Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirm or deny the existence of a “domestic terrorists” database that lists US citizens who protest ICE’s immigration crackdown.
ICE “officers and senior Trump administration officials have repeatedly suggested that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is building a ‘domestic terrorists’ database comprising information on US citizens protesting ICE’s actions in recent weeks,” Markey wrote in a letter yesterday to Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. “If such a database exists, it would constitute a grave and unacceptable constitutional violation. I urge you to immediately confirm or deny the existence of such a database, and if it exists, immediately shut it down and delete it.”
Creating a database of peaceful protesters “would constitute a shocking violation of the First Amendment and abuse of power,” and amount to “the kinds of tactics the United States rightly condemns in authoritarian governments such as China and Russia,” Markey said.
Markey’s letter said DHS officials “have repeatedly stated that the agency is engaged in efforts to monitor, catalog, and intimidate individuals engaged in peaceful protests,” and gave several examples. Trump border czar Tom Homan recently told Laura Ingraham on Fox News, “One thing I’m pushing for right now, Laura, we’re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding, and assault, we’re going to make them famous. We’re going to put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers, and their neighborhoods, and their schools know who these people are.”
Markey’s letter called Homan’s comment “especially alarming given the numerous incidents in which DHS appears to have concluded that protesting ICE itself constitutes grounds for arrest.” Markey pointed to another recent incident in Portland, Maine, in which a masked ICE agent told an observer who was taking video that “we have a nice little database and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”
ICE memo: “Capture it all”
Markey’s letter cited a CNN report that said a memo sent to ICE agents in Minneapolis told them to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form.” Markey’s letter said the “directive appears to encourage the broad collection of personal information about individuals engaged in protest activity, without any indication of criminal wrongdoing or any other legal justification.”
Markey asked Lyons for details on the database, if it exists, or details on any plans to create such a database, and a description of “the legal authority for its creation, and all categories of information collected.” Markey wants a copy of the memo to ICE agents and any similar “directives instructing agents to collect personal information about protesters, bystanders, or individuals filming ICE activity.”
Markey asked whether the agent in the Maine incident is being investigated or facing disciplinary action. “What steps is DHS taking to ensure that its agents do not intimidate or retaliate against individuals engaged in First Amendment-protected activity, including protests?” the letter asked.
We contacted ICE about Markey’s letter and will update this article if it provides a comment.
An ICE observer in Minnesota recently said in a court filing that her Global Entry and TSA PreCheck privileges were revoked three days after an incident in which an agent scanned her face. Markey’s office said today he is planning to propose legislation to ban ICE’s use of facial recognition technology.
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