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A migrant father from Guatemala, who chose not to be identified, demonstrates the ankle monitor he is required by ICE to wear 24 hours a day, on September 19, 2018, in Los Angeles, California., an independent, non-profit newsroom dedicated to reporting with and for immigrant communities in New York City.
The original article can be accessed A. Diallo crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in December 2023, with hopes of escaping the violence and injustice he experienced back home in Guinea, Conakry. He traveled from Guinea through Turkey, then through South America and Central America, and finally to the United States.Months later, in March of this year during his first check-in, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an ankle monitor on Diallo, his lawyer, Brian R. Duggan, toldspoke with Diallo, he was short with his answers and couldn’t explain why he was under surveillance. He said ICE officers placed the ankle monitor on him during his appointment without giving any explanation. He does not speak English. “I want this bracelet to be removed because that’s what will make me feel at ease,” Diallo said in French. “I’m currently looking for work, and honestly, I don’t feel comfortable with this bracelet.”Diallo’s case is one of thousands. Since June, the Trump administration has ordered ICE staff to increase the use of ankle monitors in itsprogram , a program the agency uses to oversee tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum-seekers. In an internal memo,For advocates, the bigger issue with this kind of ubiquitous surveillance is the sheer lack of rules. Unlike traditional forms of supervision, there are no established standards for when and how these devices should be used, how long immigrants can be monitored or what data ICE can collect or share. As a result, lawyers say the system operates entirely on agency discretion, leaving people like Diallo under digital surveillance for months without clear ways to challenge it. Eight months have passed, and Diallo still lives in New York under electronic surveillance. He remains in removal proceedings and could face years of uncertainty before his asylum case is resolved. In the meantime, he must wear the ankle monitor and must report to ICE every two to three weeks. “Unfortunately, ICE ramping up surveillance and monitoring of immigrants is a nationwide trend and there are very little protections or limits to any of these practices,” said Jodi Ziesemer, co-director of the Immigrant Protection Unit at the New York Legal Assistance Group. Immigration lawyer Malak Shalabi said the devices are being applied indiscriminately to mothers, pregnant women, and people without criminal records. “We’ve seen individuals with no criminal history who’ve had these devices,” she said. “There’s no set law or policy.” As part of ICE’s Alternative to Detention system, many immigrants are placed in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program , a subprogram within ATD. It’s mainly used for people ICE considers a higher flight risk or who have pending asylum or removal cases but are still allowed to live in the community. The program relies on several forms of surveillance. They are required to wear GPS ankle or wrist monitors that track their movements in real time. Others are enrolled in the SmartLINK mobile app, which relies on facial recognition, voice ID and GPS to confirm a person’s location during check-ins. Telephonic reporting remains another option, which uses a person’s voiceprint to confirm identity during scheduled calls.that roughly 7.6 million immigrants were on its non-detained docket, with more than 179,000 of them enrolled in the ATD-ISAP program. And, 182,617 people nationwide were enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or ISAP, including 11,799 in New York. Of those, 1,866 wore ankle monitors and 9,413 used the SmartLINK app.“The GPS monitor is one of the tools that ICE uses for the compliance factor of people entering without status and still seeking humanitarian relief,” said Shalabi. She says her clients describe swelling, scratching and permanent scarring as a result of wearing the monitors. Requests to ICE for removal have often gone unanswered. “A lot of these emails or these requests or these letters kind of go into a black hole because ICE is so at capacity,” Shalabi said. “There’s no communication or recourse for these people at New York’s 26 Federal Plaza immigration court.” The stigma of having to wear an ankle or wrist monitor is another yet another weight. Clients describe the bulky devices, often visible under clothing, as a constant reminder that their life is in limbo. “It’s very dehumanizing for a lot of our clients,” Shalabi said. “They don’t have criminal histories. They’re complying with the lawful process of applying for humanitarian relief or protection here.” Ziesemer noted that race and gender disparities also shape the enforcement. “Men are much more likely to be taken into custody than women. Indigenous and Black immigrants are far more likely to have a higher level of surveillance than non-BIPOC immigrants,” she said.The American Immigration Council reported A significant portion of that money is allocated to private companies. The Colorado-based BI Incorporated, a subsidiary of the GEO Group, holds the dominant contract for ISAP. Advocacy groups argue that this creates financial incentives to maintain high enrollment, regardless of individual need. “Private companies that provide the GPS ankle monitors and other surveillance technology just received lucrative government contracts,” Ziesemer said.to build a new artificial intelligence system called ImmigrationOS, a $30 million contract set for delivery by Sept. 25, 2025. The platform will enable ICE to identify, track, and deport noncitizens by accessing data from multiple federal sources, including passport records, Social Security files, IRS data, and license plate readers, regardless of the accuracy of this data. Officials say it will prioritize visa overstays and people labeled as violent criminals, though the standards for those categories remain unclear.For immigrants like Diallo, the expansion of surveillance translates into years of waiting under watch. His asylum case could take years to resolve, as hearings continue to be delayed and appeals drag on. In the meantime, he must report regularly to ICE, wearing an ankle monitor. Duggan, his lawyer, wrote to ICE in May, urging officials to ease Diallo’s conditions of supervision. In his letter, he noted that Diallo had fully complied with his check-in requirements and posed no flight risk. As a result, while ICE has not yet removed the device, Duggan says they replaced it with a different model, which agents described as a more “comfortable” version. For Duggan, the distinction is meaningless.Duggan described the process as painfully slow, saying that hearings are often scheduled years in advance and appeals processes could potentially drag that on even longer.hereTruthout is funded almost entirely by readers — that’s why we can speak truth to power and cut against the mainstream narrative. But independent journalists at Truthout face mounting political suppression under Trump.This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.He studied law and sociology in Haiti and holds a master’s degree in digital journalism from New York University., she amplifies Hispanic and Spanish-speaking voices in NYC through events, engagement, and content creation. Her reporting background includes investigative work for streaming productions, newspapers, and TV in Chile, covering politics, gender, health, education, migration, and social issues. More recently, she has focused on audience engagement, optimizing newsroom analytics, and developing social media strategies.
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