Apps and ankle monitors that track asylum seekers in real time wherever they go. Databases packed with personal information like fingerprints and faces. Investigative tools that can break into locked phones and search through gigabytes of emails, text messages and other files.

These are pieces of a technology arsenal available to President Trump as he aims to crack down on illegal immigration and carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. To do so, his administration can tap a stockpile of tools built up by Democrats and Republicans that is nearly unmatched in the Western world, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

A review of nearly 15,000 contracts shows that two agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Citizen and Immigration Services — have spent $7.8 billion on immigration technologies from 263 companies since 2020.

The contracts, most of which were initiated under the Biden administration, included ones for tools that can rapidly prove family relationships with a DNA test to check whether, say, an adult migrant crossing the border with a minor are related. (Families are often treated differently from individuals.) Other systems compare biometrics against criminal records, alert agents to changes in address, follow cars with licence plate readers, and rip and analyse data from phones, hard drives and cars.

The contracts, which ranged in size, were for mundane tech like phone services as well as advanced tools from big and small companies. Palantir, the provider of data-analysis tools that was co-founded by the billionaire Peter Thiel, received more than $1 billion over the past four years. Venntel, a provider of location data, had seven contracts with ICE totalling at least $330,000 between 2018 and 2022.

The Biden administration used many of these technologies for immigration enforcement, including in investigations of drug trafficking, human smuggling and transnational gang activity. How Trump may apply the tools
is unknown, especially as
the whereabouts of many immigrants are known and the government faces a shortage of officers and facilities to
detain people.

But Trump has already made clear that his immigration agenda is strikingly different from that of his predecessor. This week, he announced a barrage of executive actions to lock down the borders and expel migrants and those seeking asylum.

“All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said at his inauguration on Monday.

Tech products are almost certain to feature in those plans. Thomas Homan, the administration’s border czar, has discussed meeting with tech companies about available tools.

“They’ll certainly use all tools at their disposal, including new tech available to them,” said John Torres, a former acting assistant secretary for ICE.

A White House spokesman declined to comment. ICE said in a statement that it “employs various forms of technology, and information to fulfil its mission while protecting privacy, and civil rights and liberties in accordance with applicable laws.”

Eric Hysen, the chief information officer for the homeland security department under President Biden, said ICE and other immigration agencies have vast responsibilities. Many tools were designed for investigations of drug traffickers and other criminals, not tracking migrants, he said, while other technology like licence plate readers could be used to ease traffic at border crossings.

The federal government has had longstanding internal policies to limit how surveillance tools could be used, but those restrictions can be lifted by a new administration, Mr. Hysen added. “Those are things that can change, but they are not easy to change,” he said.

The buildup of immigration tech goes back to at least the creation of the homeland security department after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Interest in the tools fueled a boom that is expected to grow under Trump. Leaders in Europe and elsewhere are also investing in the technologies as some adopt increasingly restrictive immigration policies.

Many companies are racing to meet the demand, offering gear to fortify borders and services to track immigrants once they are inside a country.

In the US, the beneficiaries include the makers of GPS tracking devices, digital forensics tools and data brokers. Palantir and others won contracts with ICE for storing and analysing data. Thomson Reuters, Lexis Nexis and credit rating companies provide access to databases of personal information that can help government agents find the homes, workplaces and social connections of citizens and noncitizens alike.