U.S. immigration agencies use private mobile location data

Documents released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in January 2026 reveal that U.S. immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), have purchased access to vast amounts of mobile location data.

This data is collected by private companies through mobile applications and utilizes Mobile Advertising IDs (MAIDs). By aggregating this information over time, agencies can track movement patterns, residences, workplaces, and travel habits. The acquisition of such digital data has raised significant legal and privacy controversies regarding how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) monitors individuals through private sector databases.