MINNEAPOLIS, 31 January. - (ANA) - The clash between immigration enforcement agents and protesters in Minneapolis is the latest front in a high-stakes global arms race between governments and their domestic foes over who has better technology — and who has the right to use it.

 

Trump’s immigration crackdown — and the extra funding that came along with it — spearheaded an era of surveillance tech aided by Palantir and other powerful AI companies: Facial recognition apps that reveal a person’s immigration status, phone tracking technology, AI agents, and spyware that remotely hacks into phones and helps federal law enforcement target individuals.

 

Activists are also tapping tech to try and fight back, Semafor’s Rachyl Jones reports. To warn community members when ICE agents are nearby, Sherman Austin, an activist and technician in Long Beach, California, created a national database of license plates connected with immigration operations, and a text alert system to track and broadcast the movements of federal agents.

 

“They’re running around en masse. They won’t identify themselves,” Austin said. “This is a tool that we can at least use to keep track of their whereabouts, so we can tell our friends and neighbors when they’re nearby.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/31 January 2026 - - -