𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗚𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘; 𝗛𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦, 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗦𝗔𝗣𝗣 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦

                                     by Jim Barton      Sources: BORDER REPORT, EL BRAVO, El Periodico de Tamaulipas

Although Brownsville's MAGA adherents probably won't care, in a total disrespect for civil liberties, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has gone ahead and gifted itself a cyber arsenal that would make even authoritarian regimes blush, because, after all, nothing says “land of the free” like hacking into citizens’ phones without a warrant.

Despite the Fourth Amendment, the one that says the government can’t just rifle through your belongings or digital life without probable cause and a signed warrant, Trump's ICE team has decided that constitutional protections are more like polite suggestions, apparently optional. 

While the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) makes it a federal crime to intercept electronic communications without judicial oversight, our President prefers to emulate Vlad Putin, who spies on Russian citizens using a system referred to as "cyber gulag."     

With a $2,000,000 contract signed in late 2024, ICE now has access to Graphite, a spyware suite developed by Israel's Paragon Solutions, used to spy on journalists and human rights activists. 

Sure, former President Joe Biden had added the Israli-developed spyware to a Commerce Department blacklist, but Trump has now lifted that ban.

Admittedly, surveillance CAN be legal, if you're actually dealing with foreign threats, but not when you consider anyone living near the border as one. 

So, the next time you unlock your phone, remember that your texts, location and photos can all be accessed by Trump's goons at ICE.