The Expanding Surveillance Dragnet–The next chapter in the stealth war against immigrants
The Expanding Surveillance Dragnet–The next chapter in the stealth war against immigrants
Why surveillance matters
Over the past year, ICE raids have surged across major US cities, with the Trump administration rounding up 590,000 immigrants — including a record 50,000 in July alone. Increasingly, the federal immigration strategy is powered by sophisticated surveillance technology that aggregates public and private data, tracks social media and digital activity, and captures license plate data in order to target individuals and entire communities. This shift from shock and awe to stealth is laying the foundation for a surveillance state that leaves no one – citizen or non-citizen – immune. What are some of these tools, how are they evolving, and what legal, legislative, and grassroots challenges are emerging to protect immigrants from intrusive tracking technology?
ools?
ull Lineup:
Jaya Padmanabhan, ACoM Executive Director & moderator
Ed Kissam, researcher & ACoM collaborator, provides opening remarks
Panel 1: From Immigration Enforcement to Political Monitoring
- Stephen Manning, Executive Director, Innovation Law Lab
- Denise Bell, Human rights researcher, report co-author, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty
- Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist, American Immigration Council
- Saira Hussain, Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Panel 2: Resistance in Practice: Law, Community and Protection
- Abdi Soltani, Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California
- Jonathan Paz, Candidate for Congress in MA 5th district, ex-Flock whistleblower
- Brian Hofer, Executive Director, Secure Justice
- Kimberly Woo, Community Organizer, SIREN Immigrant Rights
- Lena Graber, Senior Managing Attorney, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
