Original Date Announced

ICE issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking "Skip Tracing and Process Serving Services using Government furnished case data with identifiable information, commercial data verification and physical observation services . . . to verify alien information, investigate alternative alien address information, confirm the new location of fugitive aliens to ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations], and deliver materials/documents to undocumented aliens as appropriate." Under ICE's proposed system, vendors would be given 10,000 noncitizens to identify, verify, and/or serve with documents, with a potential to receive "further increments of 10,000 aliens." The request notes that "[t]he vendor should prioritize locating the home address [of the noncitizen] and only resort to employment location, failing that."

ICE proposes adopting multiple incentive structures for vendors. "Performance-based incentives" would include bonuses for successful verification metrics, "[v]olume-based incentives" would reward vendors for completing high percentages of or exceeding their assigned caseload in designated periods, and "quality assurance incentives" would be tied to positive ICE feedback on work and "[c]ompliance with all legal and ethical standards during the verification and delivery process."

Trump 2.0 [ID #2054]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.11.25 Reported: ICE Offers Up to $280 Million to Immigrant-Tracking ‘Bounty Hunter’ Firms - WIRED

According to WIRED, ICE is replacing the RFI pilot to further expand outsourcing immigration-tracking to private surveillance-firms. The RFI program documented was capped at $180 million. Newly released amendments show ICE has removed that cap and replaced it with a no-cap outsourcing program under which contractors can earn up to $281.25 million each and are guaranteed an initial task-order worth at least $7.5 million. Contractors may receive monthly batches of 50,000 cases and use commercial data, open-source research, and in-person visits, earning fixed prices per case plus speed-and-accuracy bonuses. DOJ and DHS components beyond ICE can issue orders, with contractors working only from exported case packets rather than having direct access to agency systems.