Minnesota, January 5 to February 27, 2026

Surveillance DHS Technologies

Software systems and surveillance tools documented as deployed by ICE and DHS during Operation Metro Surge. Each entry includes a description, contract details, and direct examples from community-submitted reports.

These are not hypothetical capabilities. Several were confirmed in sworn courtroom testimony, federal contract records, FOIA disclosures, and firsthand accounts from Minnesota observers during this period. Reports in this dataset document the visible effects: agents knowing names without being told them, returning to specific apartment units, drones preceding raids by days, and observers being identified and followed after filming enforcement activity.

Contract figures from federal procurement records (SAM.gov). Technology descriptions sourced from the American Immigration Council, Electronic Frontier Foundation, NPR, Boston Globe, and 404 Media. Report examples from ICEout.org, January to February 2026.

Report examples are classified as Explicitly documented where the observer directly named or confirmed a technology, or Consistent with where the behavior described is consistent with how the technology operates but does not confirm its use. Some technologies leave no observable trace in community reports by design.

Targeting & Data Fusion

Palantir Technologies

$60M+ in ICE contracts, 2025-2026

Targeting Platform

ImmigrationOS

The master targeting platform. Pulls together passport data, Social Security records, IRS information, court records, and license plate reader data to identify and prioritize people for removal. Designed for three functions: identifying and apprehending targets, tracking self-deportations in near real-time, and improving deportation logistics. A prototype was delivered September 2025; contract runs through 2027.

From the reports

1/26/26Oakdale

Consistent with

Ice agents visited this unit for the second confirmed time within two weeks. They have been consistently staking out this unit. Seem to have left right away.

1/12/26St Paul

Villages on McKnight

Consistent with

Individuals claiming to be police entered the building and were banging aggressively on a door for over 10 minutes. Using threats and calling out a name, saying "they knew they were in there, could hear them walking around." Left after no response.

Palantir Technologies

$29.9M contract, Sept 2025

Field Targeting App

ELITE (Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement)

The street-level targeting layer of ImmigrationOS, confirmed in sworn courtroom testimony December 2025. Works like a map app populated with people. Each person gets a dossier: photo, date of birth, last known address, and an Address Confidence Score from 0 to 100. Agents draw a shape on the map to select a "target-rich area." During "special operations," normal safeguards can be turned off. Draws from Medicaid records of nearly 80 million patients.

From the reports

1/8/26Apple Valley

Remington Cove

Consistent with

They got inside of the Remington building. Apparently they were looking for someone specifically.

1/15/26Minneapolis

Explicitly documented

Two men arrested. Agents confirmed they ran plates to justify pulling them over.

LexisNexis

$4.7M subscription, 2025

Data Aggregator

LexisNexis Investigative Database

A commercial investigative database aggregating court records, address histories, financial records, prior arrests, and property records. ICE performed more than 1.2 million searches over seven months in 2025. Provides a searchable portrait of a person's history and known addresses that feeds into ELITE confidence scores.

From the reports

1/11/26Saint Peter

Family Fresh Market

Explicitly documented

I was tailed for a short while by a camouflage green SUV. The driver was on comms relaying my license plate. After verifying my license plate was good they turned into Family Fresh Market.

1/22/26Chaska

Speedway

Explicitly documented

Sitting in parking lot and circling the block. Confirmed ICE vehicle via license plate database.

Facial & Biometric Recognition

NEC Corporation / DHS

Field deployment from 2025

Facial Recognition — Field App

Mobile Fortify

Loaded onto standard smartphones, allows agents to point their phone at a person's face and instantly identify them. The database contains 1.2 billion images, including photos of U.S. citizens taken at airport security. Used over 100,000 times since June 2025. DHS deployed it without completing required Privacy Impact Assessments. During Operation Metro Surge, a Minneapolis observer stated in a lawsuit that an agent confronted her by name and told her agents were using facial recognition technology.

From the reports

1/31/26Little Canada

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Explicitly documented

2 JEEPS and 1 RAM pickup truck, at least 2 agents per vehicle. Driving towards home and they are now following us. They mentioned facial recognition. Very concerned for the safety of our family.

1/15/26Albert Lea

Hardee's

Consistent with

Cars surrounding woman and man getting detained. ICE agent photographed or recorded me when it was clear I was recording them.

Clearview AI

$3.75M ICE contract, 2025

Facial Recognition — Database

Clearview AI Facial Recognition

A facial recognition system built from 60 billion images scraped from the internet, including social media profiles, news articles, and public websites. Clearview previously settled litigation over its data practices. CBP signed a contract with Clearview AI in 2025, giving agents the ability to identify a person from a photo matched against this database without their knowledge.

From the reports

1/22/26Inver Grove Heights

Taqueria El Girasol

Consistent with

I pulled over well away from the unmarked ICE vehicle and observed, taking pictures. Immediately they took my picture and got back in their vehicle.

1/26/26Maple Grove

Consistent with

Four ICE agents got out heading to different doorways. They took my picture and my car picture and asked if I lived there.

BI2 Technologies

$4.5M ICE contract, Jan 2026

Biometric Identification

MORIS / I.R.I.S. — Iris Scanning

Allows agents to scan a person's iris from 10 to 15 inches away using a smartphone, returning an identity match in seconds. The database holds 5 million iris records from 1.5 million individuals, sourced from 247 law enforcement agencies' booking records. Originally marketed to sheriff departments for jail intake, now deployed in field enforcement operations.

From the reports

1/22/26Minnetonka

Stratford Wood Apartment Homes

Consistent with

Saw 4 agents get out. They took videos of me and laughed at me. I asked if they had a warrant. They said yes but never showed it.

2/17/26Osseo

Someone knocked on my building door asking for someone by a different name, with a package not for this building or apartment. They asked about the front door number. Be careful.

Phone Surveillance

Cellebrite

$11M contract renewal, 2025

Phone Hacking

Cellebrite UFED — Phone Extraction

After a person is detained, Cellebrite's device unlocks the phone and extracts a complete copy of all data: apps, location history, photos, notes, call records, text messages, and encrypted messages from Signal and WhatsApp. ICE has held contracts with Cellebrite since 2008. The number of phones searched reached a new high of 14,899 in a single quarter in 2025.

From the reports

1/23/26Rochester

Oak Terrace Mobile Home Park

One person abducted from trailer park. On the way out ICE hit a car and called in 2 more ICE units. Driver of the hit car was detained. Observing citizens were pepper sprayed.

2/27/26Winona

Winona County Sheriff's Office

Consistent with

A community member was taken by ICE directly from the Winona County Jail. The individual had posted bail and paid for an ankle monitor. ICE was waiting.

Paragon Solutions

$2M contract, revived Aug 2025

Phone Spyware

Paragon Graphite — Zero-Click Spyware

A zero-click spyware tool that begins monitoring a phone by sending a message to the target's number. No link needs to be clicked, no action required. Once active, it has complete access: encrypted messages on Signal and WhatsApp, camera, microphone, live location, and all stored data. Graphite was found on the phones of dozens of Italian civil society members in 2025. ICE revived a previously frozen contract with Paragon in August 2025.

From the reports

No direct reports

Graphite is zero-click spyware. By design it leaves no observable trace: targets receive no notification, see no change on their device, and have no way to know their phone has been compromised. No community reports can document its use.

STG

Multiple vendors

Vehicles equipped, Oct 2025

Phone Tracking

Cell-Site Simulators (Stingrays) — IMSI Catchers

Vehicles equipped with devices that mimic cell phone towers, forcing nearby phones to connect and revealing their location and identity. Unlike targeted surveillance, stingrays capture data from every phone in range, including those of U.S. citizens with no connection to any investigation. ICE purchased vehicles equipped with stingrays in October 2025.

From the reports

1/17/26Jordan

911 confirmed it was ICE outside waiting to target someone. I filmed them and they filmed me back.

1/13/26Roseville

Chuchao Liquor

Explicitly documented

Was notified by property manager that ICE was outside apartment complex.

Location & Movement Tracking

LPR

Vigilant Solutions / Motorola

Nationwide network access

Location Tracking

Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR)

A nationwide network of stationary and vehicle-mounted cameras photographing license plates and recording location and timestamp. ICE and CBP have access to a commercial database containing billions of plate scans. If a vehicle associated with a target was ever scanned at a gas station, parking lot, or highway, that data is queryable. Reports in this dataset document agents actively running plates on observers in real time.

From the reports

1/9/26Crystal

TequilaTown Authentic Mexican Cuisine

2 agents parked outside running plates. They seem to have followed the black car.

1/11/26Saint Peter

Family Fresh Market

I was tailed by a green SUV. The driver was on comms relaying my license plate. After verifying my plate was good they turned into Family Fresh Market.

1/15/26Minneapolis

Two men arrested. Agents confirmed they ran plates to justify pulling them over.

LOC

Commercial Data Brokers

Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis, others

Location Tracking — No Warrant Required

Commercial Location Data

ICE purchases location data derived from smartphone apps without needing a warrant, because the data is classified as commercially available. Brokers aggregate location signals from apps installed without knowledge that data is being sold. A device that regularly appears at a specific church, workplace, or grocery store can be used to infer a home address from where the device sleeps overnight. Even if states cut off ICE's official DMV access, ICE can obtain equivalent data through brokers.

From the reports

2/3/26Chanhassen

Gateway Place

ICE has been in the parking lot multiple days. Also in the building. White men walking upstairs said they were maintenance. It was Sunday with no tools. Dress shoes and sunglasses.

1/20/26Coon Rapids

Northpointe Apartments

Consistent with

Management confirmed they are ICE. They stated they have been parking along the buildings watching people for the last few days.

Social Media & Communications Monitoring

Zignal Labs

$5.7M ICE contract, 2025

Social Media Monitoring

Zignal Labs — Social Media Surveillance

Monitors over 8 billion social media posts per day across platforms. According to company materials, explicitly marketed for use at protests and public gatherings protected by the First Amendment. In Minnesota, ICE purchased and deployed this system to analyze movements of large groups of people in specific locations. Community alert networks including ICEout, neighborhood Facebook groups, and rapid response chats are within its monitoring scope.

From the reports

1/16/26Circle Pines

Lexington Lofts

Consistent with

Management felt it necessary to at least warn its residents.

1/20/26Coon Rapids

Northpointe Apartments

Management confirmed they are ICE. They stated they have been parking along the buildings watching people for the last few days.

1/25/26Minneapolis

Agents patrolling the area near 42nd and Jefferson. Community members chasing them to vacate the premises.

PenLink

DHS contract holder

Communications Monitoring

PenLink — Communications Analysis

Analyzes communications data including call records, metadata, and messaging activity. Works alongside social media monitoring platforms to build a picture of a person's connections, communications patterns, and associates. When someone is arrested, their communications network becomes a source of new leads.

From the reports

1/13/26Edina

One Corporate Center

Consistent with

This vehicle looks similar to an unmarked dark vehicle I saw when leaving my office building last night. It stopped at our sister building this morning and appeared to take a photo of someone.

2/20/26Minneapolis

Many ICE trucks, agents were running toward the unit. They have weapons and came with the sheriff and police.

Aerial Surveillance

Skydio / DHS Drone Office

$1.5B DHS drone program

Aerial Surveillance

Surveillance Drones

Drones capable of identifying people from up to 7.5 miles away, including models with thermal and infrared imaging. In this dataset, drones appear in 186 reports. They consistently appear one to several days before raids at the same locations, suggesting a standard pre-operational surveillance protocol. Mobile home communities and apartment complexes were the most frequent targets of nighttime drone activity.

From the reports

1/12/26Burnsville

The Original Pancake House

Explicitly documented

Drones flying through the trailer park.

1/12/26Saint Paul Park

Explicitly documented

Drones circling all over Saint Paul Park, mainly where Heritage is, heading to the train tracks and now heading to Cottage Grove by HyVee.

1/19/26Minneapolis

Avana West Park

Drones seen scouting Avana and surrounding area starting at least at 9:30 PM, still circling as of 11:29 PM. Please be careful.

Cloud Infrastructure

Microsoft Azure

Cloud infrastructure provider

Cloud Infrastructure

Microsoft Azure — Cloud Storage & Analytics

Between July 2025 and January 2026, the amount of data ICE stored on Microsoft Azure servers more than tripled, from approximately 400 terabytes to nearly 1,400 terabytes. If this data consisted entirely of photos, it would represent roughly 490 million images. Microsoft provides cloud productivity and AI tools to DHS and ICE, including document management and analytical tools that help the agency organize and analyze collected data.

From the reports

No direct reports

Cloud storage infrastructure is not directly observable. The tripling of ICE data on Azure servers between July 2025 and January 2026 is documented through leaked contracts reported by The Guardian and +972 Magazine, not community observation.