"The Department of Homeland Security is one of a number of federal agencies with something called administrative subpoena power, and it has been leveraging that tool in unprecedented ways under Trump 2.0. The Washington Post detailed these abuses this week, focusing on the story of a U.S. citizen targeted by DHS for simply emailing a federal prosecutor his opinion about the federal government's case against an Afghan national facing deportation."
"How can something like this happen? Congress has granted administrative subpoena power to federal agencies, like the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission, to allow them to access information quickly to make decisions about issues under their purview. A key distinction between administrative subpoenas and civil or criminal ones is that federal agencies do not need a judge's sign-off."
Federal agencies have increased use of administrative subpoenas to collect information about protesters and other individuals without judicial approval. Administrative subpoena power lets agencies compel records and data quickly, bypassing the need for a judge's sign-off. Congress granted that authority to agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission to enable prompt decision-making within their regulatory purviews. The Department of Homeland Security has notably expanded its use of these powers under the current administration. A reported case involved a U.S. citizen targeted after emailing a federal prosecutor about an Afghan national's deportation. The practice raises privacy, free-speech, and due-process concerns.
Read at Slate Magazine
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