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Federal immigration officials have extensive technology at their disposal • Louisiana Illuminator

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lailluminator.com – Paige Gross – 2025-02-01 15:10:00

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Federal immigration officials have extensive technology at their disposal

by Paige Gross, Louisiana Illuminator
February 1, 2025

As President Donald Trump deploys federal agents to carry out plans of mass deportations at the start of his term, he has a massive amount of technology at his disposal to track, categorize and surveil immigrants.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Citizen and Immigration Services have spent $7.8 billion on immigration technologies from 263 different companies since 2020, the New York Times reported this week. The technologies include biometric tracking, such as facial recognition, voice analyzing, and fingerprint scanning, location tracking via software and ankle monitoring and rapid DNA testing tools.

The agencies also have access to investigative tools that can search through emails, text messages and other files on locked phones, and they contract with data analytics firms to store and sort through massive amounts of data compiled on immigrants currently in the U.S.

The access to these technologies is not new to the Trump administration. Much of the spending on these tech contracts began during President Joe Biden’s term, and many tools were designed for investigations of drug traffickers and other criminals, beginning after the 9/11 attacks.

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Marina Shepelsky, an immigration attorney based in New York, said four groups of immigrants are being targeted in Trump’s raids. Those with criminal convictions will likely be the highest priority, she said, but those who have been issued a deportation order by a judge or those who entered the country under the Biden administration are also targets.

Anyone who is in the U.S. unlawfully without status, meaning without a visa, or on an expired visa, is at risk, Shepelsky said.

The Department of Homeland Security outlines the various uses of the AI technology that it has at its disposal, but Shepelsky said she sees it likely being focused on combing through immigration records, and cross-referencing data from visa applications, criminal records and social media platforms.

Federal agents are also likely using predictive AI modeling in various ways, she said, like assessing the likelihood of overstaying visas or engaging in criminal behavior. The department collects known information, like immigration status, compliance history, caregiver status and criminal history, and assigns each person something called a “hurricane score.” The score, ranked 1-5, is calculated by a machine learning algorithm designed to determine if a person may flee immigration proceedings.

Shepelsky warns of the systematic biases AI algorithms can produce; “[they] may unfairly target certain demographics, increasing risks of racial profiling,” she said.

Peter Salib, an assistant professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center said he, too, believes AI can streamline a lot about the immigration process. If your goal is to target immigrants who have committed serious crimes, as was policy under the Biden and Obama administrations, he said, AI can probably help you do that well.

“AI can really help you accomplish your goal and impose fewer costs on the people who don’t need to be swept up in enforcement,” Salib said.

But access to these technologies and intent are different things, Salib said. While the Biden administration had access to these tools in recent years, it was not planning the wide-reaching deportation efforts we’re seeing Trump execute now.

“The technology exists out in the world, and so even if you’re scared of a kind of slippery slope into using it poorly, it’s not really clear that you can get off that slope just by declining to use it when you are in the administration that has the ‘good’ goals,” Salib said.

Though there are ethical concerns with AI, there’s potential to improve parts of border security and citizenship processes with the technology, Shepelsky said. It’s helped process visa applications faster and detect fraudulent documents, as well as streamlined high-demand employment visas.

Technology will likely continue to play a role in Trump’s immigration policies and in other parts of his early administration agenda, Salib said.

“I think it’s the world we live in now,” Salib said. “And the choice we have is about policy more than about what technology is available to the people who want to enforce policies.”

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Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

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Jurors view crime scene evidence on Day 3 of Taymor McIntyre’s capital murder trial

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www.youtube.com – KSAT 12 – 2025-04-03 18:14:36

SUMMARY: On Day 3 of Taymor McIntyre’s capital murder trial, jurors viewed crime scene evidence, including photos and a key 9mm shell casing, related to the 2017 robbery and murder of photographer Mark Salivar. Testimony focused on the investigation’s beginnings, revealing that police found a casing and marijuana at the scene outside a Chick-fil-A. Surveillance footage has been mentioned but not yet shown; it reportedly captures a black car and a struggle with Salivar. Tomorrow, a medical examiner will testify, along with three individuals linked to McIntyre, one of whom took a plea deal. Discussions around McIntyre’s rap career continue to unfold.

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Jurors in the capital murder trial of rapper Taymor McIntyre, known as Tay-K-47, viewed key pieces of evidence Thursday, including crime scene photos and a shell casing.

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Jury deliberations set to begin in monumental oil and gas lawsuit | Louisiana

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-03 14:16:00

(The Center Square) – A historic trial that could compel oil and gas companies to pay billions for Louisiana’s coastal wetlands restoration reached its climax this week, with closing arguments delivered Thursday at the Louisiana 25th Judicial District Court in lower Plaquemines Parish. 

The lawsuit, pitting the parish against companies including Chevron USA, Inc., is the first of 42 similar cases filed since 2013 to reach trial, accusing the industry of violating state permitting laws and exacerbating wetlands loss.

Chevron, The Texas Company, Atlantic Richfield Company, ConocoPhillips, and The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company all filed a motion in opposition in 2022 to keep the case in federal court.

After over a decade of legal battles, Plaquemines Parish, led by attorney John Carmouche, is seeking nearly $3 billion in damages. A victory could set a precedent, potentially forcing oil companies to pay tens of billions across all cases — funds legally mandated for coastal restoration. 

The litigation has weathered three attempts by the companies to shift it to federal court, a venue they viewed as advantageous, with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last affirming its return to state court in October of 2022.

“If somebody causes harm, fix it,” Carmouche said in his opening statement. 

The parish alleges decades of unregulated oilfield activity, including canal dredging, devastated its coastline. 

Chevron says it’s being sued for Texaco’s pre-2001 oil and gas work under a 1980 law not meant to cover earlier activities. It also claims the case belongs in federal court since some work tied to World War II was under federal guidance. Chevron acquired Texaco in 2001.

As the jury prepares to deliberate, the outcome could mark a turning point, potentially delivering unprecedented industry accountability for Louisiana’s fading coast—or a major setback for restoration efforts.

The post Jury deliberations set to begin in monumental oil and gas lawsuit | Louisiana appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com

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Reproductive Justice Fund up for another San Antonio City Council vote Thursday

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www.youtube.com – KSAT 12 – 2025-04-03 06:07:38

SUMMARY: The San Antonio City Council is set to vote on whether to allocate an additional $100,000 to the controversial Reproductive Justice Fund, originally designed to help cover travel costs for women seeking abortions. Although nearly half a million dollars in contracts were approved, none funded travel expenses, prompting renewed calls for more financial support. Some groups, like Beat AIDS Coalition Trust, are cautious about applying again, seeking legal assurances regarding abortion-related funding. Advocates emphasize the urgent need for funding, citing a crisis in Texas where women struggle to access abortion care amid ongoing legal challenges and restrictions.

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The San Antonio City Council will vote Thursday morning on whether to put another $100,000 into a controversial health fund.

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