Federal Agencies Use Cellphone Location Data for Immigration Enforcement

Wall Street Journal Source: www.wsj.com...

Can you imagine the upset this will create? This is just initial reporting but if you can see what is coming you might conclude this story is going to grow exponentially. If you do the math this has a large swath of the public pretty freaked out by Monday. This I think will evolve into a much bigger story.

a reply to: machineintelligence

Oh yeah? That IS awful. But the CT in me says this is a precursor to everyone trynna get the TPS report out about
#coronavirus.

My apologies to those that may or may not be illegal in the US. I live in a sanctuary state, and the way we treat those that want to afford themselves and families a better life is reprehensible.

However I’m not in a camp that wants to pay for them through taxes or WIC or whatever. Regardless....

Watch what happens in the next 4-6 months as members here and in society disappear a la what’s happening in #China

V is not for Vendetta, but freedom of info and free speech

“v”

a reply to: machineintelligence

www.vox.com... well per vox its legal or at least not law on the books to stop them from doing so but does seem one cheaper way at least to help track down the illegals living in the usa.

Companies that sell your cellphone location data to marketers are also selling that information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the government body known for detaining children in cages. According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, ICE and its affiliated organizations at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have been using location information for “millions” of cellphones bought from marketers to track down and arrest undocumented immigrants at the US-Mexico border. The effort seems to be massive and legal. And as WSJ points out, “The federal government’s use of such data for law enforcement purposes hasn’t previously been reported.”

so some of the "i dont want my data getting out there" crowd may be ruffled but i dont see this going to badly with the presidents base . patriot act made stuff far more shady then this legal and that was over a decade ago


2nd snippit and in this context i see people being alot less offended but would shine light on those veterans caught trafficking illegals the other day and how the gov quickly caught them

Homeland Security officials wouldn’t tell the WSJ exactly how it leverages location data. It’s possible that the agency can use the information to see where people are crossing the border — for instance, in locations outside of regulated entry ports — and plan detention efforts accordingly. Documents reviewed by the Journal “make oblique references to such data being used to track, among other things, tunnels along the border.” The use of data does not sound dissimilar to certain marketing strategies. Advertisers can use anonymized geolocation data from cellphones to target people when they visit, say, a McDonald’s location.

so who knows perhaps part of the "new wall" is tiny cellphone repeaters that just pick up devices that connect to them near the border ,or it could just be a bluf and an attempt to cut down on the coyotes methods of communication at the border so they cant be warned off of impending raids of the crossings

a reply to: RalagaNarHallas

I just see this story blowing up. There are a lot of people that will be affected and this story will I think kind of steamrolled. Lots of other news came out on Thursday and Friday as we all know. This will I think peak Mon-Tue next week.

a reply to: machineintelligence

well again its legal so other then some people offended about it being used against illegals and the larger group that seems to value data privacy which is almost non existent these days . and as far as i know buying data from companies is legal so they get to skirt around the normal warrant issues but if people wanna stop this they would have to yell at the cellphone companies selling data and or the app makers that have the never ending lists of permissions needed to install even simple games

edit to add link www.vice.com... so was right about the games aspect

The federal government purchased access to a database that tracks millions of cell phones and is using the data as part of its ongoing crackdown on undocumented immigrants, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Department of Homeland Security began purchasing location data in 2017 from Venntel, a Virginia-based company which markets itself as a “pioneer in mobile location information,” according to the database of federal contracts. Since then, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has purchased $190,000 in Venntel licenses and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has spent over $1 million on the company’s products. The data is drawn from inconspicuous cell phone apps, like games and weather apps, that ask the user’s permission to access their location. But the data has been used by DHS to “help identify immigrants who were later arrested,” and by CBP to identify cell activity in places such as remote desert areas on the Mexican border, according to the Journal, which said it both reviewed documents and spoke to people “familiar with the matter.”

so even weather apps so that makes it a current minefield for those trying to dodge this

thehill.com...

Documents cited by the Journal show that the purchase of user location data started in 2017, when an experimental products division of DHS began to buy location data from Venntel Inc., a small Virginia-based tech company that reportedly shares several executives and patents with Gravy Analytics, a major mobile-advertising company. The following year, ICE bought $190,000 worth of Venntel licenses. In 2019, CBP bought more than $1 million in licenses for multiple kinds of software. That purchase included Venntel subscriptions for location data. Both ICE and CBP acknowledged the use of the data, but wouldn't go into specifics with the Journal about how it was used.

so they get the info from a key mobile advertiser so even harder to find out whos gonna sell your data later

a reply to: RalagaNarHallas

Data mining is the future. Cambridge Analytica proved that. It's the new frontier of capitalism, something people should really take a good look at. And it certainly can be used for sinister or population control means.

a reply to RalagaNarHallas
I think there is great potential for sales of Hispanic branded VPN products given to people seeking to get out of this trap. They then are purchased by DHS or affiliated vendors.

a reply to: machineintelligence
If these same people broke into your home and killed or ripped you off and you could catch the perp using this method you would be in favor of usining it. They are breaking into the USA, committing crimes.

a reply to: machineintelligence

www.zdnet.com... that will stop this but not standard government surveillance

Upon the news that the AFP had handled the metadata of a journalist, the online outrage squad kicked into gear with a chorus singing the praises of Australia's magic bullet to security in 2017: using a VPN. "Get a VPN. Use Signal!" the online masses screamed as Colvin was delivering his press conference. To think that merely encasing one's data communications in a encrypted tunnel is enough to stop the authorities from invading one's privacy is no different from sitting on six drums of gasoline with a lit stick of dynamite and thinking you are safe because you have a fire extinguisher. As Friday's events showed, no VPN in the world would have saved this particular journalist's call records. The only thing that would have, was to never have communicated with a source via the phone in the first place.

then there are the ambiguity in cellphone contracts and the apps permissions themselves then it would be going back to burner phones like the wire used but id imagine all the companies want to get in on the data mining business that as the member above me said is taking off and a new branch of capitalism

a reply to: JON666

I don't recall providing my opinion on this subject. I simple am relaying the information and providing some opinion on how this situation might evolve.

a reply to: JON666

These sort of scenarios you are bringing up are rather rare, and you are clearly painting immigrants in a negative way. Most 'illegal' immigrants are just expired visas, students, or family attached to someone who is a citizen.

I get that illegals can, and for the most part, are a drain on tax payers, but painting them in a negative light is only fear mongering. Immigration needs to be tightened. An established nation cannot call itself sovereign if it has open door policies, but it can't also claim to be a bastion of freedom and light, if you enlist policies to send off goon squads to locations, and tap into everyone's cellphones to catch a few bad apples.

a reply to: strongfp
If these folks are so innocent why are they not showing up when required to? If I was called into court and did not show up my ass would be in the slammer. My forefathers came here legally went through the process,why make excuses to those who break out laws? I've worked all my life to receive my government benefits why should we give stuff to those who have broken in and broke our laws? Are you willing to pay extra income taxes to pay for their benefits if so kick in a couple extra thousand dollars this tax year to pay for them. But I doubt your willing to put your money where your mouth is.

a reply to: JON666

My grandfather was litterally just thrown on a boat and sent off to New York and landed in Halifax, he was technically an 'illegal' immigrant, since his family was in the US, not Canada. Long story short, he became a citizen by simply proving his worth.

In today's world, such a scenario is rather rare, but it's not impossible.

With that said. You are taking my words and twisting them a little, shame really. I was actually painting a picture that people need to immigrate legally, but also pointing out that spying on peoples cell phones, and using data mining not just on illegals, but literally everyone to catch these illegals is a dangerous path to go on.

The interesting part is the one side of people who say: if you do nothing wrong you have nothing to fear.

Guess what, every illegal is a criminal, so they are breaking the law. So the above saying still holes true. hopefully this is a wake up call for people who give give lip service for trusting the government and giving the government more power.

I must admit, I love the irony of thinking sanctuary states/cities Politicians, who keep getting elected, Who are using their citizens tax money to fund criminals illegals and then the feds utilized what the politicians gave the criminals to bring them to justice

a reply to: machineintelligence

Can you just taste the freedom?

a reply to: strongfp

Long story short, he became a citizen by simply proving his worth.

Did he demand that society take care of him when he arrived. Did he belittle his new county? I am for all legal immigration. What do you think of the bill being put together I think it New way forward act?

a reply to: machineintelligence

Hey, privacy was not supposed to be an issue. That was the liberal mantra just few years back. You have nothing to hide, right? Don’t cry now if they come for you or your buddies. And once they nail anyone of them, their all phone records are free to check as they want. Other illegal buddies and their hosts won’t be happy... But, hey, nothing hide, right?

Bonus: you all can share the cell and hug for long goodbye...


PS. Yes, this is sarcasm, don’t freak out. I care for freedom. Yours as well your buddies’.

I don’t have a problem with using any methods to track and capture illegal invaders. Non-citizens don’t have those kinds of rights. The concern I have is that the government will overreach and start violating the rights of actual citizens.

a reply to: JON666

I'm pretty sure my grandfather was expecting people to take care of him when he landed since he went from a Nazi infested war zone, to (In his eyes) a literal paradise.

He didn't demand anything, he expected some sort of compassion tho, that's for sure.

The new way forward act is a touchy subject, again, I addressed this. To paint all 'technically' illegals, as criminals is setting a dangerous path. Most illegals are honest people, wanting to gain citizenship. This is a subject that defines a person compassion, and it puts a lot of people between a rock and a hard place.

My personal opinion is like this. Enforce strict immigration laws now, and deal with the people who are already in the nation as citizens, give them a chance.