ICE’s Private Bounty Hunters Use AI to Track Immigrants
ICE’s Private Bounty Hunters Use AI to Track Immigrants
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-bounty-hunters-use-ai-track-immigrants/
Publish Date: 2026-04-02 16:18:00
Source Domain: www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org
The federal government’s hunt for immigrants is ramping up. Each month, private contractors receive tens of thousands of names from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are asked to locate those individuals as quickly as possible so that ICE can conduct targeted enforcement operations to arrest and detain those individuals. What makes this system new is not just its scale — contractors may receive up to 50,000 names per month, with the program potentially targeting more than 1 million people — but how it is achieved. Contractors are using a mix of data tools, online research, and, increasingly, artificial intelligence to locate people — allowing for a faster and much larger sweep than before.
This is called skip tracing: finding someone using public records, databases, online information, and, sometimes, physical surveillance. Skip tracing has long been used by debt collectors, bail bondsmen, and private investigators. Now it is being used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to find individuals for immigration enforcement. While skip tracing has traditionally been used by private entities, its use in government immigration enforcement raises new legal questions about privacy, due process, and the role of private actors in government surveillance.
ICE skip tracing involves using government data, online research, and in-person verification — such as taking photos of a person’s home or workplace — to confirm their whereabouts. Zoom out, and it reveals a massive AI-assisted surveillance system targeting more than 1 million immigrants in the United States.
Reporting by Scripps News found that ICE awarded contracts to 13 private companies to provide “skip tracing services nationwide.” These open-ended contracts were issued in December 2025 and could total $1.2 billion over two years. The Intercept estimated that up to 1.5 million immigrants could be targeted using a mix of digital tools and in-person…
