ICE uses data broker tools to ‘identify unaccompanied minors’ and ‘fraud’

Immigration and customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to renew its contract with a subsidiary of Data broker The Thomson Reuters giant is paying up to $25 million a year for up to five years in order to meet urgent and “exponential” demand for data that can identify “unaccompanied minors” as well as anyone involved in “any type of fraud against government funds,” according to a document published in the federal contract registry on Tuesday.

“Given ICE’s reprioritized mission,” the document “There is a need for data to be readily available to support the presidential mandate to identify voter fraud, immigration fraud, and national security,” it reads.

The document does not explain why ICE would need to identify unaccompanied minors, which is typically the purview of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or how Thomson Reuters data would be used to combat voter fraud or immigration fraud. When reached for comment, Kat Hanley, a spokeswoman for Thomson Reuters, told WIRED that ICE’s identification work may include “screening sponsors of children entering the country” to ensure the “well-being and safety of children.”

The $25 million annual payment represents a huge increase in value for Thomson Reuters’ work with ICE. the previous vs The value of the contract was $24 million over five years.

Although ICE has been purchasing data from Thomson Reuters ever since 2008The justification for the contract indicates that the Trump administration hopes to expand how Thomson Reuters data is used by federal immigration officials. It is another indicator of Ever-increasing reach Because of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.

DHS claims in the document that Thomson Reuters Special Services (TRSS) is “the only contractor” that can provide “continuous monitoring of up to 1 million individuals and entities” with “event-based monitoring,” “real-time alerts,” and “model-based risk assessment.” The document did not provide examples of the events or risks mentioned.

The contract will maintain ICE’s access to several Thomson Reuters-owned databases, the document says. One such database is Consolidated Evaluation and Reporting (CLEAR), which provides access to public records and “license plate reader data,” which is obtained from roadside surveillance cameras that can read license plates. since 2017Thomson Reuters obtained this data from Vigilant Solutions, an automated license plate reader company now owned by Motorola.

Another Thomson Reuters database mentioned in the document is the Continuous Alert Batch Solution (CABS), which ICE says pulls records about individuals who have recently been incarcerated or been in contact with law enforcement, including “real-time alerting on last known location data.”

The contract will also maintain ICE’s access to Westlaw, Thomson Reuters’ court records database. ICE will also have access to real-time incarceration and arrest records (RTIA) and the Thomson Reuters Special Services Entity Authority (TEA), which Nourishes to a “risk intelligence” platform called RAPID, according to the Thomson Reuters website.

The document claims that the software package that Thomson Reuters sells to ICE enables the agency to conduct “continuous monitoring,” “court document retrieval,” “risk assessments,” and “academic risk reporting.” The document does not explain what constitutes academic risk.

Representatives of ICE, DHS and HHS did not respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesperson referred WIRED to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

Unaccompanied minors, children who arrive in the United States alone, do not fall under the purview of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The care of these children is overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which falls under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services and operates independently of immigration enforcement. However, in February of last year, ICE agents Grant more access To the database that ORR uses to track unaccompanied minors.