Under the Trump administration, virtually every available tool has been leveraged to achieve ambitious deportation targets.
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is now using a sophisticated application to locate individuals likely to be quickly deported, as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to meet what are seen as unprecedented deportation goals.
Designed to facilitate arrests, the app reportedly allows agents to locate in real time individuals under deportation orders.
The tool — whose preliminary version was reportedly called ATRAC (Alien Tracker) — is described as an interactive map displaying “hot spots” where undocumented migrants are concentrated.
According to The New York Times, more than 700,000 individuals are listed in the system, with profiles structured like simplified ID cards.
Garrett Ripa, director of the ICE office in Miami, told the newspaper: “The heat map shows where final orders of removal can be executed. The agent can then zoom in on these areas to intervene.”
The development of this technology reportedly benefited from the involvement of billionaire Elon Musk and his company DOGE, before he recently withdrew from the project, still according to The New York Times, as cited by The Independent.
The tool’s effectiveness relies on pooling data from several government agencies, including the FBI, the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), the U.S. Marshals Service, and even Social Security. Projects to integrate additional data — from housing, labor, health, and even the IRS — are being considered, according to information obtained by The Independent.
The federal immigration agency also says it counts on the cooperation of the general public to provide information that can lead to immigrant arrests. It has even praised those who have already called the Tip Line.
In a video posted last month on X (formerly Twitter), ICE shows the arrest of several men in front of a store in Baltimore. In the caption, the agency writes: “When you call our Tip Line, we listen!”, as The Independent pointed out.
These tools are part of a strategic campaign led by Stephen Miller, senior adviser to President Donald Trump and architect of his anti-immigration policy.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Miller allegedly ordered ICE officials to intensify arrests after results fell short of presidential expectations.
According to the same outlet, Miller asked ICE leaders whether they thought they could reach the symbolic number of one million deportations by the end of the year. He even proposed targeting places like Home Depot parking lots or 7-Eleven stores to identify migrants for arrest, The Independent reports.
In over 20 states, agents have reportedly been ordered to arrest migrants in courthouses — including just after their cases were dismissed — or as soon as a judge issued a deportation order, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post.
These directives reportedly triggered a wave of aggressive operations, notably in Los Angeles County, where protests escalated into violent clashes with police. In response, the American president authorized the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops.
Migrants who have been in the United States for less than two years are, in many cases, reportedly placed directly into expedited removal proceedings without access to a hearing before a judge.
Immigration experts are now advising undocumented immigrants — particularly those who have been in the U.S. for less than two years — to limit their movements as much as possible.
Among Haitian communities, thousands of people are now at risk of deportation following the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump administration to revoke the legal status of beneficiaries of the parole program, better known as the Biden program.
As for holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), they can breathe — at least for the moment — while awaiting a decision from the administration or the judge handling their case.
Sources: The Independent, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post
