Trump administration seeks tech data on Americans criticizing ICE agents

The Trump administration is reportedly expanding its surveillance of domestic critics, demanding that major technology platforms turn over user data on Americans who have expressed opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. According to a New York Times report published Friday, the Department of Homeland Security has served hundreds of administrative subpoenas in recent months to companies including Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.

Government officials and technology company employees with direct knowledge of the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that these legal demands target anonymous accounts critical of the agency's controversial immigration enforcement tactics. The subpoenas seek to unmask individuals who have used social media platforms to voice opposition to ICE's methods during the administration's ongoing crackdown on immigrants across multiple states.

Companies Comply With Demands

According to officials, Google, Meta, and Reddit have complied with at least some of the government's legal requests, providing identifying details about anonymous account holders who posted content critical of immigration authorities. The New York Times reported reviewing two subpoenas sent to Meta in recent months, though the companies maintain they evaluate each request individually before complying and sometimes notify affected users, allowing them legal recourse to challenge the orders.

"The government is taking more liberties than they used to," Steve Loney, a supervising attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, told the Times. "It's a whole other level of frequency and lack of accountability." The ACLU argued during a January 14 court hearing in California that administrative subpoenas are being used specifically to target individuals whose speech the government disagrees with.

Government Defends Subpoena Authority

The Department of Homeland Security asserts it possesses "broad administrative subpoena authority" in such matters, though officials did not directly address questions about the specific requests targeting ICE critics. In court filings, government lawyers contend the information is necessary to protect ICE agents operating in the field, citing concerns about officer safety amid what they describe as targeting by critics.

The administration has previously defended controversial operational tactics, including ICE officers wearing masks and refusing to provide identifying information during enforcement actions, citing similar safety justifications despite providing limited evidence of actual threats. These developments come amid widespread public opposition to ICE and its methods, with opinion polls indicating significant disapproval of the agency's tactics and two reported deaths of US citizens who voiced opposition during enforcement operations.

Meta, Reddit, and Discord declined to provide comment to the Times regarding the subpoenas or their responses to government demands for user information.