An ACOM ethnic media briefing reveals how U.S. agencies are turning tax forms, DNA samples, and social media into tools of surveillance.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s not theoretical. And it’s certainly not just about national security. At a recent ethnic media briefing hosted by American Community Media (ACOM), a sobering reality emerged: the U.S. government is quietly amassing data—your tax records, your health history, even your DNA—and repurposing it into a growing surveillance state. And who’s at the center of this digital dragnet? Immigrants.
Moderated by seasoned journalist Pilar Marrero and co-produced by Sunita Sohrabji, the virtual briefing brought together ethnic media journalists and leading civil liberties experts. The message was clear: if immigrant communities are the testing ground for unchecked surveillance, the rest of us are next.
Surveillance as Policy, Not Accident
Nicole Alvarez, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress, didn’t mince words. She described how federal agencies are quietly side-stepping longstanding privacy norms. The IRS now shares taxpayer data with ICE. Medicaid applications and school enrollment forms—once safe spaces—are now surveillance tools. This isn’t a policy glitch; it’s a policy direction.
Alvarez called it “secondary data abuse.” But let’s be honest: it’s data betrayal. The moment someone fills out a form in good faith—hoping for medical help or fulfilling their tax duty—and that data is weaponized for deportation, the state crosses a line. And worse, it conditions entire communities to fear the very systems that are supposed to support them.
But the threat doesn’t stop at the agency level. Alvarez warned of a more structural danger: the federal push to centralize data across all departments. IRS, SSA, DHS—all feeding into a single data engine. It’s efficient, yes. But it’s also terrifying. Because when your entire identity can be called up with one click, civil liberties become conditional.
From Social Services to Surveillance Tools
Emerald Tsay, from Georgetown’s Center on Privacy and Technology, painted a picture even darker. Her team uncovered how ICE taps into utility records and DMV databases. Need water or power in your home? You may be helping ICE build a file on you. The irony is cruel: the very acts that demonstrate civic responsibility are now used as evidence against you.
Then came the most chilling revelation: DNA collection. Under the guise of immigration enforcement, the government is collecting genetic samples from thousands of individuals daily and storing them in a criminal database. These are not convicted criminals. They’re families, workers, children.
Tsay explained what’s really at stake: “Predictive policing isn’t just algorithmic anymore. It’s biological.”
Social Media: The New Border
Sophia Cope of the Electronic Frontier Foundation added another layer to the surveillance narrative: the border is now digital. Immigrants must hand over social media handles when applying for visas. Once inside the country, their online activity is continuously monitored.
Say the wrong thing—express the wrong opinion—and you could find yourself flagged, investigated, or worse. We’re not talking about threats or incitement. We’re talking about constitutionally protected speech. Criticizing U.S. policy on Gaza or posting about a protest? That could be enough.
Cope warned that the chilling effect is real and spreading. “It’s not just the immigrant who’s affected. It’s their American friends, families, and colleagues who begin to self-censor, afraid their voices could jeopardize someone they love.”
Even journalists—those tasked with speaking truth to power—are not safe. Phones and laptops are increasingly searched at the border, often without warrants. Confidential sources? Compromised. Investigative files? Exposed.
A System Built to Scale
Let’s stop pretending this is a partisan issue. This is a structural shift. As the panelists emphasized, once these surveillance mechanisms are in place, they don’t disappear when administrations change. They scale. They expand. They embed.
The Privacy Act of 1974? Outdated. There’s no comprehensive federal law governing how your data is collected, stored, or shared. No AI accountability laws. No serious oversight. Just a growing digital panopticon quietly watching—and waiting.
This Isn’t About Privacy. It’s About Power.
What makes this moment so dangerous isn’t just the data—it’s the infrastructure. A centralized, opaque, unregulated surveillance machine is being built on the backs of the most vulnerable. Immigrants are simply the first target.
But history has shown us something important: tools created to monitor and control marginalized groups rarely stay in their lane. From Japanese internment to the surveillance of Black activists, the arc is painfully clear. We ignore it at our peril.
So let’s be honest about what’s happening here. This isn’t just about data. It’s about democracy. It’s about who gets to participate freely and without fear. It’s about whether public institutions can be trusted—or whether they’ve become something else entirely.
And most of all, it’s about whether we have the courage to speak up before silence becomes complicity.
#ImmigrantRights #DigitalWatchtower #DataBetrayal #ACOMBriefing #EthnicMedia #CivilLiberties #SurveilTheWatchers #StopDataAbuse
