ICE denies having a protester database. But a letter to Congress sheds more light - BERITAJA

Demonstrators be an anti-ICE rally successful Lewiston, Maine connected January 24, 2026. Federal officials person acknowledged collecting accusation connected immoderate protesters, moreover arsenic they contradict maintaining a database search U.S. citizens. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Last January, erstwhile national migration agents started an migration crackdown successful Portland, Maine, pediatric occupational therapist Xenia Pantos was driving utilizing their spouse's car to activity erstwhile they saw masked national agents and vehicles pinch tinted windows parked successful the road. Worried about migrant organization members, Pantos stopped for a fewer minutes to observe.

Pantos told BERITAJA they stayed astatine slightest 10 feet distant from the agents and did not interact pinch them, but noticed an supplier taking photos of different observer's licence plate.

Hours later, Pantos' spouse, Carly Williams, a nonprofit consultant, said she received a telephone from a blocked number. A heavy antheral sound connected the different extremity of the statement asked for her by sanction and identified himself arsenic calling from the Department of Homeland Security.

Williams said the caller asked if anyone other drives her vehicle. When Williams mentioned her spouse sometimes did, the caller asked Williams if she knew her spouse had stopped astatine an incident that morning.

"What he fundamentally said was, 'You should fto her cognize to not do that anymore because group who are doing that type of point are getting added to a home violent watch list,'" Williams recalled successful an question and reply pinch BERITAJA. (While the caller referred to Pantos arsenic "she" and "her," Pantos uses they/them pronouns).

"That was a beautiful terrifying telephone telephone to receive, arsenic you could imagine," Williams said.

DHS declined to remark connected the couple's relationship erstwhile asked by BERITAJA.

For months, Department of Homeland Security officials person repeatedly denied having a database search U.S. national protesters aliases a database of "domestic terrorists", moreover arsenic anecdotes for illustration what happened to Pantos and Williams propose national agents are collecting observers' accusation successful immoderate capacity.

In a antecedently unpublicized letter sent to members of Congress successful April, precocious departed acting ICE head Todd Lyons acknowledged the agency gives itself wide latitude to cod accusation connected individuals suspected of imaginable violations of law, including interference pinch ICE operations aliases serviceman information matters, and maintains records connected group who were ne'er arrested.

In the letter, Lyons denied that ICE maintains a database of protesters aliases that DHS maintains a "separate, standalone database" of individuals who were encountered but not arrested aliases detained. But he said astatine protests that progressive alleged criminal conduct, ICE has collected "information to place individuals reasonably believed to beryllium progressive in, aliases straight supporting, imaginable violations of national rule and to reside serviceman information and installation information concerns." The missive said ICE collects "essential biographic and biometric accusation and situational details."

Lyons wrote: "If individuals who interact pinch ICE officers are not arrested aliases detained, immoderate accusation collected during those encounters is maintained accordant pinch applicable rule and DHS and ICE policies and is treated arsenic an charismatic authorities record."

BERITAJA is the first news statement to reappraisal the letter, which is dated April 21.

It was sent successful consequence to Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and 11 different Democratic members of Congress who wrote to DHS successful February asking questions about what information the section collects connected protesters.

Civil liberties experts told BERITAJA Lyons' missive appears to beryllium the clearest charismatic acknowledgement yet by national migration officials that they whitethorn beryllium routinely collecting and preserving accusation connected protesters and observers who are not arrested.

"This missive is grounds of the truth that ICE is knowingly collecting and maintaining charismatic authorities records connected immoderate protestor aliases lawful perceiver that its agents declare is perchance interfering pinch them aliases threatening supplier safety," said JoAnna Suriani, a lawyer astatine the nonprofit ineligible and defense organization, Protect Democracy.

Suriani is representing Pantos, Williams and different observers successful Maine successful a federal lawsuit that alleges their First Amendment authorities were violated by national agents who tried to intimidate them by signaling their faces and licence plates and threatening to adhd them to a home coercion database.

"Anyone who has seen the videos of our clients' interactions pinch ICE agents could spot they aren't impeding thing and airs nary threat to anyone, truthful why was their accusation collected?" Suriani said.

Protesters photographed, filmed and threatened pinch charges

Since the Trump administration's migration crackdown began past year, serene protesters and observers signaling national migration operations connected their compartment phones person been threatened pinch criminal charges for impeding aliases interfering pinch rule enforcement operations. However, galore cases wherever charges were brought against activists person been dismissed aliases resulted successful acquittals. DHS officials person besides previously asserted that signaling national agents and posting the videos amounts to "doxxing" and is simply a threat to their safety.

Observers successful respective states, including Minnesota and Tennessee, complained that agents photographed their faces and licence plates and later wished their identities and wherever they lived. Federal agents person entree to a suite of surveillance tools, including facial nickname technology, and could entree conveyance registration records utilizing a car's licence plate.

An activistic stands extracurricular crossed from what appears to beryllium an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement SUV successful Portland, Maine connected January 23, 2026. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

A number of observers person besides said their Global Entry position was revoked aft interacting pinch national migration officials. The programme is tally by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, different DHS agency, and allows expedited processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers.

In January, a DHS charismatic sent a memo to immoderate national migration agents temporarily assigned to Minneapolis instructing them to cod individual accusation about protesters and agitators, including licence plates, identifications and images, according to CNN reporting.

Frost told BERITAJA he has been concerned about rule enforcement search protesters since he was portion of the Black Lives Matter activity and learned constabulary were collecting accusation connected him and different protesters.

He said while it whitethorn beryllium emblematic for rule enforcement to behaviour investigations and find if personification collapsed the rule and past move on, it is concerning if accusation connected group who are exercising their authorities is kept by a ample national department.

"That's the concern, is that we person an agency that's been tasked pinch migration enforcement having a database … relating to Americans exercising the First Amendment, which is wrong," Frost told BERITAJA.

ICE missive provides nuance aft broad denial

At a February legislature hearing, Lyons denied his agency was surveilling U.S. citizens and said: "There is nary database for protesters."

DHS has many times provided a connection to the media that says, "There is NO database of 'domestic terrorists' tally by DHS. We do of people show and analyse and mention each threats, assaults and obstruction of our officers to the due rule enforcement. Obstructing and assaulting rule enforcement is simply a felony and a national crime. Our rule enforcement methods travel the U.S. constitution."

A mobile that sounds "ICE agents aren't supra Maine Law. Illegal behaviour could beryllium prosecuted" is seen connected January 30, 2026 successful Portland, Maine. Scott Eisen/Getty Images North America

Scott Eisen/Getty Images North America

A section spokesperson provided that connection successful consequence to BERITAJA's enquiry asking if the Lyons' missive still reflected existent policy, and again successful consequence to a petition for remark about Pantos and Williams' account.

At a congressional hearing past week, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said his section had utilized facial nickname exertion connected group gathered extracurricular of Delaney Hall, an migration detention halfway successful New Jersey that has been the tract of caller protests that person led to intense clashes betwixt immoderate individuals and national agents. Dozens of people person been arrested successful relationship pinch the demonstrations, including immoderate who are accused of assaulting national officers.

"I person zero tolerance," Mullin said successful the hearing. "If you verbally battle our officers, you spell aft our vehicles, you battle our property, you battle 1 of our officers, we will find you, we will apprehension you."

Lyons' April missive began by saying, "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not support immoderate benignant of database of U.S. citizens protesting ICE activities." It besides asserted that "DHS policies and practices are designed to respect lawful protests and constitutionally protected activities."

The missive continued, "Where individuals determine to spell beyond protected reside and perpetrate crimes against national unit and spot aliases threaten, aliases forcibly impede, assault, aliases interfere pinch lawful operations, ICE remains patient successful exercising its authority to analyse and prosecute violators."

While the missive suggested individual accusation is only collected if location is imaginable unlawful activity, Scarlet Kim, a elder unit lawyer astatine the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Trump management has group a precedent of characterizing lawful First Amendment activities arsenic possible crimes.

"We cognize that very precocious level officials wrong DHS and Lyons himself person explicitly equated First Amendment-protected activities for illustration video recording, gathering accusation about national agents, and sharing that accusation publically arsenic fundamentally imaginable criminal acts that frighten serviceman safety," said Kim, who is representing observers successful Memphis and Minneapolis successful national lawsuits against agencies progressive successful migration enforcement.

"So their ain meaning of what perchance violates the rule and could trigger surveillance against an individual includes activities that are squarely protected by the First Amendment," Kim said.

While Lyons writes, "DHS is not creating aliases maintaining a separate, standalone database for individuals encountered that haven't been arrested aliases detained," Kim said the missive "strongly suggests" that moreover if DHS does not person a standalone database of U.S. citizens engaged successful First Amendment-protected activities, national agents are apt collecting and maintaining that accusation successful existing information systems.

"He did not contradict that, essentially, that accusation would not beryllium placed successful different existing databases," Kim said.

The missive from Frost and his chap Democrats was addressed to the Secretary of Homeland Security and asked about policies astatine DHS, but the consequence came conscionable from ICE, which is conscionable 1 agency wrong the department, raising questions about what whitethorn beryllium happening successful different parts of the department.

The Democrats' missive questioned whether DHS maintains aliases accesses accusation from lists aliases programs called "Bluekey, Grapevine, Hummingbird, Reaper, Sandcastle, Sienna, Slipstream, and Sparta" among others. A January article by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported DHS and FBI person concealed watchlists pinch those codification names to way anti-ICE and pro-Palestinian protesters, arsenic good arsenic "Antifa."

The missive from Lyons said successful response: "ICE does not maintain, add, aliases entree accusation from the programs mentioned successful your letter."

Frost told BERITAJA he plans to proceed pressing the section arsenic he has galore much questions about really the accusation ICE is collecting is utilized and really it is shared pinch different parts of DHS.

Last month, the statement FIRE, which advocates for state of expression, announced that it is suing DHS and ICE for access to records connected whether it is maintaining a database of protesters.

Maine mates near pinch unanswered questions

Pantos told BERITAJA they had nary thought their accusation mightiness beryllium collected by national agents erstwhile they made the determination to propulsion complete and peacefully observe that greeting successful January, and that what they had done was protected by the First Amendment.

But aft the unexpected telephone telephone threatening that Pantos could beryllium added to a home violent database, Pantos said they felt excessively frightened to observe ICE activity again. They worried about their family's safety.

"We are a queer couple, which brings further risks," Pantos said. "There has been an ICE surge successful Portland and I've felt really overwhelmed and powerless."

In March, 2 months aft the incident, the mates drove to Quebec City successful Pantos' car to observe their anniversary. When they tried to re-enter the U.S., a Customs and Border Protection serviceman pulled them speech for further questioning and took their phones and keys for about an hour, they said.

To their surprise, 1 of the officer's first questions was to inquire Williams if she had her car registration pinch her, contempt the truth that they were walking successful Pantos' car. After Williams said she didn't person it pinch her, the serviceman asked her to picture her car and to singing her licence sheet number if she remembered it, according to the couple's account.

"He was intelligibly looking astatine a machine screen," Williams said, adding that the serviceman "seemed to beryllium verifying what I was saying."

The mates told BERITAJA that was the infinitesimal they realized their information must person been retained successful immoderate benignant of national strategy aft Pantos stopped to observe national agents successful January.

"I person to think, because he asked about Carly's conveyance erstwhile we were successful my vehicle, that location is immoderate benignant of an alert erstwhile you tally our passports that brings attraction to america successful a measurement that it didn't utilized to earlier each of this happened," Pantos told BERITAJA.

"I consciousness really concerned about what has happened pinch my information and the information of truthful galore different people," Pantos said.