Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

In It to Win It

(11,997 posts)
Wed Nov 12, 2025, 11:56 AM 13 hrs ago

ICE Plans to Spend $180 Million on Bounty Hunters to Stalk Immigrants

https://www.404media.co/ice-plans-to-spend-180-million-on-bounty-hunters-to-stalk-immigrants/

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is allocating as much as $180 million to pay bounty hunters and private investigators who verify the address and location of undocumented people ICE wishes to detain, including with physical surveillance, according to procurement records reviewed by 404 Media.

The documents provide more details about ICE’s plan to enlist the private sector to find deportation targets. In October The Intercept reported on ICE’s intention to use bounty hunters or skip tracers—an industry that often works on insurance fraud or tries to find people who skipped bail. The new documents now put a clear dollar amount on the scheme to essentially use private investigators to find the locations of undocumented immigrants.

“I am sure PIs, bounty hunters, process servers, and anyone with access to commercial databases can apply and will,” Igor Ostrovskiy, an experienced private investigator with Ostro Intelligence, and who expressed concerns with ICE’s plans, told 404 Media. “Money is money and people will jump at the opportunity to embed their business as a government contractor.”

The documents are part of a package published by ICE on Monday. They say ICE is seeking assistance with a “docket size” of 1.5 million, in which the agency will give vendors a batch of 50,000 last known addresses of aliens residing in the U.S. The bounty hunters are then to verify the people live at those addresses, or find their current location, and provide that information to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). ICE says bounty hunters are to start with online research such as Google or commercial data, before moving onto physical surveillance.
7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
ICE Plans to Spend $180 Million on Bounty Hunters to Stalk Immigrants (Original Post) In It to Win It 13 hrs ago OP
They too lazy to do it themselves? Srkdqltr 12 hrs ago #1
Private contractors are winning! leftstreet 12 hrs ago #2
Sounds like anyone with an upcoming immigration hearing is about to get a visit. flvegan 12 hrs ago #3
Lesson learned, disappear people 1 at a time out of sight JCMach1 11 hrs ago #6
And think of the collateral reward potential! flvegan 10 hrs ago #7
This is the United States of America under Donald J. Trump IcyPeas 12 hrs ago #4
"Dyin' ain't much of a living, boy." Josey Wales Norbert 12 hrs ago #5

flvegan

(65,476 posts)
3. Sounds like anyone with an upcoming immigration hearing is about to get a visit.
Wed Nov 12, 2025, 12:39 PM
12 hrs ago

Why go to the courthouse where the pesky cameras, public (and damn know it all lawyers and judges) and other obstacles exist. Verify the address from the case docket, go kick in a door. That's the (new) American way!

I though we were "overrun" with lawbreaking unlawful immigrants here? Taking over our cities? Illegal (yet tasty) taco trucks on every corner? Yet they need a Lexis Nexis login to find folks to go terrorize. How interesting.

flvegan

(65,476 posts)
7. And think of the collateral reward potential!
Wed Nov 12, 2025, 02:44 PM
10 hrs ago

Kick in the door for the one, find the additional many at the same address. Disappear them all, hit those quotas and get that bonus $$$, baby!

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»ICE Plans to Spend $180 M...