{
  "version": "3.33",
  "compiled": "2026-10-09",
  "site": "https://stateofwatch.com",
  "claim": {
    "id": "dhs-no-relationship-paragon",
    "section": 1,
    "title": "DHS tells NPR ICE has \"no relationship with Paragon\"",
    "date": "May 22, 2026",
    "sort": "2026-05-22",
    "status": "partial",
    "checked": "3.31",
    "note": "NPR's report and the federal contract record read directly (Oct 3, 2026). Stays partial: the letter approves a tool without naming it, and nothing public says what replaced Paragon. Updated Oct 3, 2026 with the contract's close-out date.",
    "category": "contract",
    "summary": "Seven weeks after ICE's acting director told Congress he had approved spyware tools, DHS told NPR that ICE \"has no relationship with Paragon Solutions,\" the spyware maker lawmakers had asked about. Federal records show ICE's Paragon contract was formally closed in January 2026, so the two statements need not conflict, but neither says which tool ICE is using.",
    "body": "DHS told NPR on May 22, 2026: \"ICE has no relationship with Paragon Solutions, Inc. or with the company that acquired them.\" That came seven weeks after acting Director Lyons's April 1 letter approving spyware tools. Federal award records show ICE's $2 million sole-source contract with Paragon Solutions (US) Inc., signed September 27, 2024, was paused, revived in August 2025, and closed out on January 20, 2026.",
    "quotes": [],
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "NPR, May 22, 2026",
        "url": "https://www.npr.org/2026/05/22/nx-s1-5831577/dhs-ice-spyware-paragon"
      },
      {
        "label": "IBTimes UK, Sept 3, 2026",
        "url": "https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ice-use-paragon-graphite-spyware-concerns-1817818"
      },
      {
        "label": "USAspending: ICE contract 70CTD024P00000012 with Paragon Solutions (US), with modifications",
        "primary": true,
        "url": "https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70CTD024P00000012_7012_-NONE-_-NONE-"
      }
    ],
    "places": [],
    "url": "https://stateofwatch.com/claims/dhs-no-relationship-paragon"
  }
}