ICE bypasses Fourth Amendment by purchasing phone location data without warrants, Sen. Wyden reveals

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) publishes documents showing Immigration and Customs Enforcement has systematically purchased commercial phone location data from data broker Penlink — without warrants — to track undocumented immigrants and their family networks. The data covers real-time and historical GPS pings from millions of phones nationwide. ICE's contract with Penlink circumvents Fourth Amendment warrant requirements by classifying the purchase as a commercial transaction rather than a government search. The disclosure reveals a broader pattern: at least five federal agencies have bought location data from commercial brokers to avoid judicial oversight.