The Trump administration's promises of mass deportations may lead to increased use of spyware like Graphite; ICE has a $2M contract with Graphite maker Paragon
Other Western democracies have been roiled by the use of spyware to target political opponents, activists, journalists, and other vulnerable groups.
New YorkerRonan Farrow
Context & Ripple Effects
The ICE-Paragon contract sits in a longer pattern in which government spyware deployment continued even after U.S. sanctions targeted NSO Group; prior reporting identified the DEA's secret use of Graphite spyware.
The contract became a consequential procurement foothold as later records described the ICE agreement's reactivation, and ICE officials subsequently acknowledged Graphite use to intercept encrypted messages. The story therefore connects immigration enforcement policy to a surveillance tool already associated with sensitive-targeting risks abroad.
First-order effects
ICE gains a contractual path to obtain Graphite from Paragon, while Paragon gains a prominent U.S. immigration-enforcement customer.
Expanded deportation operations could increase the operational demand for digital intelligence tools; the contract itself does not establish the scale or targets of any use.
A visible ICE deployment can strengthen the market case for commercial spyware vendors seeking other U.S. law-enforcement customers, even as it sharpens scrutiny of vendors' safeguards and government procurement controls.
Third-order effects
If immigration enforcement becomes a durable customer category for intrusive spyware, surveillance capacity may become more tightly embedded in routine civil-enforcement infrastructure rather than limited to exceptional investigations.
The central policy fault line is likely to shift from whether such tools exist to whether agencies can demonstrate bounded, accountable use—an unresolved question when encrypted communications and vulnerable populations are involved.
The trend: This is one data point in the normalization of commercial spyware within domestic enforcement systems, where procurement choices can outpace public rules for oversight and redress.
The #Trump administration's promises of mass deportations may lead to increased use of #spyware like Graphite; ICE has a $2M contract with Graphite maker Paragon - https://www.newyorker.com/... you bet #surveillance #privacy
This should scare all of us. Despite some reeling in on the PATRIOT Act & domestic surveillance, the Trump Administration will almost surely attempt to wreck 4th Amendment privacy protections. — Wake up. This is not ok. — www.newyorker.com/news/news- de...
I'm personally familiar with Pegasus (by Israeli firm NSO), where it's been used by foreign governments against human rights advocates in places I've worked. — Now the U.S. under the Biden administration has its own Israeli-made spyware, Graphite, for domestic encrypted messagi…
all of a sudden you look and @ronanfarrow.bsky.social cites your scoop in the goddamn lede... great reporting for @wired.com by @vaspanagiotopoulos.com here: www.wired.com/story/ice-pa... Farrow's excellent story here: www.newyorker.com/news/news- de... [embedded post]
Must read of the week: Ronan Farrow is looking at how governments (including the US) use spyware tech on individuals, activists, and journalists. www.newyorker.com/news/news- de...
If you're interested in learning more about the spyware boom, how this tech is being abused even by democracies, and what you can do to protect yourself, check out my documentary “Surveilled” on @streamonmax.bsky.social starting tonight.
The US government recently bought powerful spyware that could make hacking your phone easier—and shape the way Trump executes some of his campaign promises, including mass deportations. My latest in — @newyorker.com: www.newyorker.com/news/news- de...
A source at Paragon Solutions told @ronanfarrow.bsky.social that the deal with 🇺🇸 ICE “followed a vetting process, during which the company was able to demonstrate that it had robust tools to prevent other countries that purchase its #spyware from hacking Americans.” …