ICE Hired AI Bounty Hunters to Track Immigrants and Their Families

TL;DR: ICE has contracted with a company called AI Solutions 87 to deploy "AI agents" that autonomously track immigrants and "map their entire network", including friends, family, and associates. These aren't search tools. They're autonomous bots designed to find people and everyone connected to them. ICE has allocated up to $180 million for bounty hunter contracts, with potential payouts exceeding $1 billion by 2027.

What ICE Just Bought

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has contracted with a company called AI Solutions 87 to deploy artificial intelligence agents for "skip tracing", the industry term for hunting people down ^[1].

According to the company's website, their AI agents "deliver rapid acceleration in finding persons of interest and mapping their entire network." That network includes "services, locations, friends, family, and associates."

This isn't a database search. It's autonomous software designed to track human beings and everyone they know.

The contract is with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the division responsible for identifying, arresting, and deporting people. AI Solutions 87 is one of at least ten companies that have received over $1 million each as ICE bounty hunters ^[2].

How the AI Agents Work

Details are limited, neither ICE nor AI Solutions 87 has disclosed the technical specifics. But based on the company's claims and industry context, here's what "autonomous tracking AI" likely means:

Data aggregation:

Scraping social media for connections and locations
Cross-referencing public records databases
Analyzing utility records, lease agreements, vehicle registrations
Matching phone numbers and email addresses across platforms
Building relationship graphs from contact networks

Network mapping:

Identifying family members through public records
Finding associates through social media connections
Mapping addresses where targets have lived or visited
Tracking employment through business records
Correlating phone location data with known addresses

"Autonomous" operation:

Runs continuously without human direction
Generates leads automatically
Updates relationship maps as new data appears
Prioritizes targets based on algorithmic scoring
Feeds actionable intelligence to human agents

The AI doesn't make arrest decisions or conduct physical surveillance. It generates and enriches leads. But in an enforcement pipeline, that's the bottleneck. A system that quickly identifies associates, cross-references addresses, and flags likely locations increases the throughput of the entire deportation machine.

Who Is AI Solutions 87?

The company is obscure. According to 404 Media, AI Solutions 87 shares its Wisconsin residential address with two other companies, all formed in May 2025 ^[3].

That's concerning. A company founded this year, operating from a residential address, is now deploying autonomous AI agents to track immigrants for the federal government.

The lack of transparency is the point. When surveillance contractors are unknown entities with no public track record, there's no accountability. No one to sue. No reputation to protect. Just a contract and a capability.

The Scale of ICE's Bounty Hunter Program

AI Solutions 87 is just one contractor. ICE has allocated up to $180 million for bounty hunters and private investigators to locate approximately 1.5 million people on its target list ^[4].

Top contractors by potential contract value:

Capgemini Government Solutions: $365+ million
Bluehawk LLC: $200+ million
SOSi: $123 million
BI Incorporated (GEO Group): $121 million
Constellation Inc.: $58 million
Government Support Services: $55 million
Gravitas Investigations: $32+ million

Total potential payouts to these ten contractors could exceed $1 billion by 2027. That's billion, with a B, for hunting people.

The contracts work on a bounty model. Companies get paid when they successfully locate targets. The more people they find, the more they earn. It's a financial incentive to maximize surveillance.

The Surveillance-to-Deportation Pipeline

AI Solutions 87's agents fit into a larger infrastructure. ICE isn't building one surveillance tool, it's assembling a pipeline where each stage feeds the next.

Stage 1: Data acquisition

Palantir's ImmigrationOS aggregates data from multiple agencies ($30 million contract)
Social Security Administration shares up to 50,000 records per month
IRS provided over 1 million records in four months
Data brokers sell location and behavioral data

Stage 2: Target identification

AI agents from AI Solutions 87 process data to find people
Clearview AI provides facial recognition ($3.75 million contract, potentially $9.2 million)
License plate readers track vehicle movements
Social media monitoring flags locations and activities

Stage 3: Physical tracking

Private bounty hunters from GEO Group and others conduct on-ground surveillance
Mobile Fortify app lets agents scan faces in the field
Local police share location data through fusion centers

Stage 4: Arrest and detention

ICE agents make arrests based on accumulated intelligence
GEO Group operates detention facilities (profiting on both ends)
Biometric data collected and stored for up to 15 years

The AI bounty hunters accelerate the entire pipeline. What used to take investigators days of manual research now happens in minutes. The limiting factor isn't information, it's field agents to make arrests.

Who Gets "Mapped"

The AI agents don't just track targets. They map "friends, family, and associates." That means if you're connected to someone ICE is looking for, you're in the database too.

Who ends up in the network maps:

Family members, including US citizens
Friends who appear in social media connections
Employers and coworkers
Landlords and roommates
Anyone who shares an address or phone number
Lawyers and advocates (who communicate with targets)
Community organizations that provide services

The surveillance spreads. You don't have to be a target to be tracked. You just have to know someone who is.

What You Can Do

Reduce Your Digital Footprint

• Lock down social media privacy settings
• Remove connections to sensitive contacts
• Delete old accounts you don't use
• Opt out of data brokers
• Use privacy-focused communication tools

Protect Your Network

• Warn contacts about network mapping
• Use Signal for sensitive communications
• Avoid tagging locations in posts
• Don't share photos that reveal addresses
• Be cautious about who you connect with publicly

Know Your Rights

• Know your rights in ICE encounters
• Don't open the door without a warrant
• You have the right to remain silent
• Document any enforcement contact
• Contact immigration lawyers proactively

The Bottom Line

ICE is deploying autonomous AI agents to track immigrants and map everyone connected to them. The bots run continuously, cross-referencing data sources, building relationship graphs, generating leads.

This isn't science fiction. It's a government contract with a company founded this year, operating from a residential address in Wisconsin. The AI bounty hunters are already working.

The surveillance state used to be limited by human capacity. There were only so many investigators, so many hours in the day. AI removes that constraint. The bots don't sleep. They don't get tired. They process data at machine speed.

When the pipeline is automated, enforcement scales. The 1.5 million people on ICE's target list aren't a backlog anymore. They're a queue.