DHS Predictive Unit Shares Financial Profiles with Police, Prompting Traffic Stops

The Department of Homeland Security operates a unit called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams that mines financial records to identify individuals who might be involved in illicit activity. Analysts like Border Patrol Agent Matthew Phelps review these databases and forward the findings to local law-enforcement partners. Montana Highway Patrol officers stopped Kyle Olson after receiving a PITT report, citing a blocked license plate; the stop resulted in a DUI charge and the discovery of marijuana edibles and butane hash oil, which Olson was transporting from a licensed California cannabis farm to Wisconsin.

The DHS unit is based near Spokane, Washington, covering the U.S.-Canada border, and another cell operates near Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico border. While the program is presented as a tool to locate existing criminals, investigators have not found instances where it prevented future crimes, raising concerns about privacy and the legality of using financial data without warrants. Border Patrol declined to detail the data sources or legal basis for the stop, citing operational security.