Gaby Del Valle

Policy Reporter

Gaby Del Valle is a policy reporter at The Verge, where she covers privacy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the tech-right. “The most surveilled place in America,” her report on border technology in the Arizona borderlands, was a finalist for the 2023 Livingston Award for National Reporting. Have a tip? Contact her at gaby@theverge.com or via Signal at gabydvj.26

Congress still can’t decide what to do about warrantless surveillance

Gaby Del ValleJun 5

What happens when your phone is confiscated at the airport

Gaby Del ValleJun 5

Trump goes after green cards

Gaby Del ValleJun 2

Gaby Del ValleJun 1

ICE doesn’t want anyone to know about its spyware contracts.

404 Media sued ICE to get documents related to its $2 million contract with the spyware company Paragon. In response, ICE sent back heavily redacted documents that provide little insight into the surveillance tool, which can be used to remotely hack people’s phones without their knowledge — and can even break into their encrypted messaging apps.

ICE has publicly hinted that they need the software to combat international drug cartels. But as with all border security tools, there’s always a chance it’ll be turned inward.

We Sued ICE to Get Its Spyware Contract. The Agency Is Redacting Essentially Everything

[404 Media]

Trump’s mass deportations are only possible with racial profiling

Gaby Del ValleMay 29

The White House is UFOposting.

After teasing some kind of alien-related disclosure, the White House rolled out… a map of ICE arrests touting 3.1 million encounters. It’s the same great replacement talking points as always — they’re being imported, elites facilitated the “invasion,” etc. etc. — with some X-Files-esque music playing in the background. And the numbers aren’t even right. I can only imagine the glee with which some groyper vibecoded this.

Gaby Del ValleMay 22

Trump is going to make green card applicants leave the US.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the new policy in a post on X. Per the Daily Caller, people applying for permanent residency will soon be required to leave the US and apply for immigrant visas through the Department of State, rather than applying for a change of status from inside the country.

While the administration’s announcement focused on asylum seekers, this change will likely also affect H-1B holders who apply for permanent residency.