DHS Uses Customs Law to Secretly Obtain Journalists’ Data, Bypassing Judges

During the Trump era, the Department of Homeland Security turned to an obscure customs provision, 19 U.S.C. §1509, to evade court oversight and collect private communications of journalists and activist groups. After federal prosecutors’ warrant requests for Minneapolis reporter Georgia Fort and former a anchor at one outlet were rejected, DHS served Google with an administrative summons that bypassed a judge and demanded YouTube account information while mandating secrecy.

T-Mobile later supplied six months of Fort’s phone records—over 10,000 calls and texts—without notifying her until July. Similar summonses targeted Democracy Now, Megyn Kelly, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and other entities, as well as unions such as SEIU and the Communications Workers of America. Critics including former DHS inspector general John Roth and Freedom of the Press Foundation adviser Caitlin Vogus called the practice an unlawful expansion of power unrelated to customs violations. The Department of Justice and DHS declined comment, and companies like Google and T-Mobile said they review requests for legality but did not explain their compliance.