WaPo frets over ICE technology upgrades targeting Antifa, illegal immigrants

A Homeland Security agency’s investment to better contend with illegal aliens, and more, found one newspaper voicing concerns about the constitutional rights of domestic terrorists

Whether through collaboration or coincidence, Saturday was set to be the latest example of radical rhetoric and its promulgation by corporate media coalescing as action with the “No Kings” demonstrations. The widespread protests against President Donald Trump’s America First agenda come as a new report from The Washington Post spoke to the “substantial concerns” about upgrades for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that were expected to be used against Antifa.

A series of contracts signed by ICE includes identification and tracking capabilities using drones, monitoring systems, iris scanners, and facial recognition software.

BREAKING – ICE is gearing up to begin targeting antifa, acquiring iris scanners, facial recognition software, phone-hacking tools, drones, and social media monitoring systems in a nationwide push to identify, track and investigate those funding and leading agitation groups. pic.twitter.com/jtDm0LySli

— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) October 17, 2025

Reporting on the contracts, the Post wrote in part, “In one contract that ICE signed last month for Clearview AI facial recognition software, the agency said in a filing that it would be used to investigate ‘assaults against law enforcement officers.’ Other federal contracts show ICE has been expanding its fleet of small, remote-controlled drones, which it has said it is using to film protesters.”

“On Oct. 2, ICE also informed prospective vendors that it planned to set up a new social media monitoring hub to trawl platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok to collect information on targets,” continued the newspaper. “The document identifies undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes as the primary focus but also deems domestic terrorism a top priority and says the contractor must be ‘flexible [about] shifting priorities.’”

The report gave particular focus to spyware capable of accessing and tracking smartphones remotely “without a court warrant” — without indicating whether or not the agency was pursuing warrants to use the technology– before quoting onetime acting ICE Director John Sandweg from President Barack Obama’s administration who said, “The acquisition and deployment of this technology in this environment is going to raise substantial concerns.”

Similarly calling into question the First and Fourth Amendment rights of domestic terrorists, Electronic Privacy Information Center counsel Maria Villegas Bravo had told the Post, “We don’t know if law enforcement or ICE are getting search warrants to deploy this spyware. It’s also a First Amendment issue because your phone contains all your communications, all your expressions … it has your contact lists, it has your social media. Any political organizing people do, it’s typically on social media now, or over the phone.”

Treating Antifa as a term — antifa — rather than a designated domestic terrorist organization, the Post shared a statement from White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson who’d said, “Left-wing organizations have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, and more.”

“The Trump Administration will get to the bottom of this vast network inciting violence in American communities,” she added with mention of the “whole-of-government approach” against “any illegal activities.”

The newspaper went on to cite Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D), who has repeatedly peddled in the narrative that the ongoing violence outside the Portland ICE facility is little more than the exercise of free speech, as he said, “I’m extremely concerned about how ICE will use spyware, facial recognition and other technology to further trample on the rights of Americans and anyone who Donald Trump labels as an enemy.”

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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