1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

I am writing to express serious concern about ICE’s acquisition and use of the Webloc surveillance tool, which can track the movements of mobile phones, and by extension people, across entire neighborhoods without a warrant. According to investigative reporting, SE Immigration and Customs Enforcement has purchased this technology, which uses commercially harvested location data to monitor and trace individuals’ movements, including identifying places they live and work, without judicial oversight, a matter that raises profound civil liberties and privacy issues. Webloc draws on location information gathered by commercial data brokers from hundreds of millions of devices and allows ICE agents to pinpoint and follow people’s daily activities, with no legal requirement for a warrant or meaningful safeguards against misuse. This effectively creates a dragnet that collects detailed, granular movement data on innocent individuals and entire communities, undermining the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches. More information on this tool is available at https://www.404media.co/inside-ices-tool-to-monitor-phones-in-entire-neighborhoods/. Such capabilities are especially troubling given the history of racial profiling, immigration enforcement abuses, and the potential chilling effect on free speech and association. Law enforcement should not be able to bypass constitutional protections by purchasing personal data collected by third parties. Data this sensitive demands stronger privacy safeguards, transparency, and congressional oversight. I urge you to oppose the continued deployment and funding of Webloc and similar tools, and to support legislation that prohibits warrantless surveillance using commercially harvested location data. Protecting privacy rights in the digital age is essential to maintaining public trust and constitutional freedoms. Thank you for your attention to this critical civil liberties issue.