A new report claims that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is spying on wire transfers between the United States and Mexico to locate illegal immigrants for deportation under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Honolulu Civil Beat reported that court records in a federal criminal case in Hawaii show that ICE officials used financial wire transfer records to locate illegal immigrant Gregorio Cordova Murrieta prior to his arrest in June.
In a June 25 filing to a federal magistrate judge, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Tabitha Hanson noted that she located Cordova Murrieta using information obtained through the surveillance of wire transfers. Honolulu Civil Beat reported that Cordova Murrieta was indicted in July for illegally entering the United States after being previously deported to Mexico.
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According to Honolulu Civil Beat, the Homeland Security Investigations agent used “information from a money remittance company” to identify 11 times Cordova Murrieta sent “individual remittances to individuals located in Mexico” since October of 2021. The outlet noted that the surveillance data included the location of the illegal immigrant’s home in ‘Aiea, Hawaii. After tracking Cordova Murrieta to ‘Aiea, Hawaii, ICE officials arrested him on June 26.
According to The Intercept, Jacquelyn Esser, the public defender representing Cordova Murrieta, claimed that Cordova Murrieta’s case was the only one she had witnessed ICE officials using financial transfers to locate illegal immigrants for deportation.
“It is disheartening to see ICE and HSI resorting to surveillance tactics that turn routine, lawful actions — like sending money to loved ones — into grounds for immigration enforcement,” ACLU of Hawai’i Executive Director Salmah Y. Rizvi, said in a statement obtained by The Intercept. “Hawaii’s large immigrant community relies on remittances to support families abroad, and this kind of government overreach creates a chilling effect, making people feel unsafe even doing everyday tasks.”
