ICE Uses Facebook Data To Find and Track Immigrants, Internal Emails Show (theintercept.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Intercept: ICE, the federal agency tasked with Trump's program of mass deportation, uses backend Facebook data to locate and track immigrants that it is working to round up, according to a string of emails and documents obtained by The Intercept through a public records request. The hunt for one particular immigrant in New Mexico provides a rare window into how ICE agents use social media and powerful data analytics tools to find suspects. In February and March of 2017, several ICE agents were in communication with a detective from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to find information about a particular person. They were ultimately able to obtain backend Facebook data revealing a log of when the account was accessed and the IP addresses corresponding to each login. Lea Whitis, an agent with Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of ICE, emailed the team a "Facebook Business Record" revealing the suspect's phone number and the locations of each login into his account during a date range. Law enforcement agents routinely use bank, telephone, and internet records for investigations, but the extent to which ICE uses social media is not well known.

Comments

Law enforcement tracks law breakers

[Anonymous Coward]

"Federal immigration officials enforce federal immigration law."

This only seems to be a"controversy" because it hurts Democrat electoral chances...

Re:Law enforcement tracks law breakers

[bobbied]

Yes that's correct, compassion for people who committed a minor civil violation in order to come here and help their families is purely a political issue and ther's no moral authority behind it. And it was entirely invented by the Democrats. It's not that it used to be a bi-partisan issue supported by presidents from both parties and then Republicans threw immigrants under the bus in order to appeal to the more extreme part of their base. [/sarcasm]

Well now, hit a nerve have I?

Why do you somehow think your side in this debate is the ONLY one with compassion for these people? Your assumption is wrong and shows your political bias and an active unwillingness to actually SOLVE the problem. You don't want a solution, you want the election issue to campaign on.

I think if you where to really discuss this with the opposing party, you'd find them wiling to deal with this issue in a fair and compassionate way. However, you have pretty much cut off all possible avenues of discussion with your "Only we have Moral high ground" perspective that precludes any solution except yours from consideration. This has all the hallmarks of a demagogue worthy campaign issue which has more value to you unsolved. You don't want to solve this, you want to run on it.

Re:Law enforcement tracks law breakers

[bobbied]

Yep, I can...

FIRST - Stop as much illegal immigration and encourage illegals to self deport by doing the following things:

1. Implement E-Verify nation wide and require it be followed by all employers. Follow up that requirement with strict enforcement. If you are not a citizen and don't have a work visa, you don't work here.

2. Visa exit tracking - Implement tracking of visa entries AND exits so we know who's here that have overstayed their visas. Step up enforcement of visa overstays.

3. Deport Criminals - Start deporting illegal immigrants who commit felonies after they are done with their prison time.

4. No access Social Services - Eliminate ALL social services for illegal immigrants including welfare, public education systems (including college).

5. Build the wall - Maybe not a physical wall, but a practical one. Protect our borders.

6. End "born here" citizenship for children of illegals. Make it necessary for at least one parent to be here legally before we confer US citizenship on a child.

SECOND - After the above are in place and starting to work....

1. Implement/Expand a "guest worker" visa program which allows foreign nationals to serve in seasonal labor. Make it easy to get such a visa, but make it necessary to apply for and receive it in your home country.

2. For those with existing DACA exemptions, citizenship is available after an extended wait of at least a decade if they stay here. If they wish, they will be given preferential treatment for guest worker permits. However, if they self deport, they will be able to immediately apply for citizenship and a guest worker permit with preferential treatment (the front of the line).

3. Open a path to citizenship for LEGAL immigrants based on merit. Preference given to immigrants with H1b's then seasonal work permits followed by other immigrants who apply. But, we need to end the visa lottery and chain migration beyond immediate family (To include parents, children and siblings only).

Any means possible

[nwaack]

Good. They should use any means possible to find these law breakers. Why the hell should we have to put up with this rampant illegal immigration? Canada has even stricter immigration laws but no one says boo about that.

Re:wow

[BlueStrat]

Sort of like how the Israelis "had it in" for people who worked as staff at concentration camps ?

None of the people in media and government had any real problem with what FB did while Democrats used FB data the same exact way until it came out that the Trump campaign might have benefited from FB data.

Now, suddenly, it's torches, pitchforks, and Nazi references.

The hypocrisy would be hilariously funny if it was not so frighteningly fascist.

Strat

We continue to treat immigrants well

[SuperKendall]

Most people support immigrants anywhere I've been in the U.S.

Just as most people I've seen do not support ILLEGAL ALIENS. They are not immigrants; they are criminals, who have screwed over REAL immigrants that have been trying to come here legally but we don't allow very many because we already have so many people here illegally.

Why should criminals be treated with any respect whatsoever? They are taking the place of immigrants.