ICE plans to hack phones with banned spyware, army vet arrested over protest, families left desperate
ICE didn’t upgrade its tools. It transformed them into weapons, reactivating spyware that had previously been banned for international abuse and unethical surveillance, giving the agency the power to hack phones, read private messages, and track anyone it deems a target. Families continue to vanish from homes, workplaces, and parking lots without hearings, warnings, or justification, while the agency monitors them in real time, leaving fear as the only constant in their lives.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resumed doing business with a controversial hacking company that had been dropped for running afoul of a Biden-era executive order against dealings with unethical spyware vendors.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ice-reactivates-contract-with-previously-banned-spyware-vendor/ar-AA1LKeXm
The executive order that was supposed to impose limits has been ignored, leaving Paragon Solutions’ spyware, already found on the phones of journalists, migrant advocates, and even associates of Pope Francis, fully operational under ICE control. Oversight is nonexistent, accountability is suspended, and the agency now wields tools that can intimidate, punish, and terrorize without consequence, turning surveillance into a weaponized form of domestic oppression.
“ICE is already shredding due process and ruining lives in its rush to lock up kids, cooks and firefighters who pose no threat to anyone,” said Sen. Ron Wyden. “I’m extremely concerned about how ICE will use Paragon’s spyware to further trample on the rights of Americans.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ice-reactivates-contract-with-previously-banned-spyware-vendor/ar-AA1LKeXm
This is not law enforcement. It is repression masquerading as national security, targeting ordinary civilians rather than criminals, and using the pretext of safety to justify invasive and abusive surveillance that spreads fear and silences dissent, demonstrating that the tools intended for protection can be turned into instruments of tyranny.
Families are torn apart while the government cloaks its actions in bureaucratic language and abstract statistics. “Lupita’s husband was deported to Mexico in February… She now takes care of her children alone.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/family-and-relationships/parenting/immigration-sweeps-leave-gaping-holes-in-san-diego-families-i-just-want-my-dad-home/ar-AA1LLZ11
A DUI twenty years old, classes completed, fines paid, and yet the consequences of a distant mistake are imposed with absolute finality, leaving five U.S. citizen children without a father, a household destabilized, and trauma embedded in lives that the state claims to serve, demonstrating that enforcement has replaced justice and extraction has replaced care.
“Deisy Mendoza… became the primary provider and caretaker for her four younger siblings after her parents were detained by ICE.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/family-and-relationships/parenting/immigration-sweeps-leave-gaping-holes-in-san-diego-families-i-just-want-my-dad-home/ar-AA1LLZ11
She works nights at an ice cream shop, cooks breakfast for her siblings, drives them to school, and manages homework and appointments while the legal system drags her parents through appeals, holding them without cause, showing that ordinary citizens are left to absorb the consequences of a system designed to punish and intimidate, and that survival has become a daily act of defiance against the state.
When protests arise, the government responds swiftly and mercilessly. “An Army veteran was arrested by the FBI for conspiracy over a protest against ICE.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/02/fbi-arrest-us-army-veteran-ice-protest
He did not commit violence, make threats, or harm anyone. His crime was organizing, speaking out, and opposing a system that targets civilians, showing that dissent itself is now treated as a criminal act, and that the line between surveillance and punishment has been erased entirely.
https://citizenwatchreport.com/ice-plans-to-hack-phones-with-banned-spyware-army-vet-arrested-over-protest-families-left-desperate/