additional $75 million in 2025. One of the most alarming points raised by Ruiz is the breaking down of “data silos.”
But what does this mean? The term refers to information storage systems that are isolated from one another — that is, data that was previously private, such as health records, IRS tax records and driver’s licenses — now flows into a centralized database called “Immigration OS,” developed by Palantir.
This system uses artificial intelligence to conduct life-pattern analysis, predicting habits that facilitate real-time detentions. The government has moved from traditional raid techniques to what he calls “invisible online raids.” This makes clear that the pursuit no longer begins on the street, but on servers, through which the government can locate and profile individuals without needing immigration agents in the field.
