ICE is now tracking nearly 54,000 immigrants via ankle monitors

The United States is significantly expanding its use of GPS-enabled ankle monitors to track immigrants, with nearly 54,000 individuals currently under surveillance. This marks a substantial jump from the 17,000 immigrants monitored with these devices in early 2025. The program, managed by The Geo Group through its subsidiary BI Inc., is part of ICE's intensive supervision appearance program (ISAP).

Executives at The Geo Group highlighted that a shift from less intensive monitoring methods, such as phone check-ins, to ankle monitors has boosted the company's revenues. The company charges ICE over $2 per day for each ankle monitor, considerably more than the approximately $0.96 daily cost for the SmartLink smartphone app, which uses facial recognition and location tracking. Despite the overall number of immigrants in the ISAP program remaining stable at around 184,000, the increased reliance on ankle monitors is a key revenue driver for Geo Group.

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If this trend continues, the technology and case management mix shift will continue to increase revenues and earnings generated under the ISAP contract even if overall participation counts remain relatively stable.

ICE directed agents in June 2025 to transition more ISAP participants to ankle monitors, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. This policy has drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocacy groups, who filed a class-action lawsuit in June. They argue that the "ankle monitors for all" approach subjects individuals, including pregnant women, to continuous, real-time GPS monitoring without individualized justifications or meaningful opportunities to challenge the conditions.

Evan Benz, managing attorney at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, stated that ICE offers no justification for this policy, suggesting it aims to complicate immigrants' lives while increasing profits for private prison companies. The Guardian previously reported that pregnant women were being fitted with smartwatches as part of this surveillance expansion.

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ICE has offered no justification for their ‘ankle monitors for all’ policy, but it serves their interest in making daily life harder for immigrants, while also increasing profits for their friends in the private prison industry.