The federal government is fighting state laws that compel immigration agents to show their faces during operations. Lawsuits against New York, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Philadelphia argue that such rules endanger agents by exposing them to facial recognition and doxxing. Central to the dispute are two websites: ICESpy, an art project, and ICE List, an accountability initiative.
ICESpy project and its technical limitations
Federal attorneys claim that people photograph ICE agents and run their images through face recognition applications using ICESpy. But artist Kyle McDonald, who created ICESpy, refutes this. His project is based on LinkedIn data from about 700 people who self-identified as ICE employees nearly a decade ago, a stale sample. Most profiles are administrative or legal roles, not field agents. Only 39 entries are "deportation officer." After ICE announced doubling its agents from 10,000 to 22,000 in early 2026, the database is even less representative. McDonald calls the idea that anyone could use ICESpy to find an active agent absurd. Activity logs from June 30 to July 6 show only 84 page views and two match attempts, both failures.
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ICE List and the doxxing challenge
The second site cited by the government, ICE List, compiles agent and vehicle information from public sources and LinkedIn. Its maintainer, Dominick Skinner, notes that the site does not post private addresses and facial recognition is rarely successful. Most identifications are manual. ICE List was recently credited with identifying David Brouillette, the agent who allegedly killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. In that case, people close to the agent contacted the site. Skinner rejects the doxxing label, pointing out that data broker sites expose far more sensitive information.
State arguments against federal demands
State lawmakers challenge the federal position. Bob Duff of Connecticut asserts that states have the right to respond to unconstitutional federal behavior and protect residents. Saddam Salim of Virginia adds that the Department of Justice should focus on disciplining poorly trained ICE agents instead of blocking reasonable laws. Tensions rise as cases of agents without body cameras killing civilians remain unresolved.
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Meanwhile, Apple Watch rescues a cyclist shows technology used for good, while the ICE litigation highlights risks of misuse. The federal government has yet to provide concrete examples of agents identified via ICESpy. As reported by Wired, DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels stated that doxxing tools change domains and reappear, but offered no evidence.
