Ice Denied Having A Database Of Protesters It Brands ‘domestic Terrorists’ — But A Letter To Congress Suggests Otherwise

For months, nan Department of Homeland Security has been denying that it has a database of protesters and ineligible observers it accuses of being home terrorists aliases threats to rule enforcement, but a archive submitted to Congress whitethorn undermine that claim.

The agency has many times denied nan beingness of immoderate specified database successful Congress nether questioning from lawmakers, and DHS unit echoed these denials erstwhile pressed by The Independent.

However, successful an April missive to Democratic lawmakers, nan genitor agency of ICE and nan Border Patrol seemed to admit keeping elaborate accusation connected protesters and others who encountered agents, moreover those who haven’t been arrested aliases formally accused of immoderate crime.

The admittance raises awesome civilian liberties concerns, particularly because aggregate apical Trump management officials person described protected First Amendment activity, specified arsenic verbally criticizing agents and filming national operations, arsenic a shape of imaginable criminal action. If specified actions get fed into national systems, that could mean lasting consequences for group exercising their law rights.

In nan April 21 message, obtained by NPR, then-ICE Director Todd Lyons described really ICE officers stitchery "information to place individuals reasonably believed to beryllium progressive in, aliases straight supporting, imaginable violations of national rule and to reside serviceman information and installation information concerns,” including “essential biographic and biometric accusation and situational specifications required to support criminal investigations, safety, and migration concerns.”

Federal agencies clasp onto this information aft nan fact, nan missive continued, though it said DHS supports law authorities and does not support a "separate, standalone database” of group who interacted pinch agents but were not arrested.

"If individuals who interact pinch ICE officers are not arrested aliases detained, immoderate accusation collected during those encounters is maintained accordant pinch applicable rule and DHS and ICE policies and is treated arsenic an charismatic authorities record,” nan missive adds.

Evidence has been building for months that DHS is hoovering up ample amounts of information connected members of nan nationalist who interact pinch agents.

In January, an ICE serviceman successful Maine was filmed photographing nan licence sheet of an individual who had been watching agents during operations and telling nan bystander, “We person a bully small database and now you’re considered a home terrorist.”

That aforesaid month, DHS sent a memo to agents successful Minneapolis to cod individual accusation astir protesters and alleged agitators, including licence sheet numbers, CNN reported, and agents crossed nan state person used compartment phone-based facial nickname tech during operations.

There are besides reports from aggregate cities that group who followed aliases filmed migration agents astatine activity person had their faces and licence plates photographed aliases had agents thrust ominously past their homes.

As The Independent reported, agents deployed crossed nan state since Trump took agency person been spotted surveilling protesters by utilizing high-powered, AI-enabled Meta smart glasses that tin grounds video and beryllium programmed to see facial recognition.

Two nationalist information officials told independent journalist Ken Klippenstein location are much than a twelve shadowy watchlists maintained by Homeland Security and nan FBI utilized to way protesters, including anti-ICE demonstrators, arsenic good arsenic different groups nan management has deemed “domestic terrorists,” specified arsenic nan left-wing Antifa movement.

Individuals crossed nan state are challenging national agencies complete this wide surveillance effort.

In Maine, a group of observers is suing successful national court, alleging their authorities were violated by agents who allegedly recorded their faces and licence sheet numbers and threatened to adhd them to a panic database.

One female progressive successful nan suit alleges she sewage a threatening telephone from a DHS supplier astir a panic watch database aft her partner observed agents earlier successful nan day. She claims nan mates was later stopped astatine nan Canadian separator and held for extended questioning during a caller vacation.

A suit revenge successful May successful Illinois challenges nan government’s postulation and retention of DNA samples from 4 group arrested during anti-ICE protests, 2 of whom were not charged and 2 whose insignificant charges were later dropped. The plaintiffs wrote that they fearfulness their biometric accusation could lead to being added to a “domestic panic watchlist.”

A abstracted suit that month from nan free reside defense group FIRE is seeking to unit DHS into turning complete documents astir its databases.

In nan aftermath of DHS’s disastrous Minnesota operation, which inflamed monolithic protests and near 2 Americans dormant astatine nan hands of national agents, nan Trump management seemed poised for a reset of tactics.

It installed a caller DHS secretary, pulled backmost connected nan Minnesota surge, and vowed that migration would not beryllium nan main storyline each week.

However, that region could beryllium coming to an end, arsenic separator czar Tom Homan threatened this week to resume nan crackdowns and flood New York City pinch ICE agents to punish nan authorities for limiting practice betwixt constabulary and national deportation operations.