Krishnamoorthi Introduces His ACLU-Endorsed No Private Bounty Hunters for Immigration Enforcement Act to Shut Down ICE’s For-Profit Tracking Program

WASHINGTON - Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) today introduced the No Private Bounty Hunters for Immigration Enforcement Act, legislation to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from outsourcing civil immigration enforcement functions such as skip tracing, surveillance, and location verification to private contractors operating under profit-driven or incentive-based arrangements.

"Turning immigration enforcement into a profit-seeking enterprise crosses a dangerous line," said Congressman Krishnamoorthi. "We are already seeing reckless use of force in militarized federal immigration operations, including fatal shootings and aggressive raids with little transparency or accountability. There is no justification for outsourcing coercive power to for-profit, armed private bounty hunters who would operate with even fewer safeguards. The answer is accountability under the law, not profit-driven enforcement in the shadows."

"For months, the Trump administration has encouraged federal agents to use increasingly lawless and violent tactics against members of our communities," said Kate Voigt, Senior Policy Counsel at the ACLU. "Using private bounty hunters is just one of the many inhumane tactics DHS is using to terrorize our communities and kidnap our neighbors. Congress must pass the 'No Private Bounty Hunters for Immigration Enforcement Act' without delay."

The legislation comes amid mounting scrutiny of ICE and DHS enforcement practices nationwide. In recent weeks, fatal shootings by federal immigration agents in Minnesota, Illinois, and Oregon have drawn public outrage and renewed questions about the agency's use of force, internal accountability, and investigative transparency during large-scale raids. At the same time, investigative reporting has revealed that ICE has relied on private firms, including companies tied to the for-profit detention industry, to track and locate individuals using commercial data and surveillance tools, raising alarms about privatized enforcement operating beyond meaningful public oversight.

Last year, Krishnamoorthi sent a letterto DHS leadership warning that proposals to hire private contractors to locate, surveil, and report on individuals within immigrant communities would invite abuse, errors, and the erosion of public trust, particularly in an enforcement system already struggling with oversight, vetting, and accountability.

The No Private Bounty Hunters for Immigration Enforcement Actwould:

• Bar DHS from contracting with private entities to conduct skip tracing, surveillance, or location verification for civil immigration enforcement;

• Require the termination or amendment of existing DHS contracts that authorize those activities;

• Prohibit per-person or bonus-based payments that incentivize contractors to locate individuals subject to civil immigration detainers; and

• Direct the DHS Inspector General to conduct a rapid audit of all DHS contracts to ensure compliance.

The bill text is available here.