Recent public records reveal that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spent $825,000 earlier this year on specialized vehicles equipped with technology capable of monitoring nearby cellphones. The vehicles, supplied by Maryland-based company TechOps Specialty Vehicles (TOSV), include “cell-site simulators” — surveillance tools that mimic cellphone towers to collect data from nearby devices.
According to the documents, the May 8 contract modification was made to provide additional “Cell Site Simulator (CSS) Vehicles” for the Department of Homeland Security’s Technical Operations program. This was not ICE’s first deal with TOSV — a similar agreement worth $818,000 was signed in September 2024, suggesting an ongoing partnership.
TOSV’s president, Jon Brianas, confirmed that the company integrates such technologies into its vehicles but clarified that it does not manufacture the simulators itself. “We don’t build the communication or tech components,” he said, explaining that TOSV’s role is to design and equip the vehicles around those systems. However, Brianas declined to reveal where the surveillance hardware originates, citing trade confidentiality.
These “cell-site simulators,” often referred to as stingrays or IMSI catchers, act as fake cellphone towers. By doing so, they trick nearby phones into connecting to them, allowing authorities to locate and sometimes intercept data such as calls, texts, and browsing activity. Critics have long argued that the devices can sweep up information from innocent bystanders along with suspects, raising privacy and constitutional concerns.
Although ICE has not publicly disclosed how frequently it uses this technology, past reports show extensive deployment. Documents obtained by the ACLU revealed that between 2017 and 2019, ICE used such devices at least 466 times. Between 2013 and 2017, the agency employed them more than 1,800 times.
The secrecy surrounding these tools remains a major issue. Law enforcement agencies using stingrays are often bound by non-disclosure agreements, preventing them from explaining how the devices operate or confirming whether warrants are obtained before each use. ICE did not answer specific questions about the latest vehicle purchases, including how and where the surveillance equipment has been deployed.
TOSV, headquartered near Washington, D.C., supplies various high-tech vehicles to law enforcement agencies — including mobile command centers, forensic analysis labs, bomb response units, and surveillance vans. Interestingly, the company also produces non-police vehicles like medical response units and even mobile libraries, or “bookmobiles.”
While ICE’s exact use of these new vehicles remains unclear, the contracts confirm that phone-tracking technology continues to play a significant role in federal surveillance operations.
