ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it

NPR | By Kat Lonsdorf,

A Martínez

Published March 4, 2026 at 4:45 AM EST

The Department of Homeland Security has spun a massive surveillance web under the Trump administration. NPR collected dozens of firsthand accounts to understand how those tools are being used.

Kat Lonsdorf

See stories by Kat Lonsdorf

A Martínez

A Martínez is one of the hosts of Morning Edition and Up First. He came to NPR in 2021 and is based out of NPR West.

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ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it

Kat Lonsdorf, Jude Joffe-Block, Meg Anderson

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and Border Patrol, is using a broad web of surveillance tools — purchased as its budget has ballooned under this administration — to monitor, apprehend and intimidate the people it seeks to deport and the U.S. citizens critical of its policies.