The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly spent $825,000 earlier this year on vehicles equipped with surveillance technologies, including controversial “cell-site simulators” used to monitor nearby mobile phones.
Public records revealed that the contract, signed on May 8, was awarded to TechOps Specialty Vehicles (TOSV), a Maryland-based manufacturer of specialized law enforcement vans. The deal was said to support the Homeland Security Technical Operations program and followed a similar $818,000 contract signed in September 2024, signaling a long-standing partnership between ICE and TOSV.
While confirming that TOSV provides cell-site simulators, company president Jon Brianas declined to disclose specific details about the ICE contract, citing trade secrets. He explained that the firm does not produce the surveillance technology itself but integrates it into the design of its vehicles.
These simulators, often called “stingrays,” mimic cellphone towers to capture and track nearby mobile devices, offering law enforcement agencies a more precise way to locate suspects. However, critics warn that such devices can also collect data from innocent citizens and, in some cases, intercept calls, texts, and internet activity.
ICE’s use of these surveillance technologies dates back over a decade and has repeatedly drawn criticism from privacy advocates. Reports by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and BuzzFeed News indicated that the agency deployed cell-site simulators more than 2,300 times between 2013 and 2019.
In one case highlighted by Forbes, ICE reportedly used the technology to track down a deportation target linked to a criminal gang. Despite mounting concerns about potential privacy violations, ICE has remained largely silent, refusing to confirm whether it always obtains court warrants before deploying such tools.
TOSV, headquartered near Washington, D.C., is known for producing a range of specialized vehicles for law enforcement, including SWAT response vans, bomb disposal units, and mobile forensic labs for the Department of Homeland Security.
The company’s website showcases its capacity to build mobile command centers and forensic analysis units but makes no mention of surveillance tools such as cell-site simulators. Beyond law enforcement, TOSV also designs vehicles for community use, including mobile libraries and medical service units, underscoring the company’s diverse manufacturing portfolio despite its growing links to federal surveillance operations