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It Could Happen Here · Thursday · 26 min

How Congress Could Bring ICE to a Store Near You

Investigative journalist, Kevin Foster discusses the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act and how it could widen ICE’s surveillance dragnet. Sources: https://truckingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ATRI-The-Fight-Against-Cargo-Theft-Exec-Summ-12-2025.pdf https://www.cargonet.com/news-and-events/cargonet-in-the-media/2025-theft-trends/ https://www.freightwaves.com/news/is-cargo-theft-costing-60-billion-annually-what-that-number-actually-represents https://www.levernews.com/the-real-story-behind-the-highway-robbery-panic/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2853/text https://www.newstore.com/articles/unified-customer-profile/ https://law.vanderbilt.edu/eyes-everywhere-ices-expanded-use-of-surveillance-technologies/ https://www.aclu-wi.org/news/mobile-fortify-ices-dystopic-facial-recognition-app/ https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/06/oregon-state-police-violated-sanctuary-law-sharing-data-ice-lawsuit-claims/ https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/retailers-secretively-using-face-recognition https://vera-action.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/Oppose+CORCA+Organizational+Sign-on.pdf https://davisvanguard.org/2026/07/orgs-oppose-retail-crime-act/ https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/grassley-durbin-advance-bipartisan-packages-in-national-defense-authorization-act-to-crack-down-on-crime-and-protect-kids-online https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/24/underground-mutual-aid-hillsboro-immigrant-families-ice/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5 https://www.tucsonspotlight.org/ice-detention-bars-tucson-mom-from-her-own-trial/ https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2026/6/11/230128-a-tucson-resident-was-arrested-for-shoplifting-now-shes-in-ice-custody/ https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD004.pdf https://revealnews.org/article/how-a-us-citizen-was-scanned-with-ices-facial-recognition-tech/ https://innovationlawlab.org/news-and-analysis/video-evidence-surveillance-tech-used-op-black-rose https://www.404media.co/ices-facial-recognition-app-misidentified-a-woman-twice/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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show notes

Investigative journalist, Kevin Foster discusses the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act and how it could widen ICE’s surveillance dragnet. 

Sources:

https://truckingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ATRI-The-Fight-Against-Cargo-Theft-Exec-Summ-12-2025.pdf

https://www.cargonet.com/news-and-events/cargonet-in-the-media/2025-theft-trends/

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/is-cargo-theft-costing-60-billion-annually-what-that-number-actually-represents

https://www.levernews.com/the-real-story-behind-the-highway-robbery-panic/

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2853/text

https://www.newstore.com/articles/unified-customer-profile/

https://law.vanderbilt.edu/eyes-everywhere-ices-expanded-use-of-surveillance-technologies/

https://www.aclu-wi.org/news/mobile-fortify-ices-dystopic-facial-recognition-app/

https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/06/oregon-state-police-violated-sanctuary-law-sharing-data-ice-lawsuit-claims/

https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/retailers-secretively-using-face-recognition

https://vera-action.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/Oppose+CORCA+Organizational+Sign-on.pdf

https://davisvanguard.org/2026/07/orgs-oppose-retail-crime-act/

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/grassley-durbin-advance-bipartisan-packages-in-national-defense-authorization-act-to-crack-down-on-crime-and-protect-kids-online

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/24/underground-mutual-aid-hillsboro-immigrant-families-ice/

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5

https://www.tucsonspotlight.org/ice-detention-bars-tucson-mom-from-her-own-trial/

https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2026/6/11/230128-a-tucson-resident-was-arrested-for-shoplifting-now-shes-in-ice-custody/

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD004.pdf

https://revealnews.org/article/how-a-us-citizen-was-scanned-with-ices-facial-recognition-tech/

https://innovationlawlab.org/news-and-analysis/video-evidence-surveillance-tech-used-op-black-rose

https://www.404media.co/ices-facial-recognition-app-misidentified-a-woman-twice/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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