US Homeland Security to Monitor All Immigrants' Social Media, Search Histories

Another dangerous step further into oppression.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced it is expanding the kinds of information it collects on immigrants to include social media activity and search histories. The new policy will take effect October 18. The new announcement explicitly speaks of tracking immigrants' Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts — although specific search engines aren't mentioned (the phrase "search results" is used three times), leaving it unclear which search engines the DHS will target, and how it intends to obtain the results.

It's no secret that they do this already. Now it seems as if the intrusion is getting even more blatant.

Moreover, the DHS will update record source categories to include publicly available information obtained from the internet, public records, public institutions, interviewees, commercial data providers, and information obtained and disclosed "pursuant to information sharing agreements."

That would be mentioned in those lengthy ELUAs, pretty much standard practice these days.

For anyone that would like to quip, "Good! Keep an eye on em." Keep in mind that these can include American citizens. There is no qualifier to 'immigrant.'

Source

very troubling, indeed.

Well, if they are illegal immigrants then ... do the laws (that apply to citizens) actually apply to them. Why would an illegal expect to be even allowed to take the case to court. They have no citizen rights or ... they shouldn't have.

On the wider issue of police state surveillance, it is just another micro destruction of the rights of all citizens.

In point of fact, if you know their facebook account ... why not simply arrest them and throw them out. It is all about politics.

P

a reply to: JinMI

got cha.
2nd line

a reply to: JinMI

There is no qualifier to 'immigrant.'

A truer statement would be hard to come by.
Kind of covers everyone.

Well they already monitor all us citizens so... Whatever I guess? Been doing that at least since the advent of echelon, later total information awareness. Those chips in credit cards, the post office workers watcher forms... Name it. We are unfortunately far past where people seem to think we are.

a reply to: pirhanna

No vote, no redress, just secured funding and off they go. Invasive and..oh, legal.

Obama supposedly stopped them from using any social media monitoring of immigrants I thought. This just kind of reverses what Obama put in place. I read that thing about Obama a while back, it seemed legit. It may have just been they could not use it as evidence against the person though, I am not sure exactly what Obama had restricted, the articles were vague.

a reply to: rickymouse

I'd like to get a look at it. My initial search turned up fruitless.

I don't like the idea of search histories and social media profiles being monitored by the government, no matter who the government is monitoring.

I don't like the idea of the government monitoring publicly available social media, but what is worse is if they are able to monitor private communications over social media and e-mail without a warrant or even private search histories.

Everyone in America is already monitored,not so? By the NSA.I would imagine this is more of the same.I don't see why the abc's would excempt immigrants from their eternal spying and snooping.Hell some of us,not even Americans,are also spied on by the American abc's.It stinks to high heaven but it is what it is.It's not going to stop,and aside from living Completely off the grid and never touching a cell or pc,there's not much one can do.As an abductee,i have been tagged,tracked and traced since birth so to me this whole surveillance thing by the abc's is pretty much meh.

a reply to: JinMI


We are already heavily monitored here in oz, the authorities have apparently stopped some 13 terror attacks on this soil and the majority of information according to our news has come from social media, I also believe there was a law passed recently forcing internet carriers to retain data for a year or 2 on every citizen.

a reply to: JinMI

Monitor the immigrants (us) in the name of protecting the american
people (themselves) from terrorists (us again).

a reply to: JinMI

This is the real damage done as of 911, get Americans to trade freedom for security , and there isn't one party at least major ones you can turn to as an alternative.
Terrorist seemed to have won or winning, no mass invasion needed.

a reply to: JinMI

Sad undesired measure that goes in accordance with the current situation. We should wait for the results to see if it was a good decision. I understand this are bad news for liberals, illegals and everybody else in the middle.

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: JinMI

Sad undesired measure that goes in accordance with the current situation. We should wait for the results to see if it was a good decision. I understand this are bad news for liberals, illegals and everybody else in the middle.

No it will be bad for every one, including those who applaud the measure, just depending on when the political pendulum swing.

originally posted by: pheonix358
Well, if they are illegal immigrants then ... do the laws (that apply to citizens) actually apply to them. Why would an illegal expect to be even allowed to take the case to court. They have no citizen rights or ... they shouldn't have.

On the wider issue of police state surveillance, it is just another micro destruction of the rights of all citizens.

at the 7 AM news radio... the news blurb was made that the current immigrants social media tracking would go into effect ~~~~ along with those once immigrants that were since Naturalized as Citizens...

I was shocked to hear that news blurb ---- Because I have been a citizen since 1957, served in Army, went to
University, am now retired & secondly i am disabled for past 20 years...


the DHS got the patriot acts teeth to back up any 'Over-reach' complaints, tyvm

a reply to: St Udio

People with the devotion to become a naturalized citizen
should be applauded at the least. Not spied on in the way
way we once criticized the communists. And thank you for your
service. I can't imagine the conflicted feelings you
must experience.

a reply to: randyvs


thanks for the Atta-boy


I once had a silly notion of returning to Lithuania, on my retirement income... but the western-militarization of the country under NATO has since completely nullified that pipe-dream

MAGA

originally posted by: Spider879
a reply to: JinMI

This is the real damage done as of 911, get Americans to trade freedom for security , and there isn't one party at least major ones you can turn to as an alternative.
Terrorist seemed to have won or winning, no mass invasion needed.

Or... The authoritarians in our country are winning & they simply use terrorism & immigration as pretexts to implement a police state.

Put it like this, let's pretend that all immigrants left America and all terrorists turned themselves in. Would our govt stop using these types of programs? I think they'd just change the justification and point to another bogeyman that they need to "protect" us from with these programs.