The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
In Nogales, Tucson and border communities across Arizona, human dignity is built on trust, safety, and mutual accompaniment. Every day at the Kino Border Initiative, we serve meals, provide clean clothes, and help people seek safety and stability. Yet, for immigrants on the U.S. side of the border, a growing, unregulated form of federal surveillance is quietly eroding that safety: a loophole that lets the government buy Americans’ sensitive information from commercial data brokers.
The worry matches the numbers. ICE arrests in Arizona more than tripled in fiscal year 2025, amid the agency’s expanding use of technological surveillance. ICE has paid tens of millions of dollars for software designed to build comprehensive profiles of people and communities. Paired with purchased location data, such systems can help agents map entire neighborhoods without independent judicial oversight, completely circumventing the Fourth Amendment which protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government..
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When Congress created Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), it intended to regulate foreign intelligence gathering, but Congress has not kept up with how surveillance could be turned inward. Today, federal law enforcement and immigration agencies bypass Fourth Amendment protections by using taxpayer dollars to buy sensitive consumer data.
As documented in research by the Project On Government Oversight, agencies purchase detailed smartphone location histories and browsing data, among others, to create highly detailed digital profiles from commercial data brokers. Without a warrant or a judge, federal agencies buy access to intimate digital records that would otherwise require a court order based on probable cause.
This unchecked surveillance is not an abstract legal debate. When records of daily routines (like attending church, visiting a doctor, or commuting to work) can be purchased and analyzed without judicial review, public life breaks down. It creates a pervasive chilling effect that targets vulnerable residents such as immigrants, undermines community trust, and can even lead to family separation for mixed-status families.
A warrant requirement does not stop lawful law enforcement; it simply asks an independent judge to agree there is probable cause before the government reconstructs where a person has been. Broad bipartisan support for this reform already exists, as demonstrated when the U.S. House passed the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, which would have prohibited government agencies from purchasing sensitive personal data that they could not otherwise obtain without a warrant.
Protecting digital privacy and upholding constitutional rights is a civic duty. Allowing government agencies to write checks to third-party data vendors endangers the privacy of every Arizonan, citizen and non-citizen alike. Our work at KBI rests on the belief that a person’s inherent worth does not depend on their paperwork.
As Congress negotiates FISA Section 702 reauthorization, Arizona has a crucial opportunity for leadership. Arizona senators, as well as every member of Arizona’s congressional delegation, should insist on closing the data broker loophole. Protecting border communities does not require sacrificing constitutional rights. By requiring a warrant, our leaders can defend both human dignity and the rule of law.
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Juan Cuéllar Torres is the Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative, a binational humanitarian and advocacy Catholic organization serving migrants in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora.
