Following Warner, Kaine Pressure, DHS Inspector General Launches Audit of DHS Data Privacy Abuses

WASHINGTON - Following pressure from U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General has launched an audit of DHS data practices, including those used by ICE, in response to serious concerns about potential data privacy abuses and the misuse of sensitive personal information. In a letter to the senators, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari confirmed that his office has initiated an audit to assess how DHS components collect, store, use, and share sensitive personal data, and whether those activities comply with the law.

Warner and Kaine previously raised the alarm that DHS may be collecting and utilizing sensitive data about U.S. citizens and non-citizens in ways that may circumvent civil liberties, including those guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment, while operating with insufficient oversight and accountability.

"Within one week of receiving our letter, Inspector General Cuffari has initiated an audit to determine how ICE and other DHS components are collecting, storing, using, and sharing sensitive personal information, and if they are following the law when doing so," said the senators. "This is an important first step in investigating if Americans' data is being misused. We appreciate the Inspector General's recognition of the serious risk that unrestrained or illegal DHS activities pose to individuals and communities. Given DHS and the Trump administration's unyielding infringement on Constitutionally protected freedoms and violation of privacy rights under the pretense of immigration enforcement, this audit must be swift, thorough, and independent. We will monitor this audit closely to ensure that outcome."

Read Sens. Warner and Kaine's letter to Inspector General Cuffari here. Read Inspector General Cuffari's response here.

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