ICE Is Using 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 giant Thomson Reuters at a rate of up to $25 million per year for up to five years in order to accommodate an urgent, “multiplied” demand for data that can identify “unaccompanied minors” as well as anyone involved with “any type of fraud of government funds,” according to a document published in a federal contract register on Tuesday.

“Due to ICE’s re-prioritized mission,” the document reads, “there is a need for the data to be readily accessible to support the presidential mandate of the identification of Voters fraud, Immigration Fraud, and National Security.”

The document does not explain why ICE would need to identify unaccompanied minors, which is typically the remit 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, Thomson Reuters spokesperson Kat Hanley tells WIRED that its identification work for ICE may include “vetting the sponsors of children entering the country” to ensure the children’s “welfare and safety.”

The annual payment of $25 million marks a dramatic increase in the value of Thomson Reuters’ work with ICE. The previous equivalent contract was worth $24 million total over a five-year period.

Though ICE has been buying data from Thomson Reuters since 2008 , the contract justification indicates that the Trump administration hopes to expand the scope of how Thomson Reuters data is used by federal immigration officials. It is yet another indicator of the ever-expanding reach of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.

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

The contract would maintain ICE’s access to several proprietary Thomson Reuters databases, the document says. One of these databases is the Consolidated Lead Evaluation and Reporting (CLEAR), which provides access to public records and “license plate reader data,” which is sourced from on-road surveillance cameras. Since 2017 , Thomson Reuters has sourced this data from Vigilant Solutions, an automated license-plate-reader company that is now owned by Motorola.