Database company LexisNexis is coming under fire regarding its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following reports that the agency used the database to track down illegal immigrants.
Internal documents obtained by Just Futures Law and Mijente show that ICE conducted 1.2 million searches, including “Advanced Person Search” and “Real Time Phone Search,” between March and September 2021 using the Accurint Virtual Crime Center (AVCC). AVCC is specifically geared towards police agencies, using nationwide crime data to “detect patterns and deploy resources efficiently,” according to the LexisNexis site.
“The searches show that use of LexisNexis to skirt sanctuary laws by ICE is likely happening on a national scale,” Just Futures Law said in a statement.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations department was found to have made the most searches, at approximately 118,000 searches total in June 2021, according to the report. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the department in charge of deportations, was also found to have conducted search queries, with almost 48,000 searches in June 2021.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/lexisnexis-faces-pressure-terminate-contract-ice
