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Sen. Ron Wyden,<\/span> D-Ore., is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to cease what he describes as an illegal abuse of customs law to reveal the identities of social media accounts tracking the activity of ICE agents, according to a letter shared with The Intercept.<\/p>\n This case hinges on a recent effort by the Trump administration to unmask Instagram and Facebook accounts monitoring immigration agents in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It\u2019s not the first effort of its kind by federal authorities.<\/p>\n In 2017, The Intercept reported an attempt by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reveal the identity of the operator of a Twitter account critical of President Donald Trump<\/a> by invoking, without explanation, its legal authority to investigate the collection of tariffs and import duties. Following public outcry and scrutiny<\/a> from Wyden, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded its legal summons and launched an internal investigation<\/a>. A subsequent report by the DHS Office of Inspector General found<\/a> that while CBP had initially claimed it needed the account\u2019s identity to \u201cinvestigate possible criminal violations by CBP officials, including murder, theft, and corruption,\u201d it had issued its legal demand to Twitter based only on its legal authority for the \u201cascertainment, collection, and recovery of customs duties.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The report concluded that CBP\u2019s purpose in issuing the summons to Twitter was unrelated to the importation of merchandise or the assessment and collection of customs duties,\u201d and thus \u201cmay have exceeded the scope of its authority.\u201d The OIG proposed a handful of reforms, to which CBP agreed, including a new policy that all summonses be reviewed for \u201clegal sufficiency\u201d and receive a sign-off from CBP\u2019s Office of Professional Responsibility.<\/p>\n Eight years and another Trump term later, CBP is at it again. In October, 404 Media reported<\/a> that DHS was once again invoking its authority to investigate merchandise imports in a bid to force Meta to disclose the identity of MontCo Community Watch, a Facebook and Instagram account that tracks the actions of immigration authorities north of Philadelphia. A federal judge temporarily<\/a> blocked Meta from disclosing user data in response to the summons.<\/p>\n In a letter sent Friday to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Wyden asked the government to cease what he describes as \u201cmanifestly improper use of this customs investigatory authority,\u201d writing that \u201cDHS appears to be abusing this authority to repress First Amendment protected speech.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter refers to the 2017 OIG report, noting that CBP \u201chas a history of improperly using this summons authority to obtain records unrelated to import of merchandise or customs duties. \u2026 The Meta Summonses appear to be unrelated to the enforcement of customs laws. On the contrary, DHS apparently is trying to expose an individual\u2019s identity in order to chill criticism of the Trump Administration\u2019s immigration policies.\u201d Wyden concludes with a request to Noem to \u201crescind these unlawful summonses and to ensure that DHS complies with statutory limitations on the use of 19 U.S.C. \u00a7 1509 going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The MontCo Community Watch effort followed an earlier attempt this year to unmask<\/a> another Instagram account that shared First Amendment-protected imagery of ICE agents in public. This subpoena, first reported by The Intercept, focused not on merchandise imports. Instead it invoked law \u201crelating to the privilege of any person to enter, reenter, reside in, or pass through the United States,\u201d even though the subpoena was issued pertaining to \u201cofficer safety,\u201d not immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n