ICE Acknowledges Collecting Protester Information Despite Denying Dedicated Database
A letter from ICE's acting director to Congress acknowledges the agency collects biographic and biometric information on individuals at protests, including those never arrested, contradicting previous denials of maintaining a protester database. The acknowledgment came after a case where a woman received a DHS call warning her spouse against observing an ICE operation, with references to a domestic terrorist watch list. Civil liberties experts say the letter represents the clearest official admission that federal immigration officials routinely collect and preserve information on protesters and observers.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE have repeatedly denied maintaining a database of U.S. citizen protesters, but an April letter from acting ICE director Todd Lyons to Congress provides what civil liberties experts describe as the clearest official acknowledgement that the agencies collect and preserve information on protesters and observers. The letter, reviewed by NPR, states that ICE collects "essential biographic and biometric information and situational details" on individuals at protests involving alleged criminal conduct, including those never arrested or detained. This acknowledgment comes amid documented cases, such as that of occupational therapist Xenia Pantos, who observed an ICE operation in Portland, Maine, and whose spouse subsequently received a call from DHS warning against such observation and referencing a domestic terrorist watch list. While Lyons' letter denies ICE maintains a "separate, standalone database" of protesters, it clarifies that information collected during encounters is maintained as official government records consistent with applicable law and DHS policies. The distinction between collecting and maintaining information versus operating a dedicated database has become a focal point of debate between federal officials and civil liberties advocates.
What's missing
The sources do not provide information about what specific legal authorities or statutes ICE cites to justify this information collection, nor do they detail the scope of how long such records are retained, who has access to them, or what oversight mechanisms exist for their use.
What different sources said
- NPR NewsLeft
ICE denies having a protester database. But a letter to Congress sheds more light
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