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Shellback Squid

(9,932 posts)
Thu Feb 5, 2026, 01:49 PM Thursday

Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon

"In October, a retiree emailed a DHS attorney to urge mercy for an asylum seeker. Then DHS subpoenaed his Google account and sent investigators to his home."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/02/03/homeland-security-administrative-subpoena/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

https://archive.is/20260203121929/https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/02/03/homeland-security-administrative-subpoena#selection-197.0-197.155


Paywall

"He had decided that the America he believed in would not make it if people like him didn’t speak up, so on a cool, rainy morning in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Jon, 67 and recently retired, marched up to his study and began to type.
He had just read about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s case against an Afghan it was trying to deport. The immigrant, identified in The Washington Post’s Oct. 30 investigation as H, had begged federal officials to reconsider, telling them the Taliban would kill him if he was returned to Afghanistan.

Five hours and one minute later, Jon was watching TV with his wife when an email popped up in his inbox. He noticed it on his phone.
“Google,” the message read, “has received legal process from a Law Enforcement authority compelling the release of information related to your Google Account.”
Listed below was the type of legal process: “subpoena.” And below that, the authority: “Department of Homeland Security.”

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Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon (Original Post) Shellback Squid Thursday OP
can I get a knr? Shellback Squid Thursday #1
Kinda depended on what he emailed... is there text of what he sent? WarGamer Thursday #2
no, just a description of the text, good question, I had not thought of that Shellback Squid Thursday #3

WarGamer

(18,319 posts)
2. Kinda depended on what he emailed... is there text of what he sent?
Thu Feb 5, 2026, 06:04 PM
Thursday

Google indeed scans for language that can be criminal.

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