When government agencies begin tracking our words and habits, it doesn’t immediately feel like oppression, because according to sophomore Hersh Saxena, we are desensitized to the thought of being monitored on social media. But in the dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451” that he read freshman year, he describes this exact kind of monitoring as how the novel — and its dystopian ideology — starts. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to hire contractors who will research and locate individuals from cases and tips using social media platforms. However, the very idea that individuals could be flagged for showing “negative sentiment” towards ICE seems to inch us closer and closer to a dystopian reality.

At the moment, ICE has reported limited success with social media monitoring. As a result, at Williston, Vermont, and Santa Ana, California, 12 to 16 contractors will be hired at each location to form groups that consist of senior analysts, shift leads and researchers. Together, they will monitor listed individuals connected to their target, such as family members, coworkers or other associates, using certain law enforcement databases. Though the recruiting process has yet to begin, ICE plans to launch as early as May 2026.

Vaughn Villaverde, the Director of Advocacy at Asian Americans for Community Involvement, emphasized the potential impact of this system on communities. , he is disheartened by the targeted surveillance.

“This is an unprecedented attack on people’s privacy — on their civil liberties and on their right to free speech and free association,” Villaverde said. “We’ve gone from watching for threats to watching everyone who might someday be considered one. It reminds me of the McCarthy hearings, but turned digital. Back then, people were dragged in for what they said or who they knew. Now it’s what you post, who you follow, what you ‘like.’”

Though a fraction of students are already aware of the consequences of their online activity, this new plan makes those suspicions concrete. Saxena feels the plan is less surprising and more like a confirmation that privacy is no longer assumed but negotiated, and that we are transitioning to a society where citizens must grow accustomed to being observed.

“It just makes official what we already knew: that nothing you do online is private,” Saxena said. “But I think that further emphasizes whether we need to take what we post or comment more into account as we use our devices.”

ICE’s surveillance programs aren’t new. In previous years, the agency paid Palantir Technologies, a data analytics company, $30 million to develop “Immigration OS,” a data system that pulls information from schools and banks to flag individuals for deportation. Immigration lawyer Kate Sinkins states that, although there are no specific laws set in stone at the moment about whether this targeted surveillance is legal, she doesn’t think ICE is perfectly within its rights.

“It started with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that they have the right to arrest you if you have been demonstrating or posting on social media in support of Palestine,” Sinkins said. “Other agencies were like, ‘If they can get away with it, then we should try.’ I don’t think we’ll see any possible guidelines unless someone sues and takes it all the way up to the Supreme Court. Otherwise, they’re going to keep doing it.”

Due to the lack of guidelines, community members have made efforts to educate people on how to manage interactions with ICE officers. Sinkins, who resides in a sanctuary state, recalls her early “Know Your Rights” presentations right before Trump’s inauguration, where local police officers attended and spoke directly to the audience.

“They would say to a room full of Latino people, ‘We are not participating with ICE. We are here to protect you. We are here to keep you safe,’” Sinkins said. “And people do trust them.”

These presentations remind the community of the distinction between the police and ICE officers, allowing them to express themselves without fear of deportation. Sinkins has seen that in states without those protections, however, people begin to lose trust not only in the police force, but in society too. Villaverde suspects the increased monitoring of social media will only further discourage participation.

“What we’re seeing every single day is an overwhelming emotion that a lot of communities are facing right now,” Villaverde said. “They’re afraid to go to work. They’re afraid to send their kids outside. They’re afraid to go see their doctor. To them, it’s as if there are no safe spaces anymore.”

This growing mistrust raises concerns for the future of freedom in the U.S., as justifying control over immigrants could lead to justifying the oppression of other marginalized groups. Normalizing digital surveillance normalizes a wariness of expressing thoughts online and makes monitoring appear acceptable in more contexts.

“If they can get away with infringing on one group’s rights — the rights of people who look a certain way or live in a certain neighborhood — what’s to stop them from doing the same to others?” Villaverde said. “Once you normalize surveillance as a default mode of governance, you can apply it to anyone.”

To Villaverde, the hope remains that ordinary people will refuse to look away from the injustices being committed every day. He believes that it won’t be the adults who make the greatest difference, but the youth.

“In any kind of social revolution, who leads it?” Villaverde said. “The youth. We need young blood to step up and say, ‘No, this is so stupid. This is not who we are. This is not what we believe. Stop it.’ Grown-ups are going to tell you you’re too young to be involved in politics. All you have to do is convince people that you have good ideas, and they will step up and support you.”

This story was originally published on El Estoque on October 26, 2025.