January 7, 2026
Big Brother goes Black Friday
ICE Is Going on a Surveillance Shopping Spree
Internet erupts over ICE’s mega-budget: “Stasi vibes” vs “just doing their job”
TLDR: ICE’s budget is set to soar to $28.7B next year, with more billions to build a vast surveillance machine. Commenters split between “police state” alarm and “they’re enforcing popular laws,” while others grimly joke it’s unstoppable if public recording stays legal—making civil liberties the flashpoint.
The comment section went nuclear after news that ICE, the enforcement arm of DHS, is reportedly getting a $28.7B 2025 budget—nearly triple last year—plus tens of billions more. The article paints a looming shopping spree for surveillance tech, citing a Georgetown Law report that ICE has tapped driver’s licenses, utility records, and even tracked drivers’ movements. Commenters heard “14th biggest military” and instantly turned it into a meme: cue “ICE but make it Marvel supervillain” jokes and “Surveillance Battle Pass unlocked.”
But the mood is far from playful. The top vibe: outrage. One camp calls ICE “Stasi for America,” arguing the tools always get used on everyone—left, right, citizen, immigrant. The piece notes ICE’s past reach and even claims the agency wants to chase left‑wing dissent; commenters say that proves the point. Another camp says the real fight isn’t gadgets—it’s immigration itself. As one defender put it, most voters back enforcement; critics just hate the mission. A third thread shrugs in resignation: if it’s legal to record in public, how do you stop the dragnet? And in a gut-punch aside, one user called the article’s warnings “quaint now,” hinting today’s headlines have already outpaced yesterday’s alarm. Drama. Division. Dark humor. Internet, never change.
Key Points
- •ICE’s 2025 budget is reported at $28.7 billion, nearly triple its 2024 level, with at least $56.25 billion more over the next three years.
- •A 2022 Georgetown Law report found ICE had broad access to Americans’ data, including driver’s license photos and utility records, and tracked movements in many cities.
- •ICE spent approximately $2.8 billion on surveillance, data collection, and data-sharing programs between 2008 and 2021.
- •The article attributes ICE’s growth to policy changes across administrations, citing Obama-era expansion and intensified operations under the Trump administrations, including more than 1.5 million deportations.
- •The article says 4,250 detainees went missing and 31 died in custody or while detained in the last year of the current administration; 24 died during the entirety of the Biden administration, and quotes Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons on targeting Antifa and left-wing gun clubs.