1. United States
2. Kan.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take immediate legislative action to protect Americans' First Amendment rights from overreach by the Department of Homeland Security. Recent reporting by the New York Times reveals that DHS has sent hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Reddit, Meta, Google, and Discord demanding identifying information about users who posted content critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or shared information about ICE agent locations. This represents a dangerous escalation in government surveillance tactics. These administrative subpoenas come directly from DHS without judicial oversight, bypassing the checks and balances that protect citizens from government overreach. Previously, DHS reserved this tool for urgent situations like child abductions. Now it is being weaponized to identify and potentially intimidate Americans exercising their constitutional right to criticize government agencies. The chilling effect on free speech is undeniable. When citizens fear that criticizing a federal agency will result in government demands for their personal information, many will self-censor rather than risk exposure. This fundamentally undermines the open discourse essential to democratic accountability. ICE, like any government agency, must be subject to public scrutiny and criticism without citizens facing potential retaliation. While some companies claim they notify users and provide a 14-day window to challenge subpoenas in court, this places an unreasonable burden on individuals to fight government demands with their own resources. The problem is not how companies respond but that DHS possesses this unchecked authority in the first place. I urge you to introduce or support legislation that would require judicial approval for any administrative subpoena seeking user information based on protected speech. DHS should not have unilateral power to identify critics without demonstrating to a court that there is legitimate law enforcement necessity beyond mere criticism of government operations. Our democracy depends on citizens being able to speak freely without fear of government surveillance.