Report: DHS Freezes Intelligence Program Over Civil Rights Concerns: ‘Runs Like A Corrupt Government’

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paused a domestic-intelligence program last year over concerns that it may run afoul of Americans’ civil rights.

DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis is one of 18 federal offices and agencies that makes up the U.S. Intelligence CommunityOversees the “Overt Human Intelligence Collection Program” as part of its intelligence-gathering operations. According to DHS documents internal to the I&A, this program allows I&A access to almost any American citizen. POLITICO.

A portion of the I&A programme was placed on hold in the last year due to growing concerns that the program could result in violations of rights for interviewees currently incarcerated or out on parole. Employees concerned by the legal grey area in which they worked were asked about government-covered liability insurance.

Some employees worried that I&A would raise internal concerns or expose violations of the Constitution. POLITICO reviewed an April 2021 document and found that one employee claimed the I&A’s Office of Regional Intelligence leadership was responsible. “is ‘shady’ and ‘runs like a corrupt government.'”

Chad Wolf (ex-acting head of DHS under Trump’s administration) told POLITICO the I&A was one of the issues. “largely stemmed from lack of proper leadership and a clearly defined mission.” He said, “the concept of I&A is sound but how it is put into practice and operationalized has proven difficult.”

Kenneth Wainstein, DHS’s Under Secretary for I&A, did not respond to questions regarding the I&A’s human intelligence programme.

“The true measure of a government organization is its ability to persevere through challenging times, openly acknowledge and learn from those challenges, and move forward in service of the American people,” Wainstein stated this in a statement. “The Office of Intelligence and Analysis has done just that over the past few years.”

Legal experts say human intelligence collection – intelligence gathered from people directly rather than from avenues such as a satellite or forensics – can be violative of constitutional rights. According to reports, agents can reach out to paroled people, prisoners, and persons awaiting trial through the I&A program without having to consult their attorney. Agents should inform interviewees that their participation in the intelligence collection program is voluntary. They also need to explain that the agent cannot expect to gain anything from the help they provide. They should inform interviewees that agents are able to use the information in any way they wish.

People in prison and criminals awaiting trial frequently make deals with prosecutors. This allows them to trade information for lighter sentences. Attorneys often protect their clients. They do not recommend talking to law enforcement officials or prosecutors unless they are present. Most conversations between charged criminals and the prosecutors are conducted through legal representation.

The news of the I&A freeze comes at a time when DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing mounting impeachment threats for his handling of U.S. immigration crisis at the southern border. North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop is a Republican and sits on the House Homeland Security and Judiciary panels.

“There’s a laundry list of statutes that he has explicitly disobeyed,” He told the story The Daily Signal. “That is high crimes and misdemeanors. You got to build consensus within a Republican conference. Some want to use a light touch on these things all the time. A lot of people say, ‘Well, if we can’t, we’re not assured that the Senate will convict, and it’s in Democrat hands, why would we do any of it?'”

“There are reasons to do it, but we’ve got a process to go through, marshal the evidence, conduct the hearings in public and, if it leads in the direction and all the evidence adds up when you’ve done it in a real rigorous way like that, do you move forward with impeachment? I think so,” He said.

“From Report: DHS Freezes Intelligence Program Over Civil Rights Concerns: ‘Runs Like A Corrupt Government’“

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