Shoddy journalism, as it's both true and misleading. There's little application for covert evidence gathering in these immigration enforcement actions: the targets are already eligible for removal. There's no need to build a case.

I can't imagine it's super common for credit card microphones to be used in complex DEA-led surveillance operations simply to locate ICE targets. They're hitting Home Depots, weed grow farms, factories known to employ foreign nationals in ways inconsistent with their immigration status, etc. — this is low-hanging fruit, and often the only reason the subjects are still in the country is the fact that they're in a sanctuary states so the locals haven't already done the work.