S.T.O.P. Condemns Hundreds Of ICE Agents’ Surveillance Abuses

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Hundreds Of ICE Agents’ Surveillance Abuses (New York, NY 4/17/23) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns ICE for allowing hundreds of agents to illegally abuse agency surveillance systems. Today, reporting from WIRED (featuring analysis from S.T.O.P.) shows how ICE employees allegedly exploited systems to track “medical, biometric, and location data." The misconduct allegations include a wide array of unlawful behavior, including stalking and harassment of intimate partners, coworkers, and neighbors, data sharing with criminal groups, and other fraudulent transactions.  SEE: WIRED - ICE Records Reveal How Agents Abuse Access to Secret Data https://www.wired.com/story/ice-agent-database-abuse-records/ “Every time we give a government agency our data, it’s open to these sort of abuses,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “We often talk about how many surveillance systems ICE can access, but the truth is that it’s individual agents who can use and misuse these systems. And while ICE may have documented hundreds of cases where our rights were violated, that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg. Importantly, this sort of misconduct is likely happening in nearly every law enforcement agency in the country; We just don’t hear about it. Oftentimes, there’s simply no way for the public to know when our private data is misused. And while ICE may have taken a small step by identifying these past violations, there’s nothing to prevent similar misconduct in the future.” Last year, the civil rights group condemned expanded surveillance under the Biden Administration, including ICE’s $7.2 million contract with Trust Stamp to purchase 10,000 smartphones configured to track migrants processed at the southern border with GPS and facial recognition. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Condemns Expanded Biden Admin Surveillance, Warrantless FBI Searches, ICE Tracking Devices https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2022/5/2/stop-condemns-expanded-biden-admin-surveillance-warrantless-fbi-searches-ice-tracking-devices The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn   Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.