ICE Contract With Thomson Reuters Expands to $125M for Tracking Minors, Fraud

Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to renew its contract with Thomson Reuters Special Services at a dramatically increased rate—up to $25 million annually for five years, according to a federal contract document published this week. The total potential value of $125 million represents more than a fivefold increase from the previous contract, which cost $24 million over five years.

The contract justification, first reported by WIRED, states the expanded data access will support "the identification of Voters fraud, Immigration Fraud, and National Security" while also identifying "unaccompanied minors" and "any type of fraud of government funds." The document attributes this expanded scope to "ICE's re-prioritized mission" and a "presidential mandate."

Why it matters

This contract expansion signals a fundamental shift in how federal agencies handle unaccompanied children who arrive at the U.S. border. Historically, the Department of Health and Human Services managed these cases independently from immigration enforcement. The blurring of these boundaries—combined with surveillance tools that include license plate readers and real-time incarceration alerts—raises questions about whether child welfare or enforcement priorities now drive sponsor vetting processes. For businesses in the data and identity verification space, the contract demonstrates how government demand for continuous monitoring capabilities is reshaping the market.

Expanded Database Access

The contract maintains ICE access to several Thomson Reuters proprietary databases. These include CLEAR, which provides public records and license plate reader data sourced from road-based surveillance cameras through Motorola-owned Vigilant Solutions. Another database, the Continuous Alerting Batch Solution (CABS), delivers records about individuals recently incarcerated or who contacted law enforcement, including real-time location data.

ICE will also retain access to Westlaw court records, Real Time Incarceration and Arrest Records, and the Thomson Reuters Special Services Entity Authority database, which feeds into a risk intelligence platform called RAPID. The Department of Homeland Security claims Thomson Reuters is "the only contractor" capable of providing "continuous monitoring of up to one million individuals and entities" with event-driven monitoring and model-based risk scoring.

Sponsor Vetting Expansion

A government employee with knowledge of immigration processes told WIRED that DHS agents, including ICE, will now use these databases to background-check potential sponsors for unaccompanied minors. Thomson Reuters spokesperson Kat Hanley confirmed the identification work may include "vetting the sponsors of children entering the country" for child welfare and safety.

This represents a departure from historical practice. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, under HHS, previously conducted sponsor background checks focused on child safety indicators like sex offender registries and abuse histories. DHS was not involved in this process.

Jason Boyd, vice president of federal policy at Kids in Need of Defense, said the average length of stay for unaccompanied children in government custody now exceeds 190 days as of spring 2026. "With every passing day, it becomes more difficult to discern where ORR ends and ICE begins," Boyd said.

Internal Pushback

About 200 Thomson Reuters employees signed a letter in March urging the company not to renew its ICE contract, which was originally scheduled to expire in May but has been extended through August. The company conducted listening sessions and executive forums to address employee concerns. A shareholder resolution demanding a human rights review of the contracts failed at the company's annual meeting in early June, receiving support from just 3 percent of voting shareholders.

The contract renewal follows recent ICE vehicle stops that resulted in two fatal shootings, raising questions about how license plate reader data may be used to initiate enforcement actions. Details were first reported by WIRED.