Hootsuite could receive up to $2.8 million USD for contract with US immigration enforcement

Vancouver-based Hootsuite is providing its social media management and monitoring technology to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at a time when DHS is facing criticism over its violent immigration enforcement tactics.

DHS has committed $1.1 million USD and spent more than $454,000 of that amount to date as part of this contract, which could be worth up to nearly $2.8 million by 2029.

This contract, which was first reported by Business in Vancouver yesterday and confirmed by BetaKit, is through third-party federal contractor Seneca Strategic Partners. Awarded by DHS and approved in July 2024, the deal taps Hootsuite to provide its software to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

A publicly available document indicates that DHS has committed $1.1 million USD and spent more than $454,000 of that amount to date as part of this contract, which could be worth up to nearly $2.8 million by 2029.

While the exact nature of this contract and the ultimate amount to be paid to Hootsuite under the contract remains unclear, this document indicates that it gives CBP access to Hootsuite’s “support services,” and Talkwalker, an AI-powered social listening and media monitoring tool that Hootsuite acquired in 2024.

When reached for comment about the nature of this contract, a Hootsuite spokesperson told BetaKit that “Hootsuite does not comment on current, former, or potential customer, prospect, or partner relationships.”

In 2020, an outcry from employees and users against the company’s proposed deal with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which operates under DHS alongside CBP, led Hootsuite to terminate a planned three-year ICE contract. Two Hootsuite employees were laid off after speaking out; at the time, Hootsuite said it would not comment on the nature of those layoffs to protect employee privacy.

In the US, ICE usually enforces immigration within the country, while CBP enforces borders and ports of entry. Recently, the lines between the agencies have become blurred as both have been deployed to US cities.

During US President Donald Trump’s first term, ICE was criticized for increasingly aggressive tactics, including sterilizing Mexican women being held in its custody. Last year, Trump passed legislation to give ICE the largest budget and most staff of any federal law enforcement agency. There have been at least 25 people shot by immigration agents in the country in the last year, including Renee Good, a mother of three and US citizen who was shot multiple times by an immigration agent earlier this month.

Social media surveillance has played a major role in those immigration enforcement efforts. Wired reported in October 2025 that ICE had put out a request for private contractors to scan social networks in order to target posters for deportation. DHS has also promoted its enforcement tactics on social media, with edited clip reels and even AI images mocking those being deported.

While Hootsuite is based in Canada, it has hundreds of employees globally, including CEO Irina Novoselsky who is based in New York City. The company serves major brands like Adobe and Ikea, according to its website.

With files from Madison McLauchlan.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. DHS photo by Tia Dufour.