LexisNexis, a subsidiary of British conglomerate RELX PLC, provides ICE and CBP with the Accurint database platform through the Law Enforcement Investigative Database Subscription (LEIDS) program. Alongside Thomson Reuters CLEAR, LexisNexis is one of the two primary data brokers fueling ICE’s surveillance apparatus.

What ICE Buys

Accurint Platform

Accurint creates encyclopedic dossiers on individuals using more than 10,000 data sources, selling access to government agencies, law enforcement, and private entities without judicial oversight. Data includes:

• Names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers
• Employment history
• Vehicle registration
• Property records
• Utility records
• License plate recognition data
• Court and arrest records

LEIDS (Law Enforcement Investigative Database Subscription)

A web-based investigative database platform used for criminal investigations, including integrated license plate recognition capabilities.

Current Contracts

• ICE LEIDS contract: Up to $22.1 million, running through potentially 2026
• CBP LEIDS contract: Up to $15.9 million, running through potentially 2027
• Combined potential value: $38 million

Legal Challenges

In 2023, a lawsuit alleged that LexisNexis’s contract with ICE enables illegal surveillance of immigrants. Human rights and data privacy groups have called on ICE not to renew the contract.

An academic analysis in the journal Big Data & Society (2025) argued that use of commercial databases like LexisNexis in immigration enforcement is unjust, noting the databases were never designed for immigration purposes and contain unverified data that can lead to wrongful targeting.

Corporate Structure

RELX PLC is a British-Dutch multinational information and analytics company. LexisNexis Risk Solutions, the division serving law enforcement, operates somewhat independently from the legal research division (LexisNexis Legal & Professional). This corporate structure allows RELX to distance itself from the surveillance contracts while continuing to profit from them.

Sources

• The Intercept: LexisNexis to Provide Giant Database to ICE (2021)
• FedScoop: Nonprofits oppose LexisNexis contract renewal
• Borderless Magazine: LexisNexis contract enables illegal surveillance (2023)
• Colorado Law Review: LexisNexis contract as unjust enrichment
• Big Data & Society: The ICE-Lexis nexus (2025)
• ACLU: Tech companies and ICE/CBP alliance
• AFSC Investigate: RELX
• Prism Reports: ICE surveillance apparatus expanding (Jan 2025)