**ICE Considers Hiring Private Bounty Hunters to Track Immigrants Nationwide**
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly exploring the possibility of hiring private bounty hunters to locate immigrants across the country. This revelation comes from a procurement document reviewed by The Intercept, which outlines plans that could significantly expand private-sector involvement in immigration enforcement.
According to the document, contractors hired by ICE may receive “monetary bonuses” based on their performance — specifically, how successfully they track down their targets and the number of immigrants they report. Companies contracted under this initiative would be given bundles of information on 10,000 immigrants at a time, with additional assignments provided in increments of 10,000, potentially reaching up to 1,000,000 individuals.
The solicitation emphasizes an incentive-based pricing structure designed to encourage quick results. For example, contractors might earn bonuses for identifying a person’s correct address on the first try or for locating 90 percent of their assigned targets within a set timeframe. ICE has not yet issued an official response to requests for comment.
This strategy closely mirrors a proposal reportedly circulated by a group of military contractors, including former Blackwater CEO and Trump ally Erik Prince. In February, Politico reported that Prince and associates were advocating for a private bounty program that would pay cash rewards for each undocumented immigrant detained by state or local law enforcement officers. The pitch materials obtained by Politico described the use of “skip-tracing,” a method of gathering and verifying information to locate individuals — a tactic ICE is already funding through multimillion-dollar contracts, according to recent coverage by The Lever.
The newly released procurement document reveals that private contractors may soon be tasked with surveilling and confirming the home or work addresses of tens of thousands of immigrants nationwide, then reporting their findings back to the government.
The request for information, dated October 31, states:
“DHS ICE has an immediate need for Skip Tracing and Process Serving Services using Government furnished case data with identifiable information, commercial data verification, and physical observation services, to verify alien address information, investigate alternative alien address information, confirm the new location of aliens, and deliver materials/documents to aliens as appropriate.”
ICE will provide contractors with detailed data, including government case files, location data, social media information, and “photos and documents” showing where individuals live or work. Contractors will then conduct surveillance to confirm addresses, including taking “time-stamped photographs of the location,” before reporting back.
The document instructs vendors to prioritize verifying the immigrant’s residence but also allows verifying places of employment if a residence cannot be confirmed.
In addition to physical surveillance, the plan involves sophisticated digital monitoring. ICE will allow contractors to use commercially available surveillance technologies to confirm addresses, including “enhanced location research” featuring automated and manual real-time skip tracing. Many of these surveillance tools, which can track mobile phone location data, are widely available today and already employed by ICE.
The solicitation encourages the use of “multiple verification sources” to ensure a high confidence level and urges potential contractors to utilize all accessible technology systems.
Given the enormous scale of this operation, the procurement document indicates that the government is considering awarding contracts to multiple vendors to handle the extensive caseload of immigrants whose whereabouts need confirmation.
This proposed expansion of private-sector enforcement marks a significant development in ICE’s approach to immigration, raising questions about the role of private companies in tracking and surveilling immigrant communities.
https://theintercept.com/2025/10/31/ice-plans-cash-rewards-for-private-bounty-hunters-to-locate-and-track-immigrants/
