Groups urge DHS to end surveillance of activists, journalists

A coalition of more than 100 civil society groups on Wednesday urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end its surveillance of activists and journalists, calling the department’s tracking a threat to the First Amendment. 

The open letter, signed by a range of civil liberties and civil rights groups, comes days The Intercept reported that DHS used a private intelligence firm to track the hundreds of protests over the summer against the Trump administration’s so-called zero-tolerance immigration policy.

It also comes two months after the DHS inspector general launched an investigation into whether immigration officials acted improperly when they created a list of journalists, attorneys and activists targeted for increased screening at the border. 

The coalition in the letter accuses DHS of engaging in a pattern of tracking activists, journalists and immigration lawyers engaged in work at the border and at protests across the country.{mosads}

The groups are demanding that DHS “cease any targeting and monitoring of activists, journalists, and lawyers—including through social media—based upon their First Amendment-protected speech and associational activities.” 

They are also taking issue with reports that DHS has searched and detained the electronic devices of activists, journalists and lawyers at the border without a warrant. 

“[Customs and Border Protection] CBP should not misuse its power at ports of entry to compel journalists to reveal their sources or information on their electronic devices,” the letter states. 

NBC News first reported in March that DHS had compiled a list of journalists, activists and lawyers who faced intense inspections and scrutiny at the border. CBP later said that the people in the database were all present when violence broke out at the border in November.

Shortly after, at the beginning of April, The Nation reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracked protesters who rallied against President Trump in New York City.

The coalition of groups behind the letter was led by digital rights group Center for Democracy and Technology. 

“Why are CBP and ICE monitoring First Amendment-protected activities?” Greg Nojeim, a director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a statement. “Government surveillance of those who report its misconduct or push back on its policies may be a politically-motivated abuse of power.”