TL;DR: In 2025, ICE renewed an $11 million contract with Cellebrite and signed a $3 million deal with Magnet Forensics (makers of Graykey). Both companies provide tools to unlock smartphones and extract comprehensive data: photos, texts, location history, encrypted messages, apps. CBP (ICE's sister agency) searched a record 14,899 devices in just one quarter of 2025. Your phone is now a primary evidence source for immigration enforcement. The Fourth Amendment? Unclear protections at borders. Police usually need warrants for phone searches. ICE and CBP operate in legal gray zones where your device is effectively fair game.
The $14+ Million Surveillance Shopping Spree
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division wasn't subtle about their 2025 procurement:[1][2]
Cellebrite: $11 Million
Contract renewal for Universal Forensic Extraction Devices (UFEDs). Can perform "full file system extraction" from iOS devices. Previous ICE contracts totaled $35M since 2019.
Graykey: $3 Million
Phone-unlocking and data extraction technology from Magnet Forensics (which acquired Grayshift in 2023). ICE previously secured $5M for Graykey in 2023.
Additional Purchases
$145,000 for Magnet Griffeye Enterprise (image analysis). Graykey Premier licenses for iOS/Android. Training and support services.
The contracts explicitly reference generating "forensic reports crucial for safeguarding national security and public safety." Translation: Everything on your phone becomes evidence.[2]
What These Tools Can Extract
Modern phone forensics tools access more than you'd expect:
- Messages: SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal (in some cases), Telegram
- Photos and videos: Including deleted items still in device memory
- Location history: GPS logs, WiFi connections, cell tower data
- Apps and their data: Social media content, banking apps, dating profiles
- Contacts and call logs: Your entire network mapped
- Browsing history: Websites visited, searches made
- Passwords: In some cases, stored credentials
- Biometric data: Sometimes including enrolled fingerprints/faces
Cellebrite claims capability against even encrypted devices. While they can't break strong encryption directly, they exploit vulnerabilities in phone operating systems to bypass lock screens. ICE has also bought Paragon Graphite spyware that reaches encrypted messaging directly. What Apple calls "secure" isn't always secure against $10,000+ forensic devices.[3]
Record Device Searches at Borders
CBP (the agency that processes people entering the US) searched 14,899 devices between April and June 2025 alone. That's the highest quarterly number on record.[1]
The legal framework is murky:
- Border exception: Fourth Amendment protections are weakened at borders
- No warrant required: Unlike domestic police, CBP doesn't need probable cause for basic searches
- Forensic searches: Deeper searches (like Cellebrite extraction) may require "reasonable suspicion," but that standard is vague
- Refusal consequences: Citizens can refuse (with delays). Non-citizens face potential denial of entry.
If you're crossing a border with a phone, assume someone might access everything on it. That's the operational reality.
Who Gets Their Phone Searched?
Immigration enforcement is the primary use case. But the tools don't stay in that lane:
- People in immigration proceedings: Devices seized during arrests or detention
- Border crossers: Anyone entering the US can have devices inspected
- Associates of targets: Your phone might be searched because of who you know
- HSI investigations: Extends beyond immigration to broader federal crimes
Once ICE has Cellebrite and Graykey, they have them. The tools work on any phone, regardless of whose pocket it was in.
Who's Selling These Tools?
Cellebrite
Israeli digital intelligence company. Publicly traded. Sells to governments worldwide, including documented sales to authoritarian regimes. Their UFED devices are standard equipment for police and federal agencies globally.[3]
Notable: Cellebrite's parent company is part of Japan's SUNCORPORATION. The technology originated in intelligence/military applications.
Magnet Forensics (Graykey)
Originally Grayshift, an Atlanta-based startup founded by former Apple security engineers who knew iOS vulnerabilities intimately. Acquired by Magnet Forensics (Canadian) in 2023.[2]
Graykey specifically targets iPhone unlocking. When Apple patches vulnerabilities, Graykey finds new ones. It's an arms race, and law enforcement has deep pockets.
Protecting Your Device
Before Crossing Borders
Consider traveling with a "clean" phone. Back up and wipe your device. Restore after crossing. This is the only reliable protection against border searches.
Use Strong Passcodes
Six digits minimum, ideally alphanumeric. Avoid Face ID/fingerprint at borders: you can be compelled to provide biometrics more easily than passwords.
Disable USB Accessories After Lock
iPhone: Settings → Face ID & Passcode → USB Accessories off. Prevents Cellebrite-style connections after device locks.
Keep Software Updated
Forensic tools exploit vulnerabilities. Updates patch them. Stay current. It's not perfect protection, but it shrinks the attack surface.
Understand Your Rights
US citizens can refuse to unlock devices, but expect delays and possible device seizure. Non-citizens face worse options. Consult an attorney before travel if you're concerned.
Know the Attorney-Client Privilege
If you have communications with lawyers on your device, assert privilege explicitly during any search. This may provide some protection, but enforcement is inconsistent.
The Legal Gray Zone
In 2014's Riley v. California, the Supreme Court ruled police need warrants to search phones. Clear victory for privacy.
In 2018's Carpenter v. United States, the Court extended that to historical cell location data. Another win.
But neither case definitively applies to borders. Courts have historically granted sweeping search powers at ports of entry under the "border search exception." Whether that exception covers deep forensic extraction of encrypted phones remains unsettled law.[4]
ICE and CBP operate in this ambiguity. When the law is unclear, agencies push boundaries. These $14 million in contracts show which direction they're pushing.
The Bigger Picture
Your phone contains your entire life:
- Who you know (contacts)
- Where you've been (location history)
- What you believe (messages, browsing)
- What you do (apps, photos)
- Your health (fitness data, medical apps)
- Your finances (banking, crypto)
When ICE can extract all of this data, they're not just searching a device, they're searching your life. Every relationship. Every movement. Every thought you've typed.
The $14 million investment signals priorities. ICE isn't buying these tools to use sparingly. They're building infrastructure for mass digital surveillance.
And the tools keep improving. Every iOS update, Cellebrite and Graykey adapt. The record-breaking border searches in Q2 2025 are just the beginning.