The deputy head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told lawmakers he has purchased and used spyware made by Paragon Solutions in drug-trafficking cases, according to a letter featured by TechCrunch.
ICE Deputy Director Todd Lyons wrote in the letter to three lawmakers that he authorized the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) criminal investigation unit to use “cutting-edge technological tools” to address the “thriving exploitation of encrypted communications platforms by foreign terrorist organizations,” in reference to spyware.
Law enforcement’s inability to access encrypted data has often been cited as a justification for their need to use computer and cell phone eavesdropping software for major criminal cases, as it can grab a person’s data directly from their device. Human rights critics and advocates have long pointed to the growing list of journalists, politicians and members of civil society whose phones have been hacked by governments using commercial spyware.
In the letter, Lyons said ICE’s use of the spyware would “comply with constitutional requirements” and that he had “certified that HSI’s operational use of this tool does not pose significant security or counterintelligence risks or significant risks of improper use by a foreign government or foreign person.”
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Bloomberg reported for the first time ICE letter to lawmakers.
In 2024, the ICE signed a contract with US-Israeli spyware maker Paragon Solutions, a deal that suspended immediately by the Biden administration to ascertain whether it was in compliance executive order which restricts US agencies from using spyware that could be used to target Americans abroad or violate human rights.
In September 2025, ICE lifted the block and reactivated the contract. Until now, however, it was unclear whether ICE had planned to use Paragon’s spyware.
The spyware maker has been embroiled in a wide-ranging scandal in Italy, where journalists and immigration activists were revealed to have been targeted with Paragon’s Graphite spyware last year. In response, Paragon cut off Italy’s intelligence services from using its spyware tools.
When reached for comment, Democratic Rep. Summer Lee, one of the lawmakers who had requested information from ICE, told TechCrunch that the agency is now moving forward “with invasive spyware technology within the United States.
The lawmaker added, “instead of addressing the serious constitutional and civil rights concerns we’ve raised, DHS is asking the public to accept vague reassurances and excuses based on fear.”
“The people most at risk, including immigrants, black and brown communities, journalists, activists and anyone who speaks out against government abuse, deserve more than secrecy and diversion from an agency with a long history of excess and abuse,” Lee said.
Paragon and ICE did not respond to a request for comment and questions from TechCrunch about the service’s use of spyware.
