ICE officials have invited tech companies, including Microsoft, to develop algorithms that will track visa holders’ social media activity.
The Department of Immigration & Customs Enforcement is taking new
steps in its plans for monitoring the social media accounts of
applicants and holders of U.S. visas. At a tech industry conference last
Thursday in Arlington, Virginia, ICE officials explained to software
providers what they are seeking: algorithms that would assess potential
threats posed by visa holders in the United States and conduct ongoing
social media surveillance of those deemed high risk.
The comments provide the first clear blueprint for ICE’s proposed
augmentation of its visa-vetting program. The initial announcement of
the plans this summer, viewed as part of President Donald Trump’s calls
for the “extreme vetting” of visitors from Muslim countries, stoked a
public outcry from immigrants and civil liberties advocates. They argued
that such a plan would discriminate against Muslim visitors and
potentially place a huge number of individuals under watch.
ICE officials subsequently changed the program’s name to “Visa
Lifecycle Vetting.” But, according to the ICE presentation, the goal of
the initiative — enhanced monitoring of visa holders using social media —
remains the same.
Speaking to a room of information-technology contractors, hosted by the Government Technology & Services Coalition,
Louis Rodi, deputy assistant director of ICE Homeland Security
Investigations’ National Security Program, said the agency needs a tool
equipped with “risk-based matrices” to predict dangers posed by visa
holders, with the social media of those considered a threat under
continuous surveillance throughout their stay in the U.S.
“We have millions and millions and millions of people coming every
year, and subsequently departing, so we have to be smart about it,” said
Rodi to a room of representatives from companies like Microsoft,
Accenture, Deloitte and Motorola Solutions. “And I’m sure there are
tools out there that can help.”
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Source: ProPublica
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