Letter to the Hon. Chad Wolf, Secretary of Homeland Security - Oversight Committee Launches Investigation Into Administration's Surveillance Of Protestors

Letter

Dear Acting Secretary Wolf:
We write with grave concern about the use of Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
resources--including drones and armed uniformed officers--to surveil and intimidate peaceful
protesters who were exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the murder of George
Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department.
On May 29, 2020, the Project on Government Oversight reported that a "Predator Drone
CPB104 circling over Minneapolis at 20K feet" had taken off from Grand Forks Air Force Base
and was flying above the protests.1
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) later confirmed the
existence of the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) mission in Minneapolis.2

This aircraft, commonly known as a "Predator B," captures full-motion video and
synthetic-aperture radar imagery for surveillance.
3 While this drone has been used domestically
for humanitarian, emergency, and recovery operations, it is primarily used to counter illicit crossborder activities along the northern and southern borders.
4
The drone that was flown on May 29, 2020, was reportedly also flown far outside the
bounds of CBP's jurisdiction. Federal law authorizes CBP to conduct its missions within a
"reasonable distance," not to exceed more than 100 air miles inland, from an external boundary
of the United States.5

On Monday, DHS confirmed that both CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement
officers would be deployed nationwide to help monitor the growing protests.6
This news is
particularly alarming given that, for almost a year, the Committee has been investigating racist,
sexist, and xenophobic comments made by CBP employees in secret Facebook groups. CBP has
been obstructing the Committee's investigation, and CBP employees who made inappropriate
and threatening comments may still be on the job and deployed to silence protesters exercising
their Constitutional rights.
7
This Administration has undermined the First Amendment freedoms of Americans of all
races who are rightfully protesting George Floyd's killing. The deployment of drones and
officers to surveil protests is a gross abuse of authority and is particularly chilling when used
against Americans who are protesting law enforcement brutality.
For these reasons, we request that you produce the following documents and information:
1. A complete list of jurisdictions where DHS conducted or assisted in conducting
surveillance of any protests since Monday, May 25, 2020, including:
a. who in each jurisdiction requested DHS's assistance and for what purpose;
b. whether DHS conducted such surveillance pursuant to mutual aid or
similar agreements, and if so, the full terms of those agreements;
c. whether DHS received any reimbursement from any state or local
jurisdiction to conduct that surveillance, and if so, the amounts;
d. whether DHS recorded any data relating to the protests, and if so, how
DHS intends to use those recordings, with whom it will share the data, and
what data retention and sharing policies apply;. whether DHS or any of the local police departments or recipients of the
drone video feeds used facial recognition technology, and if so:
i. what facial recognition technology was used, including a
description of the software and hardware used in each jurisdiction;
ii. at whose request it was used;
iii. for what purpose;
iv. whether the algorithm for the facial recognition technology has
been evaluated for accuracy by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology or any other entity, including a description of any
assessment method and results;
v. the source and characteristics of any data used or accessed in
connection with the use of facial recognition technology;
f. the cost, in each jurisdiction, of DHS's surveillance activity;
2. If CBP has conducted any surveillance or law enforcement activity more than 100
air miles from any external U.S. border, the jurisdictions in which it took place
and the legal justification for it;
3. A complete list of jurisdictions where DHS has deployed or plans to deploy
officers to assist in policing protests since May 25, 2020, including:
a. who in each jurisdiction requested DHS's assistance and for what purpose;
b. whether DHS deployed officers pursuant to mutual aid or similar
agreements, and if so, the full terms of those agreements;
c. whether DHS received any reimbursement from any state or local
jurisdiction to deploy those officers, and if so, the amounts;
d. how many personnel from ICE and CBP were deployed to each
jurisdiction;
e. the cost, in each jurisdiction, of DHS's police activity; and
4. All communications and documentation regarding the above requests.
Please provide the requested information by June 11, 2020, as well as a briefing to
Committee staff by June 15, 2020. The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the
House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time" under
House Rule X.
An attachment to this letter provides additional instructions for responding to the
Committee's request. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact our staff at
(202) 225-5051.

Source