ICE Immigrant Tracking Contracts Reach $57.1 Million

• Companies track immigrants for ICE
• $57.1 million in new orders
• Capgemini receives $14.5 million

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly increased its investment in private companies that locate immigrants within the United States.

The agency placed $57.1 million in new orders with 14 companies specializing in skip tracing, according to contracting records reviewed by Project Salt Box.

The increase is significant because each new order is approximately three times larger than the initial allocations made in December, expanding the role of private contractors in immigration enforcement.

These companies can use public records, commercial databases, and information available online to identify possible addresses or workplaces associated with a person ICE is seeking.

How ICE Immigrant Tracking Contracts Work

Skip tracing involves collecting and cross-referencing information to locate a specific person, a practice also used outside immigration enforcement.

Under these contracts, companies can physically verify an address and photograph the property as evidence after identifying a potential home or workplace.

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The findings are then delivered to ICE and can be used in immigration enforcement operations, according to Project Salt Box.

Constellation, for example, went from an initial order of $767,468.75 to another worth approximately $2.3 million, nearly three times the previous amount.

Capgemini Receives Largest Order to Track Immigrants

The largest individual allocation went to Capgemini Government Solutions, which received an order worth $14.5 million, according to the records reviewed.

Its French parent company announced in February that it would sell the U.S. subsidiary after facing criticism over its ICE contract and difficulties overseeing some of its operations.

Another example is Enprovera, whose allocation increased from $34,552 in the first round to $103,656 in the new orders.

The expansion comes after Scripps News reported that ICE had initially hired 13 companies; 14 companies are now involved in these operations.

Private Incentives Spark Debate Over Immigrant Tracking

One of the most controversial aspects is the incentive system: A previous Scripps investigation found that the contracts included bonuses tied to the number of people located.

Sharon Bradford Franklin, former chair of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, described these companies as “bounty hunters” for ICE.

“It’s the same kind of incentive situation,” Franklin said, questioning a system that links payments to results in locating individuals.

The original contracts could reach up to $1.2 billion over two years, although that figure represents their potential value and does not mean ICE has already disbursed the full amount.

Tracking Companies Expand Their Role in Immigration System

The work of some companies extends beyond locating immigrants, as several are simultaneously involved in other federal immigration-related contracts.

SOS International, National Protective Services, and Response AI Solutions also hold ICE contracts for security checks involving unaccompanied immigrant minors.

Response AI Solutions also has an agreement with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to manage the collection of fines from individuals who have already been deported.

The expansion of these contracts demonstrates how federal immigration operations increasingly rely on private resources to locate individuals, verify information, and support other enforcement tasks, according to Univision and Project Salt Box.