US-Israel law-enforcement channels: ICE spyware and forensics contracts and police exchange programs Case US immigration and police agencies buy surveillance tools from Israeli-founded companies and send officers on exchange trips to Israel. The documented items are a $2M ICE contract with spyware maker Paragon (paused, reactivated in 2025, closed out in January 2026, per procurement records), ICE and CBP purchases of Cellebrite phone-extraction tools, and long-running police exchange programs. This entry records only those documented channels. It makes no claim that any agency is infiltrated or directed by a foreign government. ICE and the Paragon spyware contract ICE signed a roughly $2 million contract with Paragon Solutions, the maker of the Graphite spyware, in September 2024. It was paused under the Biden administration's 2023 executive order restricting government use of commercial spyware. TechCrunch reported on Sept. 2, 2025 that the stop-work order was lifted on Aug. 30, 2025, reactivating the contract. Paragon was acquired by the US private equity firm AE Industrial Partners in late 2024. DHS stated in May 2026 that "ICE has no relationship with Paragon Solutions, Inc. or with the company that acquired them." Procurement records cited by NPR show the contract was closed out on Jan. 20, 2026. ICE Director Todd Lyons acknowledged in an April 1 letter that the agency had approved a commercial spyware tool. Cellebrite phone-extraction tools at ICE and CBP Just Futures Law and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a FOIA lawsuit on Oct. 30, 2025 seeking records on ICE and CBP use of Israeli-made surveillance tools. The groups say ICE holds two Cellebrite contracts worth about $11 million in total and CBP holds at least 20 licenses, with purchases dating to at least 2008. These are the plaintiffs' figures, not a court finding. Police exchange programs with Israel Reason (2022) describes US-Israel police exchanges run by the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE, since 1992, more than 1,100 officers across about 290 programs), the ADL (since 2004) and JINSA (since 2002). It reports DHS grants of $480,466 since 2015, over 80% of them tied to Israel. The same article says the programs consist mostly of tours and meetings. Critics argue they spread Israeli military-style policing to US departments; defenders say they teach counterterrorism and emergency-response practice. Reason presents both sides and does not find evidence of operational control by Israel. First Trump term (2017-2021) On June 26, 2017, Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert announced a US-Israel cyber-cooperation pact, with joint teams meant to find and stop cyber adversaries before they reach US networks and critical infrastructure. A federal filing dated June 24, 2019 showed ICE's Dallas office planning a $30-35 million, up-to-five-year purchase of Cellebrite UFED phone-extraction devices, licenses, training and support, for Homeland Security Investigations and its Cyber Crimes Center. The FBI wrote to Israel's Defense Ministry in 2018 that it intended to use NSO Group's Pegasus spyware to collect data from mobile devices for preventing and investigating crimes and terrorism. Per New York Times reporting on FOIA documents, FBI officials pushed to deploy it from late 2020 through the first half of 2021, and the effort was halted on July 22, 2021, partly under the Biden administration. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in March 2022 that the FBI bought Pegasus only for research and never used it operationally. Sen. Ron Wyden accused Wray of being inaccurate or misleading, citing the internal documents. The FBI says it has not ruled out similar tools in future. Perspectives Official position — Department of Homeland Security DHS says ICE has no relationship with Paragon Solutions or the company that acquired it. Critic — Just Futures Law and Center for Constitutional Rights The groups argue that ICE and CBP buy invasive Israeli-made surveillance tools with little public disclosure, and sued under FOIA in October 2025 to obtain contracts, policies and usage records. Editorial read — The Author (site author), thesis The Author's reading: the legitimate question is procurement and oversight. Which foreign-made surveillance tools do US agencies buy, on what terms, with what warrants and disclosure, and who profits? Contracts, grants and FOIA records can answer that. This is interpretation. The sources here document purchases and exchange trips, not infiltration, dual loyalty or foreign direction of any agency, and the entry makes no such claim. Note DHS says ICE has "no relationship" with Paragon or its acquirer, and defenders of the exchange programs say they are mostly tours, meetings and counterterrorism briefings. Sources [1] TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/02/ice-reactivates-contract-with-spyware-maker-paragon/) · 2025-09-02 [2] NPR (https://www.npr.org/2026/05/22/nx-s1-5831577/dhs-ice-spyware-paragon) · 2026-05-22 [3] Center for Constitutional Rights press release (https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/legal-groups-sue-trump-administration-uncover-use-israeli-spyware) · 2025-10-30 [4] Reason (https://reason.com/2022/06/20/do-small-town-cops-need-training-in-israeli-counterterror-techniques/) · 2022-06-20 [5] The Next Web (https://thenextweb.com/security/2019/09/12/ice-is-paying-an-israeli-security-company-30m-to-break-into-phones/) · 2019-09-12 [6] Times of Israel (summarizing New York Times FOIA reporting) (https://www.timesofisrael.com/fbi-came-close-to-deploying-nsos-spyware-may-use-similar-tools-in-future-report/) · 2022-11 [7] Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-insists-hasnt-used-pegasus-spyware-grilling-capitol-hill) · 2022-03 [8] NoCamels (https://nocamels.com/2017/06/us-israel-sign-cyebrsecurity-pact/) · 2017-06-26 Connections Related — AIPAC lobbying and campaign spending Another documented channel of US-Israel influence, through lobbying money rather than procurement. Shared mechanism — Flock Safety and the expansion of license-plate surveillance to immigration enforcement Both cover commercial surveillance technology reaching immigration enforcement through procurement. Shared mechanism — ICE detention funding surge and private contractor revenue (2025-2026) Both document ICE procurement as the channel through which outside companies are paid. Same context — Trump's first term and Israel (2017-2021): Adelson money, embassy move, Golan, Iran deal and aid cuts Same first-term period (2017-2021) viewed through policy and donors rather than surveillance contracts. Same context — US policy toward Israel amid mounting genocide allegations in Gaza Wider context of US-Israel relations and money.