ICE agents reveal daily arrest quotas and surveillance app in court testimony
9 hours ago
- #immigration
- #ICE
- #surveillance
- US immigration agents in Oregon used a custom-made app called Elite to identify neighborhoods and people to target for arrests.
- ICE officers had daily arrest quotas, with one team ordered to make eight arrests a day, contradicting DHS claims of no quotas.
- The Elite app, developed by Palantir, provided intelligence on areas with high immigrant populations, though its accuracy was questionable.
- A federal lawsuit revealed ICE's tactics, including warrantless arrests and racial profiling, leading to a judge halting such practices in Oregon.
- Testimony showed ICE agents relied on the Elite app to find 'target-rich' areas, leading to the detention of farm workers and legal residents.
- The judge criticized ICE's methods, noting the app's potential for inaccuracies and the unfounded claims of human trafficking by agents.
- ICE's arrest records contained inaccuracies, including false claims about individuals' immigration status and consensual stops.
- The lawsuit highlighted how arrest quotas and surveillance tools like Elite could lead to rights violations and racial profiling.
- Advocates argue ICE's use of Elite creates an 'electronic dragnet' that bypasses constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
- The case underscores the broader implications of ICE's opaque strategies and the impact on vulnerable communities.