Oppression and resistance: the DHS Diaries
PWS weekly on ICE, Border Patrol, and the brave communities , organizations, and individuals resisting their fascist policies
DHS is spying on US Citizens with powerful Israeli cyber weapon
DHS is using powerful spyware cyber weapon Graphite to surveil suspected migrants, journalists, activists, and critics, according to an official DHS response to members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after they requested information on surveillance by ICE.
Graphite is a more modern and powerful version of Pegasus, which is banned in the United States. The app can be deployed remotely, physically, embedded in texts or photos, or installed over networks, and can hide on smartphones and record user activity, including within encrypted apps, and then delete itself.
His letter, dated April 1, was a belated response to an October inquiry from three Democratic members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform expressing concern about the agency’s potential use of the spyware Graphite, which was created by Israeli company Paragon Solutions.
According to NPR, which reviewed the documents, DHS wrote that ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is using various tools as part of its mission to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations, “particularly those involved in the trafficking of fentanyl.”
Justifying the decision to spy on US citizens, the agency stated ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is using various tools as part of its mission to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations, “particularly those involved in the trafficking of fentanyl.”
DHS has used false claims about gang affiliations, terrorism, and fentanyl to justify surveillance of both activists and migrants in the past. Perhaps most worryingly, however, the agency is deploying the tool through the use of administrative warrants, which do not require a judge to sign off, but rather can be approved by low-level officials within the agency.
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., one of the authors of the request for information about ICE’s use of spyware, told NPR in a statement, “The response I received from ICE makes one thing clear. They are moving forward with invasive spyware technology inside the United States.
“The people most at risk, including immigrants, Black and brown communities, journalists, organizers, and anyone speaking out against government abuse, deserve more than secrecy and deflection from an agency with a long record of overreach and abuse,” Lee’s statement said.
The news follows confirmation that DHS has been assembling a database of activists and critics, with help from infamous tech company Palantir, as part of a list of “potential terrorists.”
The agency has also been using data harvested from other government agencies to identify critics and migrants, as well as private data brokers.
ICE shoots another man. They swear this time they’re telling the truth about it
ICE shot another man last week in Stanislaus County, California. Carlos Ivan Mendoza was in critical condition at the hospital after a shooting involving federal agents Tuesday morning in Stanislaus County, the sheriff’s office said.
Federal agents claimed the man tried to “weaponize” his vehicle and run them over. It is a claim DHS has made often over the last two years. Often, they are lying.
DHS agents have shot 14 people since Trump took office, killing at least 4. Agents claimed that all of their victims but one tried to run them over, but dashcam and body camera footage have often disproven their claims.
In related news, new surveillance camera footage released by Minneapolis officials shows that DHS lied about the shooting of a Venezuelan man in the city earlier this year.
DHS agents claimed that Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and his cousin ambushed agents, and they were forced to shoot him in self-defense. Newly released footage showed that DHS officers and higher-ups “gave false testimony,” according to Minneapolis officials.
The video directly contradicts claims that DHS agents were “violently beaten” by Sosa-Celis and his cousin.
We at PWS have lost track of how many lies we have caught DHS in. Maybe we should start a weekly infographic documenting that.
The Round-UP
The United States has admitted 4,499 refugees into the country since October — all but three were South African. Asylum has been effectively dismantled within the US.
ICE is attempting to force Reddit to reveal the identity of an anonymous user who has criticized the agency. The Intercept obtained a subpoena issued by federal prosecutors to the management of Reddi. Representatives of the site have been ordered to appear before a grand jury with an April 14 deadline set in an attempt to compel Reddit to volunteer personal data and the identity of a user who criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the platform. It is entirely unclear what “illegal” activity this specific user is supposed to have engaged in, other than simply expressing opinion and repeating information that had already been widely published.
We’ve already reported that DHS is taking a softer approach after their decisive defeat by activists in Minneapolis resulted in national outrage, but the new DHS director confirmed as much in internal comments this week. NPR has more details.
A group of 36 House Democrats has accused ICE of “disappearing“ people in their custody, as information on their whereabouts is often unavailable to their attorneys or loved ones, much less the public. DHS has responded that they cannot update their localizer software for detainees as long as the “shutdown” is in effect. All of their other activities, miraculously, are unaffected by the symbolic block.
Migrants of irregular status are dying rather than seeking medical care and risking detention by ICE. The family of Jesús Juárez Cruz told the story of the slow death of the Mexican national, likely by alcohol poisoning, to El País. His family blames US President Donald Trump for his lack of ability to seek care.
ICE is withdrawing from airports. They didn’t accomplish anything, but they are declaring “mission accomplished” and going home. The “shutdown”, which absolutely did not affect them, continues. More than 800 migrants were detained at airports during their deployment.
Information continues to emerge about DHS plans to buy and rent warehouses across the country to be used as impromptu detention centers. Human Rights Watch put out a long report this week about the risks these centers pose to the rights of detainees. Meanwhile, some communities are blocking DHS from opening the concentration camps.
Resistance Photo of the Week
A DHS bid to rent a warehouse near Hagerstown, MD was fallen cancelled after tribal opposition to the project. Protests lasted for weeks before the city cancelled building permits.
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Hasta pronto, piratas!
