ICE Spying on Wire Transfers: Immigrant Targeting Revealed
- Court records have revealed that Immigration and customs Enforcement (ICE) is leveraging sensitive data regarding wire transfers between the U.S.
- Mr.Cordova Murrieta was not indicted for financial crimes like money laundering, but rather for re-entering the U.S.
- The investigation highlights a shift in ICE's priorities, with resources increasingly directed towards tracking undocumented individuals.
ICE Utilizing Financial Data to Track immigrants for Deportation
Court records have revealed that Immigration and customs Enforcement (ICE) is leveraging sensitive data regarding wire transfers between the U.S. and Mexico to identify and deport immigrants. This practice, previously warned against by civil liberties advocates, came to light through a federal criminal case in hawaii involving Gregorio Cordova Murrieta.
Mr.Cordova Murrieta was not indicted for financial crimes like money laundering, but rather for re-entering the U.S. without authorization – a single charge that served as the sole basis for his arrest. ICE agents identified his remittances to family in Mexico,sent between October 2021 and May 2025,through data obtained from a money remittance company. Surveillance was then conducted at an address near Honolulu, leading to his arrest.
The investigation highlights a shift in ICE’s priorities, with resources increasingly directed towards tracking undocumented individuals. This raises significant privacy concerns, as routine financial transactions – like sending money to family – are now being used as grounds for immigration enforcement.
The source of the detailed financial data remains undisclosed, but it is indeed known that ICE has access to a vast database of wire transfers through the Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC), a nonprofit in Arizona. TRAC holds records of nearly 340 million transfers, collected via administrative subpoenas served on companies like western Union and MoneyGram.
While TRAC was initially established to investigate money laundering, critics argue that its data is being used for “function creep” – applying data collected for one purpose to another, unforeseen use. ICE has historically played a significant role in TRAC’s operations, and previously utilized legally questionable subpoenas to supplement the database with data on over 6 million wire transfers.
Despite previous statements downplaying the possibility of using TRAC data for immigration enforcement, the Cordova Murrieta case demonstrates a clear submission of this surveillance tactic. The ACLU of Hawaiʻi expressed concern that this practice creates a chilling effect, making individuals feel unsafe even when engaging in everyday financial activities.