ICE says it bought Paragon’s spy software for use in drug-trafficking cases

The head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has told lawmakers that it has purchased and used spyware developed by. Paragon Solutions in cases of drug trafficking, according to the letter reported by TechCrunch.

ICE Director General Todd Lyons wrote in a letter to three congressmen that he would authorize the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to use “technological tools” against “foreign terrorist organizations that are using secret communications,” referring to spying programs.

The inability of law enforcement to access encrypted information has often been cited as a reason to use computer and cell phone spying software for serious crimes, as they can capture personal information directly from their devices. Critics and human rights activists have been talking about the growing list of journalists, politicsand members of public organizations whose phones have been hacked by governments using commercial spyware.

In the letter, Lyons said ICE’s use of the spying software was “constitutional,” and that he had “confirmed that HSI’s use of the tool does not pose a significant threat to security or safety, or a significant risk of misuse by a foreign government or individual.”

Bloomberg first report ICE’s letter to lawmakers.

In 2024, ICE he signed the contract and US-Israeli spy software developer Paragon Solutions, a partnership that it was stopped immediately and Biden’s administration to see if he followed through a general rule which prohibits US agencies from using spying software that could be used to target Americans abroad or violate civil rights.

In September 2025, ICE lifted the block and start a new partnership. Until now, it was unclear whether ICE planned to use Paragon’s spying software.

A spy software developer has been caught in a huge trap in Italy, where journalists and pro-immigration freedom fighters it was revealed that it was targeted by Paragon’s spyware Graphite last year. In response, Paragon cut off Italian law enforcement agencies from using its spy equipment.

Reached for comment, Democrat Rep. Summer Lee, one of the lawmakers who requested more information from ICE, told TechCrunch that the agency is moving forward “with technology to disrupt spying in the United States.

The lawmaker added that, “instead of responding to the serious legal and human rights concerns we raised, DHS is asking the public to accept vague assurances and scaremongering.”

“People at greatest risk, including immigrants, black and brown communities, journalists, activists, and anyone who opposes government brutality, must remain anonymous and distance themselves from an organization with a long history of brutality and abuse,” Lee said.

Paragon and ICE did not respond to requests for comment and questions from TechCrunch about the agency’s use of spyware.