U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Minnesota Prosecutors Open Criminal Investigation into Border Patrol Chief Bovino Over ICE Operation Abuses

| Importance: 7/10

On March 3, 2026, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the opening of criminal investigations into Gregory Bovino, former Customs and Border Protection chief patrol agent and Border Patrol commander-at-large, and multiple ICE agents for alleged unlawful conduct during Operation Metro …

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ICE and CBP Use Free Walkie-Talkie App Zello to Power Operations

| Importance: 7/10

An investigation revealed ICE and CBP officers were coordinating enforcement operations using Zello, a free consumer walkie-talkie app previously linked to January 6 coordination, bypassing secure government communications systems. The use of an unsecured commercial app for sensitive law enforcement …

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DHS Plans Unified Biometric Matching Engine Across Agencies

| Importance: 8/10

DHS announced plans for a unified “matching engine” merging facial recognition and fingerprint databases across multiple agencies into a single searchable system. The combined biometric database would enable any DHS component to instantly cross-reference faces and fingerprints against …

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DHS Signs $1 Billion Palantir Agreement for Immigration Surveillance

| Importance: 9/10

DHS signed a $1 billion blanket purchase agreement with Palantir for immigration surveillance across ICE and CBP without competitive bidding. Palantir’s technology enables mass data integration across multiple government databases, creating comprehensive surveillance profiles of immigrants and …

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DHS Shutdown Begins But Immigration Enforcement Continues

| Importance: 8/10

DHS entered a partial shutdown at 12:01 a.m. after Congress failed to pass funding legislation, becoming the only federal agency affected while all others received full-year fiscal 2026 funding. Democrats withheld votes for DHS seeking reforms to immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings …

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ACLU Files Class Action Against ICE for Racial Profiling in Minnesota

| Importance: 7/10

The ACLU of Minnesota, American Civil Liberties Union, Covington & Burling LLP, Greene Espel PLLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging systematic racial profiling and constitutional violations by ICE and CBP during Operation Metro Surge. The …

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Internal Documents Reveal ICE Agents Afraid of Minneapolis Deployment After Good Shooting

| Importance: 7/10

Internal DHS documents revealed significant hesitation among federal agents about deployment to Minneapolis under Operation Metro Surge following the fatal shooting of Renee Good. A memo from Border Patrol’s Acting Assistant Chief Joshua Andrew Post sought 300 volunteer personnel (200 Border …

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DHS Whistleblower Leaks Personal Data of 4,500 ICE and Border Patrol Agents

| Importance: 8/10

A DHS whistleblower leaked the personal data of approximately 4,500 ICE and Border Patrol agents to ICE List, a volunteer-run accountability website, in what was described as the largest-ever breach of DHS staff data. The dataset included names, work emails, telephone numbers, roles, and resumé data …

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DHS Announces Operation Salvo Results in New York City

| Importance: 6/10

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced results of Operation Salvo in Manhattan, a multi-agency operation resulting in 54 arrests of alleged Trinitarios gang members. The operation was launched following the July 19, 2025 shooting of an off-duty Supervisory CBP officer by gang members in a New York City …

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CBP Agents Tackle and Detain Two U.S. Citizen Teenagers at Richfield Target Store

| Importance: 8/10

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detained two teenage employees at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota around 2:00 PM. Jonathan Aguilar Garcia and Christian Miranda Romano, both U.S. citizens, were approached by agents outside the store and asked if they were citizens. When the workers …

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Border Patrol Agents Pepper Spray Students at Roosevelt High School During Dismissal

| Importance: 9/10

Federal agents deployed chemical irritants outside Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis during student dismissal around 3:30 PM. Witnesses reported agents spraying students and staff, with Education Minnesota president Monica Byron stating agents were “pepper spraying students.” Video …

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DHS Announces "Largest Immigration Operation Ever" Deploying 2,000 Agents to Minneapolis

| Importance: 9/10

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the deployment of 2,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, calling it the “largest immigration operation ever.” ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons stated agents would go “door to door” to companies suspected of hiring …

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DHS Implements Mandatory Biometric Collection for All Non-Citizens at U.S. Borders

| Importance: 7/10

New DHS regulations take effect requiring mandatory biometric data collection from all non-citizens entering and leaving the United States at airports, land ports, seaports, and other authorized points of departure. The rule expands facial recognition technology and authorizes CBP to photograph—and …

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Noem Increases Self-Deportation Incentive to $3,000, Promotes 'Home for the Holidays'

| Importance: 7/10

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Fox News that immigrants who voluntarily self-deport through the CBP Home app would receive a $3,000 stipend for the final weeks of 2025, tripling the $1,000 incentive introduced in May. Noem framed the increase as a “home for the holidays” message. …

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DHS Releases Year-End Report Claiming 'Most Secure Border in History' While Touting 2.5 Million Departures and Record Drug Seizures

| Importance: 8/10

The Department of Homeland Security released a comprehensive year-end report on December 19, 2025, claiming that under President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem the agency has achieved “the most secure border in American history” and “unmatched enforcement successes” through …

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Border Patrol Academy Reaches Highest Enrollment Since 2009 With 1,100 Trainees as Trump Administration Militarizes Enforcement Training

| Importance: 8/10

The U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, New Mexico, reached enrollment of approximately 1,100 trainees in December 2025—the highest level since 2009—as U.S. Customs and Border Protection pursues plans to hire roughly 3,000 additional Border Patrol agents on top of the more than 19,000 already …

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Federal Judge Rules Border Patrol Commander Bovino Lied Under Oath, Issues Sweeping Use-of-Force Injunction

| Importance: 10/10

On November 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a devastating preliminary injunction against Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and federal immigration enforcement agents in Chicago, explicitly finding that Bovino “admitted that he lied” about the October 23, 2025 tear gas …

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DHS Releases Mobile Facial Recognition App for Local Police to Identify Immigration Status

| Importance: 9/10

In November 2025, the Department of Homeland Security released the “Mobile Identify” facial recognition app on Google’s app store, making it available to state and local law enforcement agencies deputized to work with ICE. The Trump Tyranny Tracker reported on November 4 that the …

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Border Patrol Commander Bovino Throws Tear Gas at Chicago Protesters, Violating Court Order

| Importance: 10/10

On October 23, 2025, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was caught on video personally throwing at least one tear gas canister into a crowd of protesters in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, directly violating a federal court restraining order issued just two weeks earlier by U.S. …

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DHS Uses Multi-Year Reconciliation Funding to Pay 70,000 Immigration Enforcement Officers During Shutdown While 700,000 Federal Workers Go Unpaid

| Importance: 8/10

During the fourth week of the October 2025 government shutdown affecting over 700,000 federal employees, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that approximately 70,000 Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers—including ICE deportation officers, CBP border patrol agents, Secret Service …

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ICE Launches Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, Appoints Bovino as Commander-at-Large

| Importance: 9/10

On September 8, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz,” a massive multi-agency immigration enforcement surge targeting Illinois and northwest Indiana. The operation marked a significant escalation in urban immigration enforcement …

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Flock Safety Admits Federal Immigration Agents Have Direct Access to Tracking Data, Pauses Pilot

| Importance: 9/10

Flock Safety publicly admits that federal immigration agents have had direct access to automated license plate reader data through a previously undisclosed pilot program with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), giving federal authorities access to more …

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TRAC: ICE arrests drop to ~990 per day in July 2025

| Importance: 6/10

According to TRAC Syracuse University analysis of ICE data, average daily arrests fell to 990 in July 2025 (July 1-27) from 1,224 in June—a 19% decline, amid protests and litigation. Total arrests 31,281 in July (27,483 by ICE, 3,798 by CBP). Both numbers well below Stephen Miller’s stated …

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Bovino Leads Military-Style Raid on MacArthur Park as Children Flee, Defies Mayor Bass

| Importance: 9/10

On July 7, 2025, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino led a military-style immigration enforcement operation in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, deploying agents on horseback, in armored vehicles, and with helicopter support while over 20 children were attending a summer camp in the park. Video …

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Elon Musk's Starlink Expands Rapidly in Federal Government Infrastructure

| Importance: 7/10

Starlink has secured contracts and deployed internet infrastructure across multiple federal agencies, including the FAA, GSA, and Customs and Border Protection. The rapid adoption has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, particularly given Musk’s close ties to the Trump …

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CBP Journalist Watchlist and Border Surveillance Program Documented

| Importance: 8/10

Customs and Border Protection maintains secret database monitoring journalists movements and creates watchlist of “Suspected Organizers, Coordinators, Instigators and Media” including 10 journalists with detailed dossiers. Program enables systematic secondary screening at borders, …

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Targeted Journalists Immigration Advocates DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Committee to Protect Journalists +1 more cbp-surveillance journalist-watchlist border-surveillance systematic-monitoring press-intimidation +1 more
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Anduril Deploys 300th Autonomous Surveillance Tower at U.S.-Mexico Border

| Importance: 7/10

Anduril Industries announced deployment of its 300th Autonomous Surveillance Tower (AST) along the southern U.S. border, significantly expanding its AI-powered surveillance infrastructure for Customs and Border Protection. The deployment includes the Extended Range Sentry Tower, featuring an 80-foot …

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CBP Awards Anduril $25 Million for Autonomous Surveillance Towers at Border

| Importance: 8/10

U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded Anduril Industries a $25 million contract for autonomous surveillance towers (ASTs) along the U.S.-Mexico border, with plans to deploy 200 towers by 2022 in a relationship worth more than $200 million. The AST system combines Anduril’s radar-equipped …

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Grayshift Secures Major Contracts with ICE, DEA, and FBI for GrayKey Technology

| Importance: 7/10

Grayshift rapidly expands its federal law enforcement customer base, securing significant contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Secret …

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Accenture delivers 58 hires for $297M ICE contract

| Importance: 6/10

CBP awarded Accenture $297M contract to hire 7,500 border agents/officers to meet Trump’s executive order. Delivered only 2 agents first year, 22-58 total hires by termination. $40K per hire cost exceeded average officer salary. Contract terminated April 2019 ‘for convenience’ …

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