1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The New York Times reported yesterday that DHS has issued hundreds of administrative subpoenas to social media companies seeking identifying information behind anonymous accounts that criticize or track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). To me, this is a five-alarm privacy fire raising significant constitutional concerns!!! Some companies have complied with some requests. In several documented cases, subpoenas were withdrawn only after individuals, represented by civil liberties attorneys, challenged them in court. If the executive branch may compel disclosure of identifying information about critics without judicial oversight, the burden shifts to private citizens to hire counsel and initiate litigation merely to preserve their First Amendment rights. That structural imbalance creates a chilling effect. The issue here is whether executive subpoena authority may be used to identify individuals engaged in lawful political speech without neutral judicial review — and whether private corporations will comply without demanding that review. Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to address this. I urge you to: • Conduct oversight hearings examining use by DHS of administrative subpoenas in cases involving political expression. • Require public reporting on the number and scope of such subpoenas. • Clarify by statute that administrative subpoena authority may not be used to compel disclosure of identifying information based solely on constitutionally protected speech without prior judicial approval. Americans must remain free to criticize their government without fear that their identities will be unmasked through a unilateral executive process. Please act promptly to ensure that administrative subpoena authority is not used to erode fundamental constitutional protections.