The NPR Politics Podcast ICE is keeping tabs on American citizens
59 snips
Mar 10, 2026 
Jude Joffe-Block, an NPR reporter on power and influence, and Kat Lonsdorf, an NPR immigration reporter, break down DHS tracking of not only deportation targets but U.S. citizens who oppose the agency. They describe surveillance tools like license plate readers, data consolidation and contractors, subpoenas to unmask critics, and the chilling effects on public speech.
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ICE Agent Photographed Observer And Recited Her Address
- Emily was photographed by a masked ICE agent who then recited her name and home address while she followed an ICE vehicle as a constitutional observer.
- The encounter left Emily shaken and uncertain how ICE accessed her information, highlighting direct intimidation tactics in the field.
Agent Told Observer They Had A Nice Little Database
- In Maine, Colleen Fagan recorded ICE agents apparently recording her face and license plate while she filmed them, and agents told her they had a "nice little database."
- DHS later denied having such a database, but the exchange went viral and raised questions about compiled records of observers.
Palantir Elite Consolidates Multiagency Data For Field Use
- ICE is using data-sharing and consolidation tools like Palantir's Elite to map addresses and likelihoods of where people who could be deported live.
- Palantir's app pulls from multiple data streams, including other federal agencies' records such as Medicaid data, to create field-usable location points.