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The Expanding Surveillance Dragnet

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Join American Community Media in San Francisco for our media briefing, The Expanding Surveillance Dragnet, on Thursday, September 10th, 11:00am to 2:00pm, with two in-person panels at Commonwealth Club World Affairs in San Francisco.

Why surveillance matters

Over the past year, ICE raids have surged across major US cities, with the Trump administration rounding up 590,000 immigrants — including a record 50,000 in July alone. Increasingly, the federal immigration strategy is powered by sophisticated surveillance technology that aggregates public and private data, tracks social media and digital activity, and captures license plate data in order to target individuals and entire communities. This shift from shock and awe to stealth is laying the foundation for a surveillance state that leaves no one – citizen or non-citizen – immune. What are some of these tools, how are they evolving, and what legal, legislative, and grassroots challenges are emerging to protect immigrants from intrusive tracking technology?
ools?

Event details:

Thursday, September 10, 2026

World Affairs Center, 312 Sutter Street, San Francisc

11:00 AM–12:15 PM — Panel 1

12:15-12:45 — Lunch Break 

12:45–2:00 PM — Panel 2

Doors open at 10:00 AM for media; Zoom/YouTube option available for those unable to attend in person

Full Lineup:

Jaya Padmanabhan, ACoM Executive Director & moderator
Ed Kissam, researcher & ACoM collaborator, provides opening remarks

Panel 1: From Immigration Enforcement to Political Monitoring     

  • Stephen Manning, Executive Director, Innovation Law Lab
  • Denise Bell, Human rights researcher, report co-author, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty
  • Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist, American Immigration Council
  • Saira Hussain, Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Panel 2: Resistance in Practice: Law, Community and Protection

  • Abdi Soltani, Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California
  • Jonathan Paz, Candidate for Congress in MA 5th district, ex-Flock whistleblower
  • Brian Hofer, Executive Director, Secure Justice
  • Kimberly Woo, Community Organizer, SIREN Immigrant Rights
  • Lena Graber, Senior Managing Attorney, Immigrant Legal Resource Center