ICE has offices in 5 Canadian cities. Here’s what it can — and can’t — do
Alberta MP calls on Canada to shut down U.S. immigration and customs operations north of border
As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to draw widespread criticism for its deportation crackdown in the States, there’s concern brewing about the agency's presence north of the border.
The U.S. government’s website lists ICE offices in five Canadian cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Ottawa.
In an emailed statement to CBC News, an ICE spokesperson confirmed its criminal investigative law enforcement component — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) — conducts work at the U.S. embassy in the country’s capital, and at consulates in the other four cities.
HSI personnel are separate from the ICE arm at the forefront of the immigration crackdowns making headlines in cities like Minneapolis, known as Enforcement and Removal Operations.
According to the government website, HSI has over 93 offices in more than 50 countries, with a mandate to identify and stop crime “before it reaches the United States.”
What does ICE do in Canada?
“HSI special agents conduct criminal investigations to protect the United States from dangerous transnational organizations, like terrorist groups and drug cartels,” the ICE spokesperson told CBC News.
“These skilled and highly trained special agents focus on a wide variety of serious crimes, like drug trafficking, child exploitation, weapons smuggling, human smuggling, financial fraud, and more.”
A
security guard works outside the Embassy of the United States of
America in Ottawa on Nov. 7, 2020. ICE said its Homeland Security
Investigations component operates out of this location and four
consulates across Canada. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) The ICE spokesperson said the agency also helps track and detain known and potential terrorists before they can carry out attacks against the United States and its allies.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, HSI has supported several investigations in Canada, including a case from October where police laid 700 charges against 20 people after a law enforcement operation seized over 14 kilograms of drugs and 35 firearms in raids in Ottawa, Cornwall, Ont., and Akwesasne, Que.
ICE did not confirm how long it has been established in Canada.
Here’s what the U.S. agency can — and can’t — do north of the border:
Can ICE arrest people in Canada?
No. HSI special agents do not conduct operational activities in Canada, such as making arrests or executing search warrants, according to ICE.
Are agents armed?
No. ICE confirmed HSI agents do not carry firearms in Canada.
Calls for Canada to ‘ICE-out’
News of these ICE field offices spread quickly on social media over the past week, leading to calls for Canada to shut down ICE operations in the country.
In a letter to the prime minister last week, Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson called on Mark Carney to close ICE field offices in Canada until the “human rights crisis is resolved,” referring to the agency’s operations in the U.S.
“Canada has sovereign authority over who operates on our territory, and you must revoke ICE’s permission to maintain offices here,” said McPherson, who is currently running for the leadership of the federal NDP.
CBC News has reached out to the Prime Minister's Office for a response to McPherson's letter.
The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa addressed the outpouring of concern with a thread on its X account recounting a number of investigations HSI has supported north of the border, adding that its “work in Canada is about partnership, public safety, and upholding the law.”
“We remain committed to working with our Canadian counterparts to keep our communities safe.”
Mark Kersten, an assistant professor of human rights law at the University of the Fraser Valley and a consultant with the Wayamo Foundation, an international justice organization, said ICE’s recent fatal operations in Minnesota and Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty are critical to understanding how ICE in Canada could pose a potential public safety concern.
“In that context, I think people rightly deserve and want to know more about what experts have called a paramilitary of the Trump administration is doing in Canada,” he said.
“And whether in fact we should have any presence, regardless of what they're doing, of an entity that is committing such horrible harms with impunity in America, again, at a time when our sovereignty is consistently being put to question by American authorities.”
A
man walks by posters of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were
both fatally shot by federal agents, in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 31,
2026. (Ryan Murphy/AP) Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minnesota on Jan. 7. Then, just over a week ago, ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed in another shooting by federal officers.
CBS News reported ICE was holding a record 73,000 people in detention in mid-January — an 84 per cent increase since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last year.
“No one is saying that Canada, Canadian authorities and American authorities shouldn't cooperate when it comes to human trafficking, when it comes to drug trafficking, when it comes to various types of transnational, trans-border criminal conduct. We absolutely need to co-operate on those issues,” Kersten said.
But he said that other agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, such as Customs and Border Protection, could potentially carry out HSI's current duties without ICE needing to operate on Canadian soil.
In its statement, ICE said "HSI has a longstanding and productive relationship with Canada, one of America’s most essential partners."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
International Offices
With a global footprint spanning over 90 offices in more than 50 countries, HSI is uniquely positioned to shield our nation from transnational threats.
HSI’s cadre of nearly 500 internationally deployed special agents, criminal analysts and mission support personnel work alongside locally employed staff and foreign law enforcement partners to advance the HSI mission around the world.
Through its global network of attaches and liaisons, HSI establishes and builds relationships with foreign and interagency counterparts. We then use these partnerships to further our investigations, initiatives, and operations that have an international connection. Together with our partners abroad, we collect evidence; arrest criminals; seize drugs, money, weapons, and other items; stop threats from traveling to the United States; and conduct other activities to protect the public from those seeking to harm our country.
Collectively, these efforts help equip HSI with an unparalleled capability to combat transnational criminal organizations on a global scale, and to detect and deter national security and public safety threats before they reach the homeland.
- Calgary - CAHSI Calgary
Consulate Tel: 1-403-266-8962
Post Mailing Address:
Consulate General of the United States
615 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, AB
T2G 2M1
Canada
(-2 hours EST)
- Adelanto - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Los Angeles (Adelanto)
10250 Rancho Road
Adelanto, CA 92301
(760) 561-6460 - Annandale - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Washington, D.C. (Annandale)
7619 Little River Turnpike
Suite 900
Annandale, VA 22003
(703) 962-2800Mailing Address: 500 12th Street SW, Mail Stop 5902 Washington, D.C. 20536-5902
Area of Responsibility: District of Columbia and Virginia (Annandale Immigration Court)
- Atlanta - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Atlanta
180 Ted Turner Drive, SW, Suite 332
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 893-1400Area of Responsibility: Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
- Atlanta - EROAtlanta Field Office
180 Ted Turner Dr. SW
Suite 522
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 893-1290Area of Responsibility: Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina
Email: Atlanta.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Atlanta - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Atlanta
Peachtree Summit Federal Building
401 W. Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 2850
Atlanta, GA 30308
(404) 730-9756 - Atlanta - HSIHSI Atlanta
1100 Centre Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30344
Phone: (404) 346-2300
Recruiting: HSIAtlantaRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (404) 346-2374Area of Responsibility: Alabama, Georgia
- Atlanta - OPEAtlanta – Community Relations Officer
Atlanta, GA
Area of Responsibility: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina
- Baltimore - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Baltimore
31 Hopkins Plaza, Room 1600
Baltimore, MD 21201
(443) 560-0600Area of Responsibility: Maryland
- Baltimore - EROBaltimore Field Office
31 Hopkins Plaza
6th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201
(443) 560-0640Area of Responsibility: Maryland
- Baltimore - OPEBaltimore - Community Relations Officer
40 South Gay Street, 3rd Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
Area of Responsibility: Maryland
- Baltimore - HSIHSI Maryland
40 South Gay Street
3rd Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 962-2620
Recruiting: HSIBaltimoreRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (410) 962-3469Area of Responsibility: Maryland
- Batavia - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Buffalo (Batavia)
Buffalo Federal Detention Facility
4250 Federal Drive
Batavia, NY 14020
(585) 344-6600 - Boston - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Boston
15 New Sudbury Street, Room 425
Boston, MA 02203
(857) 416-3701Area of Responsibility: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
- Boston - HSIHSI Boston
10 Causeway Street
Room 722
Boston, MA 02222
Phone: (857) 557-2762
Recruiting: HSINewEnglandRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (617) 565-7422Area of Responsibility: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
- Brooklyn Heights - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Detroit (Cleveland)
925 Keynote Circle, Room 201
Brooklyn Heights, OH 44131
(216) 749-9955 - Buffalo - HSIHSI Buffalo
250 Delaware Ave
Suite 814
Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: (716) 464-5900
Recruiting: HSIBuffaloRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (716) 464-6087Area of Responsibility: New York state
(minus New York City surrounding areas) - Buffalo - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Buffalo
250 Delaware Avenue, Suite 773
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 464-6000Area of Responsibility: Northern and Western New York
- Buffalo - OPEBuffalo - Community Relations Officer
130 Delaware Avenue, Ste 300
Buffalo, NY 14202
Area of Responsibility: Western, Central & Northern New York State
- Buffalo - EROBuffalo Field Office
250 Delaware Avenue, Floor 7
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 464-5800Area of Responsibility: Upstate New York
Email: Buffalo.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Burlington - EROBoston Field Office
1000 District Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 359-7500Area of Responsibility: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Email: Boston.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Centennial - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Denver
12445 East Caley Avenue
Centennial, CO 80111-6432
(983) 212-0405Area of Responsibility: Colorado, Idaho (ERO) , Montana, Utah, and Wyoming
- Centennial - OPEDenver - Community Relations Officer
12445 E. Caley Ave
Centennial, CO 80111
Area of Responsibility: Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming
- Centennial - ERODenver Field Office
12445 E. Caley Avenue
Centennial, CO 80111
(720) 873-2899Area of Responsibility: Colorado, Wyoming
Email: Denver.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Chantilly - OPEWashington – Community Relations Officer
14797 Murdock Street
Mail Stop 5216
Chantilly, VA 20598-5216
Area of Responsibility: District of Columbia and Virginia
- Chantilly - EROWashington Field Office
14797 Murdock Street
Mail Stop 5216
Chantilly, VA 20598-5216
(703) 633-2100Area of Responsibility: District of Columbia and Virginia
- Chaparral - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, El Paso (Chaparral)
Trial Attorney Unit
26 McGregor Range Road
Chaparral, NM 88081
(915) 834-5200 - Charlotte - HSIHSI Charlotte
3700 Arco Corporate Drive
Suite 300
Charlotte, NC 28273
Phone: (704) 679-6140
Recruiting: HSICharlotteRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (704) 679-6143Area of Responsibility: North Carolina, South Carolina
- Charlotte - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Atlanta (Charlotte)
5701 Executive Center Drive, Suite 300
Charlotte, NC 28212
(704) 248-9605 - Chicago - OPEChicago - Community Relations Officer
101 W Ida B. Wells Parkway
Chicago, IL 60605
Area of Responsibility: Illinois, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin
- Chicago - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Chicago
55 E. Monroe Street
Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 260-9513Area of Responsibility: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin
- Chicago - EROChicago Field Office
101 W Ida B Wells Drive
Suite 4000
Chicago, IL 60605
(872) 351-3990Area of Responsibility: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas
Email: Chicago.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Conroe - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Houston (Conroe)
Montgomery Processing Center
806 Hilbig Road
Suite 2-201
Conroe, TX 77301
(936) 520-5870 - Dallas - ERODallas Field Office
8101 N. Stemmons Frwy
Dallas, TX 75247
(972) 367-2200Area of Responsibility: North Texas, Oklahoma
Email: Dallas.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Dallas - OPEDallas - Community Relations Officer
8101 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75247
Area of Responsibility: North Texas and Oklahoma
- Detroit -Detroit Field Office
985 Michigan Avenue
Suite 207
Detroit, MI 48226
Area of Responsibility: Michigan, Ohio
Email: Detroit.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Detroit - HSIHSI Detroit
477 Michigan Avenue
Suite 1850
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 226-0500
Recruiting: HSIDetroitRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (313) 226-6282Area of Responsibility: Michigan, Ohio
- Detroit - OPEDetroit - Community Relations Officer
477 Michigan Avenue, Ste 1850
Detroit, MI 48226
Area of Responsibility: Michigan and Ohio
- Detroit - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Detroit
Rosa Parks Federal Building
985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 1010
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 771-6500Area of Responsibility: Michigan and Ohio
- Dilley - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, San Antonio (Dilley)
South Texas Family Residential Center
300 El Rancho Way
Dilley, TX 78017
(830) 378-6500
- El Paso - EROEl Paso Field Office
11541 Montana Ave
Suite E
El Paso, TX 79936
(915) 225-1901Area of Responsibility: West Texas, New Mexico
Email: ElPaso.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- El Paso - HSIHSI El Paso
11541 Montana Avenue
Suite H
El Paso, TX 79936
Phone: (915) 856-2315
Recruiting: HSIElPasoRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (915) 857-6083Area of Responsibility: New Mexico, northwest Texas
- El Paso - OPEEl Paso - Community Relations Officer
11541 Montana Avenue
El Paso, TX 79925
Area of Responsibility: West Texas and New Mexico
- El Paso - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, El Paso
11541 Montana Avenue, Suite O
El Paso, TX 79936
(915) 856-2316Area of Responsibility: West Texas and New Mexico
- Elizabeth - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Newark (Elizabeth)
Elizabeth Detention Facility
625 Evans Street, Room 135
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
(908) 282-5755 - Eloy - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Phoenix (Eloy)
Eloy Detention Center
1705 East Hanna Road
Eloy, AZ 85131
(520) 464-3032 - Fairfax - OPRSpecial Agent in Charge – East
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 877-1510Serving the following states and territories: ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, MD, DE, VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL, DC, PR, USVI
- Florence - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Phoenix (Florence)
Florence Detention Center
3250 N. Pinal Parkway Avenue
Florence, AZ 85132
(520) 868-3310 - Fort Snelling - OPESt. Paul - Community Relations Officer
1 Federal Drive, Ste 1340
Fort Snelling, MN 55111
Area of Responsibility: Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota
- Fort Snelling - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Minneapolis-St. Paul
1 Federal Drive, Suite 1800
Fort Snelling, MN 55111
(612) 843-8935Area of Responsibility: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota
- Fort Snelling - EROSt Paul Field Office
1 Federal Drive
Suite 1601
Fort Snelling, MN 55111
(612) 409-7799Area of Responsibility: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
Email: StPaul.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
- Fort Snelling - HSIHSI Minneapolis/St. Paul
1 Federal Drive
Suite 1340
Fort Snelling, MN 55111
Phone: (612) 843-8800
Recruiting: HSIStPaulRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (612) 843-8921Area of Responsibility: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
- Greenwood Village - HSIHSI Denver
5445 DTC Pkwy
Suite 600
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Phone: (303) 721-3000
Recruiting: HSIDenverRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (303) 721-3003Area of Responsibility: Colorado, Montana, Wyoming
- Guaynabo - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Miami (San Juan)
7 Tabonuco Street
Room 300 (Suite 313)
Guaynabo, PR 00968
(787) 706-2352 - Harlingen - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, San Antonio (Harlingen)
1717 Zoy Street, Annex
Harlingen, TX 78552
(956) 389-7051 - Harlingen - EROHarlingen Field Office
1717 Zoy Street
Harlingen, TX 78552
(956) 389-7884Area of Responsibility: South Texas
- Harlingen - OPEHarlingen - Community Relations Officer
1717 Zoy Street
Harlingen, TX 78552
Area of Responsibility: Harlingen
- Hartford - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Boston (Hartford)
Ribicoff Federal Building
450 Main Street, Room 483
Hartford, CT 06103-3060
(860) 240-3615 - Honolulu - HSIHSI Honolulu
595 Ala Moana Boulevard
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 529-1900
Recruiting: HSIHonoluluRecruitment@hsi.dhs.gov
Fax: (808) 532-4690Area of Responsibility: Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands
- Honolulu - OPLAOffice of the Principal Legal Advisor, Honolulu
300 Ala Moana Boulevard
Suite 7-220
Honolulu, HI 96850
(808) 529-1900Area of Responsibility: Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Saipan
NDP MP calls on government to sanction Canadian companies doing business with ICE
McPherson says Canadians 'must not engage with or support fascist violence'
An NDP MP is calling on the government to take action to stop Canadian businesses from having any dealings with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Heather McPherson posted a letter she penned to Prime Minister Mark Carney on X Thursday, saying that the government should consider a number of actions against Canadian companies that have business with the agency.
"Canada and Canadians must not engage with or support fascist violence that destroys communities and threatens the safety of our American neighbours and ourselves," she wrote.
McPherson said the government should deny export permits to companies selling equipment to ICE and pull any public subsidies or contracts from companies who have dealings with the agency.
NDP MP Heather McPherson posted a letter about ICE's business with Canadian firms Thursday on X. (@HMcPhersonNDP/X)
Since beginning his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent federal agents into cities he has alleged are overridden with crime, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and Charlotte, N.C.
Minneapolis is the latest city targeted by the administration, with thousands of masked and armed agents on the streets, raiding business and homes. The Trump administration says the agents are targeting criminals who are in the United States illegally.
Since ICE ramped up its activities in Minneapolis in the past month, two U.S. citizens have been shot and killed at the hands of federal agents and a five-year-old child detained alongside his father.
Was Alex Pretti a 'would-be assassin’? We break down the footage of fatal ICE shooting | About ThatThousands of demonstrators have been drawn to the streets calling on ICE to leave the city.
"What Canadians are seeing south of the border, in Minnesota and beyond, is terrifying. The Trump administration's abuses have no limits," McPherson wrote in her letter.
Canadian business dealings
A number of Canadian companies reportedly have business with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE.
McPherson listed several examples in her letter, including the tech business Hootsuite. A U.S. government procurement website shows that the Vancouver-based company is providing social media services to DHS, with the contract beginning in August 2024.
Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky said in a statement Wednesday that "what we are watching unfold right now is wrong," but said that their contract with ICE does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals.
B.C. company criticized for potential ICE business dealB.C. billionaire Jim Pattison has also faced scrutiny over the possible sale of a Virginia warehouse to DHS for use as an ICE processing facility.
ICE itself has earmarked millions of dollars for a bulk order for 20 armoured vehicles from Canadian defence manufacturer Roshel.
CBC News has reached out to the Prime Minister's Office for a response to McPherson's letter.
McPherson is currently running for her party's leadership. The NDP confirmed Thursday that the MP and four other candidates have cleared the final hurdle to be on the ballot in March. The other candidates include: activist and filmmaker Avi Lewis, union leader Rob Ashton, social worker Tanille Johnston and farmer Tony McQuail.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from The Canadian Press
Letter from Irina,
CEO of Hootsuite
What we are watching unfold right now is wrong.
The loss of life and the fear being felt in communities as a result of recent enforcement actions are devastating.
Beyond how painful it has been to process the current situation on a personal level, we have also felt the concern expressed about Hootsuite’s work with ICE’s public affairs office. I want to share how I think about this candidly, human to human.
We’ve worked with government organizations across countries and administrations for more than 15 years, including the U.S. government. Our use-case with ICE does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals using our tools. Any claim otherwise is false and prohibited under our terms of service, which we actively enforce.
Our technology makes public
conversation visible at scale. It helps organizations understand what
people are saying using unbiased, authentic social data - this helps
them understand how people are feeling, and where trust is being earned
or lost. Today more than ever, organizations need to hear more from the
public, not less. Our responsibility is to ensure those voices remain
visible. We work with a wide range of organizations because listening to
real conversations leads to insights that drive better decisions and
accountability, without endorsing specific actions or policies.
We
understand this is a complex issue and that people will hold strong
opinions. Our responsibility is to our customers, to the clear standards
that govern how our technology is used, and to ensuring public
conversation can be understood responsibly and at scale.
Hootsuite CEO responds to backlash over U.S. Homeland Security contract
Irina Novoselsky says contract with ICE does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals
The CEO of Vancouver-based tech company Hootsuite is responding to backlash over a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A U.S. government procurement website shows that Hootsuite is providing social media services to the DHS, with the contract beginning in August 2024.
The contract between Homeland Security and New York-based Seneca Strategic Partners is to provide "social media management platform Hootsuite and support services," and is worth up to $2.8 million US, according to the procurement website.
The site does not explain the relationship between Hootsuite and Seneca, which describes itself as a federal government contracting business wholly owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians.
A protest outside Hootsuite’s Vancouver headquarters is planned for Friday by a group called Democracy Rising, which is urging Hootsuite to "cancel its contracts and publicly apologize."
‘Insurrection’?: How Minnesota is being singled out in ‘largest’ crackdown ‘ever’ | About ThatICE has come under heavy criticism for its actions during a recent immigration crackdown in the state of Minnesota, with the deaths of two U.S. citizens in federal agent-involved shootings being a particular flashpoint.
Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky said in a statement Wednesday that "what we are watching unfold right now is wrong."
She said the loss of life and the fear being felt in communities as a result of recent enforcement actions are "devastating."
"Beyond how painful it has been to process the current situation on a personal level, we have also felt the concern expressed about Hootsuite’s work with ICE’s public affairs office," Novoselsky said.
Protesters, police clash outside hotel housing ICE agentsNovoselsky said Hootsuite has worked with government organizations across countries and administrations for more than 15 years, including the U.S. government.
"Our use-case with ICE does not include tracking or surveillance of individuals using our tools. Any claim otherwise is false and prohibited under our terms of service, which we actively enforce," she said.
A woman walks past the Hootsuite HQ in January 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Novoselsky said Hootsuite's technology "makes public conversation visible at scale" and "helps organizations understand what people are saying using unbiased, authentic social data."
Her statement does not commit to an end to the contract, saying the company's responsibility is to its customers and standards that demonstrate how its technology is used.
"We work with a wide range of organizations because listening to real conversations leads to insights that drive better decisions and accountability, without endorsing specific actions or policies," the statement adds.
Contract with ICE ended in 2020
A release posted by the Department of Homeland Security last year says the department would only use Hootsuite to manage its social media channels to deliver information to the general public "while promoting transparency and accountability" for those seeking information from the department.
Hootsuite was founded in 2008 and employs about 1,000 people across the globe.
In 2020, the company's then-CEO Tom Keiser announced it had axed a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a "broad emotional and passionate'' reaction from staff.
He did not share why staff were concerned, but said the issue created a divided company and it was not the kind of business he wanted to lead, so he reversed the decision.
In an unrelated news conference Tuesday, B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma urged Canadian businesses to think about their role when considering business with ICE.
It comes after another B.C. company, Jim Pattison Developments, is in the process of selling one of its warehouses in Hanover, Va., to ICE.
B.C. attorney general wants businesses to 'think about their role' supporting ICEIn a statement, a spokesperson for Jim Pattison Developments said the property was publicly listed for sale after "operating needs changed," and an offer was accepted to sell to a U.S. government contractor.
"Some time later, we became aware of the ultimate owner and intended use of the building," the spokesperson wrote. "This transaction is still subject to certain approvals and closing conditions."
B.C. company criticized for potential ICE business dealWith files from The Canadian Press's Nono Shen and the CBC's Andrew Kurjata
Attorney General
Honourable Niki Sharma
Niki Sharma was elected MLA for Vancouver-Hastings in 2020 and previously served as the deputy caucus chair and parliamentary secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits.
Niki is a lawyer whose practice focused on representing Indigenous people, including residential school survivors. Niki has worked across B.C. as an advocate on climate policy and reconciliation. She has also been recognized for her work on combatting racism.
Niki was elected to the board of Vancity Credit Union where she served as vice-chair and chaired the Climate Justice Working Group. She also served as chair of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. In these roles, she worked to improve her community and make life better for people and our planet.
In 2017, Niki worked as a senior ministerial assistant helping to deliver more child care spaces for B.C. families.
Niki was raised in Sparwood, B.C. A mother of two, she has lived in East Vancouver for more than 15 years and has deep connections in the community.
B.C.'s attorney general urges Canadian businesses to 'think about their role' in supporting ICE operations
Several companies are facing pressure to back out of deals with ICE amid backlash
B.C.'s attorney general says Canadian companies should "think about their role" when considering whether to do business with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Niki Sharma, who also acts as the deputy premier, was asked at an unrelated news conference Tuesday morning about the backlash facing B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison, over the potential sale of a Virginia warehouse to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for use as an ICE processing facility.
Pattison, whose conglomerate the Jim Pattison Group spans various sectors including real estate, automotive, media and groceries, is being urged by some to not move forward with the deal, citing the actions of ICE officers in the United States, including the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.
Sharma says her government is watching those actions "with concern."
B.C. attorney general wants businesses to 'think about their role' supporting ICE"Just like the rest of the world, we watch in horror about what's happening there and I think that calls on business leaders across this province, and including the whole country, to think about their role in what is unfolding there, and to make decisions that would not lead to some of the outcomes that we're seeing unfold in the States," she said Tuesday.
Homeland Security sent a letter to the Hanover County planning department in Hanover, Va., last Wednesday, sharing its intent to "purchase, occupy and rehabilitate" the warehouse property owned by Jim Pattison Developments.
Property records show Jim Pattison Developments bought the building for roughly $10.4 million Cdn in 2022, and the site is expected to be valued at around $69 million Cdn this year, following improvements.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Jim Pattison Developments said the property was publicly listed for sale after "operating needs changed," and the transaction was still subject to certain approvals and closing conditions.
"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on private transactions," the spokesperson wrote.
"However, we understand that the conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated, and has become much more so over the past few weeks. We respect that this issue is deeply important to many people."
U.S. wants to buy B.C. billionaire's Virginia warehouse to use as ICE facility | Hanomansing Tonight The statement did not make any further comment about ICE or the possible sale.
Food-workers union condemns sale
Among the businesses owned by the Pattison conglomerate are numerous grocery chains, including Save-On-Foods.
In a letter dated Jan. 26, the union representing Save-On-Foods employees, among 28,000 food workers across B.C., wrote to the Jim Pattison Group over the potential sale of the warehouse, saying it would contribute to "the dehumanization and targeting of immigrant workers.
"The labour movement in both Canada and the United States stands in solidarity with immigrant workers — many of whom are a part of our union and operate grocery stores belonging to the Pattison Group across Canada," reads the letter from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518.
"They work in our grocery stores, warehouses, and farms — these workers are an integral part of our communities, and they deserve dignity, respect, and safety."
Pattison isn't the only Canadian business facing these calls: as reported by The Globe and Mail, Vancouver tech company Hootsuite secured a $95,000 US pilot project with ICE in September that involves monitoring social media discussions about the immigration agency.
ICE has also earmarked millions of dollars for a bulk order of 20 armoured vehicles from Brampton, Ont.-based defence manufacturer Roshel.
With files from Yasmine Ghania and The Canadian Press
2 Native American-owned corporations cancel contracts with ICE
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation chairman calls reservations the 'first attempts at detention centres'
The front gate of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centre in Batavia, N.Y. (Ousama Farag/CBC)Last week, a second Native American-owned corporation announced it was severing a multi-million dollar contract with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after community pressure.
A subsidiary of Oneida ESC Group, a corporation owned by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, cancelled a US $3.8 million contract with ICE for engineering and inspection of federal facilities after the Oneida government became aware of and condemned the contract. The Oneida government also replaced the subsidiary's board of managers.
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin’s Chairman Tahassi Hill, in an email to CBC Indigenous, wrote that every nation should have the power to determine its own vision and values.
"When issues arise that conflict with our laws, policies and core values, we must remain steadfast in acting immediately," the statement said.
Last month, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Kansas announced it had cancelled a US $29.9 million contract for planning, research and concept designs for secure structures that its corporation had with ICE, and had fired senior members of the corporation's leadership.
“We know our Indian reservations were the government’s first attempts at detention centres. We were placed here because we were treated as prisoners of war,” said Prairie Band Tribal Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, in a statement on YouTube.
“We must ask ourselves why we would ever participate in something that mirrors the harm and trauma once done to our people.”
Becky Webster, an enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and former senior staff attorney for the tribe, said tribal corporations operate independently from nations, so they can more nimbly expand into different economic ventures. It also protects the nation from certain legal liabilities.
Becky
Webster, an enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and its
former senior staff attorney, said she was 'shocked' to learn her nation
had a contract with ICE. (Submitted by Becky Webster)Corporate boards provide oversight of daily operations rather than the nation, though there is regular reporting.
Webster said she was shocked when she learned her nation held a contract with ICE.
“The nature of the contracts runs counter to who I thought we were as a people and the values that we hold,” she said.
Matthew L. M. Fletcher, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and a professor of law and American culture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., said the contracts are examples of affirmative action programs dating back to the 1960s and 1970s that favoured historically disadvantaged, minority-owned businesses.
Tribally owned corporations, Alaska Native corporations (created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971), Native Hawaiian organizations and businesses that are 51 per cent tribally owned are eligible for preferences in contracting under the federal section 8(a) program.
Matthew
L.M. Fletcher, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and
Chippewa Indians, is a law professor at the University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor, Mich. (Submitted by Matthew L.M. Fletcher)8(a) is a contracting and business development program for small business owners who are socially and economically disadvantaged.
“Congress created what they called set asides to make sure that at least a portion of defence contracting and other federal government contracting went to minority-owned businesses,” Fletcher said.
He said around the 2000s provisions were expanded, removing a cap for Indigenous-owned businesses, eliminating some paperwork still required by other minorities and authorizing no-bid awards to tribally owned or Alaska Native corporations.
While other affirmative action programs have been ended by the current administration, 8(a) was not affected.
“The weird thing is that the Trump people would never go in with Indigenous peoples as a matter of principle given their political stance against what they call DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion],” Fletcher said in an email.
“But the legal position these tribes are in makes this kind of contracting very attractive to them.”
Fletcher said tribes are not publicly traded corporations, so they don't have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and "generally don't have to share information in terms of public accountability to anybody."
And for matters of national security, public requests for information can be ignored, he said.
Pass-through entities
Akima, a business portfolio of NANA Regional Corporation, which is owned by 11 Iñupiaq villages in Northwest Alaska, holds multi-million dollar contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, including in relation to detention services at the Guantanamo Bay naval base.
NANA and Akima did not respond to requests for comment by time of publishing.
An April 10, 2025 statement on NANA's website said "Since 2013, NANA and our affiliated companies have secured federal contracts in support of U.S. government-owned detention facilities. We have robust internal policies and compliance programs in place to ensure operations align with legal and ethical expectations."
In the statement, board chair Piquk Linda Lee was quoted, “NANA does not deviate from our Iñupiat Iḷitqusiat values in the pursuit of contracts. Our values are fundamental to who we are as people and as professionals. They guide everything we do at NANA – upholding the dignity and wellbeing of every person.
“While we are limited in what we can share publicly about specific customers and contracts, we remain committed to transparency for our shareholders and accountability in all that we do.”
Fletcher said other Alaska Native corporations, the Mississippi Choctaw, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw and some tribes in Oklahoma also do logistics work for the federal government, Fletcher said.
He said often these tribal corporations operate as pass-through or "strawman" entities.
“They will never do any of the work. They just happen to have that legal advantage of being eligible for no-bid contracting with no monetary cap on it,” Fletcher said.
Writer and environmentalist Winona LaDuke from White Earth Reservation in Minnesota said the situation today reminds her of the early '80s.
"They were trying to peddle nuclear waste and like 16 of the 20 recipients of the initial grants were Indian tribes,” she said.
“That was because there was a lot of money involved — no-strings money — and poor people with a lot of pressure on them.”
Winona LaDuke is from White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. (Submitted by Winona LaDuke )She said turning Indigenous people into corporations is a colonization process.
"Then you make them dependent upon the destruction of the world that they value," she said.
LaDuke said she thinks some of the contracts taken by some Alaska Native corporations are "morally reprehensible.”
She said tribes like the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Oneida Nation of Wisconsin should pay more attention to their business operations in the future because if their citizens had not "sparked an outrage," they might still have the ICE contracts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew
L.M.
Fletcher
-
314 Hutchins Hall
- nimrod@umich.edu
Matthew L.M. Fletcher, ’97, is the Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law and Professor of American Culture at the University of Michigan. He teaches and writes in the areas of federal Indian law, American Indian tribal law, Anishinaabe legal and political philosophy, constitutional law, federal courts, and legal ethics. He sits as the chief justice of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. He also sits as an appellate judge for the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, and the Tulalip Tribes.
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