What it’s like to get caught in ICE’s surveillance web
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 March 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
That web helps federal agents find people to deport. But it also allows them to identify U.S. citizens who criticize the federal government and its policies.
NPR has compiled dozens of stories of people caught up in the surveillance web. Some were monitoring ICE activities and found themselves in interactions with agents who identify them by their names and home addresses. NPR’s Scott Detrow talks with Meg Anderson and Jude Joffe-Block who have been collecting the stories, and tracking ICE’s surveillance tactics.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A couple of months ago in Minneapolis, a woman named Emily was following an ice vehicle |
| 0:04.6 | around to keep tabs on it. We're only using her first name because she fears retribution from |
| 0:09.6 | the federal government. Emily told NPR that on this particular day, the vehicle she was following |
| 0:15.0 | came to an abrupt stop. I stopped as well and I waited. And then someone leaned out of the |
| 0:20.2 | passenger side of that SUV. A masked then someone leaned out of the passenger side of that SUV. |
| 0:22.3 | A masked federal agent leaned out of the window, took a picture of her car, and a picture of her. |
| 0:28.1 | As I tried to leave, the SUV flipped around and suddenly sped directly towards me. |
| 0:34.0 | And I thought that they were going to tee on me, like, deliberately run right into my |
| 0:37.8 | driver's side door. But right before they hit me, they braked really hard. Female agent rolled |
| 0:43.3 | down the window and leaned out and addressed Emily by name. And she yelled, Emily, Emily, we're going to |
| 0:50.0 | take you home. And she looked at her phone and it looked like she was reading off my address. |
| 0:55.2 | Like she recited my home address. Emily says she has no idea how they pulled up her information so |
| 1:00.2 | quickly. Their message was not subtle, right? They were in effect saying we see you, we can get to you |
| 1:06.4 | whenever we want to. And it did scare me. The Department of Homeland Security has told NPR, quote, there is no database of, quote, |
| 1:14.3 | domestic terrorists run by DHS. Congressman Lou Correa, a Democrat from California, |
| 1:19.5 | asked DHS Secretary Kristy Knoem about it during hearing in the House yesterday. |
| 1:23.7 | One of your ICE officers in Maine recently told an observer that they're creating a database. |
| 1:29.8 | Are you creating a database, ma'am? |
| 1:31.3 | No, we're not creating a database. |
| 1:33.3 | Noam will soon be out of that job. |
| 1:35.3 | President Trump announced you will leave the post at the end of the month. |
| 1:39.3 | NPR has compiled dozens of accounts of people caught up in the surveillance web just like Emily. |
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