ICE Seeks $180 Million for Private Immigrant Bounty Hunters

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking to spend up to $180 million to hire private investigators and bounty hunters, known as skip tracers, to locate tens of thousands of immigrants. According to government procurement documents, the agency requires services to conduct physical surveillance of more than 1 million homes to verify residences and places of employment using time-stamped photographs and surveillance technology.

This initiative is part of a mass deportation agenda led by Donald Trump and a broader expansion of enforcement. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security aims to hire 10,000 additional agents and increase the population of immigration detention centers to a record high of 66,000 people. ICE is exploring an incentive-based pricing structure that offers monetary bonuses for quick and accurate results, with contracts potentially targeting individuals in increments of 10,000.

The program has faced pushback from lawmakers, including Illinois Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who issued a formal demand for information to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Krishnamoorthi warned that contracting police power to private citizens invites secrecy, corruption, and the risk of individuals impersonating officers.