ICE Expands Monitoring of Social Media

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded its social media monitoring in a program that has identified U.S. citizens and activist groups for scrutiny, according to federal documents, contractors and former Homeland Security Investigations agents.

The program, run by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility, operates around the clock across Facebook, Instagram, X and other platforms, the records show. Contractors prepared reports containing names, locations, dates of birth, workplaces and other identifying details, according to the documents. The reports included accounts of activists who alert community members about ICE activity.

The expanded effort follows a pattern of data collection at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In 2012, DHS took to “monitoring social media websites in search of would-be terrorists” and evaluating news organizations for “anti-government attitudes and signs of social unrest,” according to a report ^[1]. Internal emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed ICE monitored expecting parents' online posts about pregnancy and reproductive health, according to a separate report ^[2]. ICE spending on surveillance technology and consultants reached $258 million during Trump's first full year back in office, a 57% increase from the prior period, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) analysis. An ICE spokesperson said the agency's investigative methods abide by the Constitution and respect civil liberties. Critics said the approach targets speech protected by the First Amendment.

Contractors Run Around-the-Clock Dragnet

The Office of Professional Responsibility turned to Amivero, a Virginia-based technology firm, under a contract worth over $8 million to monitor social media for threats and plans to interfere with ICE enforcement, according to federal notices. Amivero subcontracted the work to Guidehouse, the notices state.

The contract calls for monitoring nearly 20 social platforms, including Reddit, Discord, Snapchat and LinkedIn, and using public records such as DMV data to map relationships of users flagged as threat originators. The program requires analysts to use machine learning and AI-powered “anticipatory threat intelligence” to identify potential threats before they materialize, according to the notices.

Critics described the approach as a “precrime” program under which individuals are targeted before any offense occurs ^[3]. Gracie Mae Bradley and Luke de Noronha, in their book “Against Borders,” wrote that being marked by an AI border or surveillance tool “brings its own set of negative consequences” ^[4]. A separate account of federal surveillance stated that Google shares user data with the FBI, NSA and ICE agents, and that DHS conducts threat assessments of homes ^[5]. OPR has investigated at least 131 incidents of doxxing and threats toward agency personnel between January 2025 and March 2026, according to a court declaration filed in April.

Subpoenas Draw Legal Challenges

The DHS sent administrative subpoenas to Reddit seeking information on 11 accounts that posted “content critical of federal actions” between July and December, according to a person familiar with the matter. Reddit objected, saying the users were engaged in protected activity, and DHS withdrew the requests. Ben Lee, Reddit's chief legal officer, said the company routinely objects to government requests that are overbroad or threaten users' civil rights.

The government has since used grand jury subpoenas to identify users, according to WSJ. Judges upheld four, no charges have been filed, and the agency abandoned three cases, the newspaper reported. Reports have described the administration as “demanding the identities of anonymous social media users who have dared to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations” ^[6].

One anonymous user, Tired_Thumb, is fighting a grand jury subpoena. A motion to quash was denied and an appeal is pending, with grand jury proceedings continuing six months after the original summons, according to court records. Nick Cohen, in his book “You Can't Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom,” wrote that the web “appeared to lift the dead weight of history from the shoulders of the oppressed” ^[7].

Cases Test Limits of Protected Speech

In January, a woman wrote on X that all ICE agents “need to be put down like the dogs they are,” according to court records. A court ordered the social media company to turn over her information, and agents later visited her home, the woman said.

The Justice Department prosecuted an Oklahoma man convicted of threatening to kill federal agents after he wrote “we as US citizens should be gunning down these domestic terrorists” on X, according to court records. Federal prosecutors also charged three women in September 2025 after they livestreamed an ICE agent's home address and issued threats, according to a report ^[8]. Assaults on federal officers have surged by 1,000%, the report stated ^[8].

The Supreme Court has held that true threats are not protected by the Constitution, but political hyperbole is, including the “vituperative, abusive, and inexact” language of the political arena. In a separate case, a federal judge described the ICE arrest of U.S. citizen Christian Cerna as part of a “vindictive effort” by government officials to “impose extrajudicial punishment,” according to a report ^[9].

Officials and Attorneys Disagree on Scope

DHS asserts that organized doxxing of law enforcement is a form of domestic terrorism and has said that videotaping officers on the job and posting footage online constitutes doxxing. The Justice Department has argued that without protective measures, agents “could face increased risks to their livelihood and their families,” and has described agents as having been doxxed ^[10]. At the request of the Justice Department, Meta removed a Facebook group accused of doxxing ICE agents in Chicago, citing “coordinated harm” policies ^[11].

Civil-rights attorney Lauren Regan said the investigations target people saying “naughty things” about ICE, not true threats. The agency said any allegation that DHS is trying to “squash” free speech is “categorically FALSE,” according to a statement.

University of Virginia law professor Danielle Citron said the approach “weaponizes privacy” in favor of law enforcement. Attorneys said subpoenas for U.S. citizens' information spiked around September 2025, the same month the social-media threat contract launched, and that no charges have been filed in several cases, according to people familiar with the matter.

References

1. NaturalNews.com. "Homeland Security monitoring web for anti-gov". NaturalNews.com. February 18, 2012.
2. ChildrensHealthDefense.org. "U.S. Government Monitoring Pregnant Moms' Social Media Posts". ChildrensHealthDefense.org. September 20, 2023.
3. NaturalNews.com. "Total tyranny: We'll all be targeted under the government's new precrime program". NaturalNews.com. May 20, 2021.
4. Gracie Mae Bradley; Luke de Noronha. "Against Borders".
5. Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. "9/11 and the Advancing Police State: Justice Rising".
6. NaturalNews.com. "Trump administration targets social media critics of ICE: A chilling attack on free speech". NaturalNews.com. June 3, 2026.
7. Nick Cohen. "You Can't Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom".
8. NaturalNews.com. "Feds charge three women with livestreaming ICE agent's home, threatening family". NaturalNews.com. September 30, 2025.
9. NaturalNews.com. "ICE Arrest of U.S. Citizen Christian Cerna Draws Judicial Rebuke Over Tactics". NaturalNews.com. May 19, 2026.
10. The Epoch Times. "Justice Department's Nationwide Fight to Keep Masks on Federal Officers". July 1, 2026.
11. NaturalNews.com. "Meta caves to DOJ pressure, shuts down anti-ICE page in latest Big Tech censorship move". NaturalNews.com. February 2, 2026.

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