Consider This from NPR What it’s like to get caught in ICE’s surveillance web
Mar 5, 2026
08:03
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using a variety of tools to surveil folks they want to intimidate and apprehend.
That web helps federal agents find people to deport. But it also allows them to identify U.S. citizens who criticize the federal government and its policies.
NPR has compiled dozens of stories of people caught up in the surveillance web. Some were monitoring ICE activities and found themselves in interactions with agents who identify them by their names and home addresses. NPR’s Scott Detrow talks with Meg Anderson and Jude Joffe-Block who have been collecting the stories, and tracking ICE’s surveillance tactics.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Reporting from NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf contributed to this story. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Alina Hartounian, John Ketchum and Sarah Handel.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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That web helps federal agents find people to deport. But it also allows them to identify U.S. citizens who criticize the federal government and its policies.
NPR has compiled dozens of stories of people caught up in the surveillance web. Some were monitoring ICE activities and found themselves in interactions with agents who identify them by their names and home addresses. NPR’s Scott Detrow talks with Meg Anderson and Jude Joffe-Block who have been collecting the stories, and tracking ICE’s surveillance tactics.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Reporting from NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf contributed to this story. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Alina Hartounian, John Ketchum and Sarah Handel.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy