Trump Admin Drafted DHS Report Calling For Long-Term Surveillance Of Muslim Immigrants: Report

In late January, President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) drafted a report calling for the “long-term” surveillance of some Muslim immigrants in the United States if it were decided that they fit “at-risk” demographic profiles, Foreign Policy reported Monday.

The DHS draft report concluded it would be of “great value for the United States Government in dedicating resources to continuously evaluate persons of interest,” according to FP.

The Hill added:

The draft identified a broad group of Sunni Muslim residing within the U.S. who were identified as possibly being “vulnerable to terrorist narratives,” because they matched a set of risk indicators, such as being young, male and having national origins in “the Middle East, South Asia or Africa.”

Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), requested the report on Jan. 22, FP reported, citing internal DHS correspondence.

A CBP spokesperson told the news outlet that the report they obtained was a “first draft,” which has already undergone some revisions and continues to be changed.

“[I]t is extremely important to highlight an important aspect — the document that was improperly provided to you is not a final CBP intelligence assessment and therefore does not reflect CBP’s policy on this matter,” the spokesperson wrote.

“More specifically, the initial draft assessment in your possession not only is still undergoing internal CBP review, but, at the time of its improper disclosure, did not reflect a large number of substantive comments and revisions that have since been made to subsequent versions of the document as a result of CBP’s internal and external review process,” their email continued.

One department official who reviewed the report told the magazine it is the only risk-analysis product being shared around DHS and the report’s “unfair and discriminatory” recommendations are derived from reviews of select cases — even if the report sells it as “a comprehensive analysis of post-9/11 terrorism.”

“First, this report would steer policymakers to implement unfair and discriminatory surveillance of particular ethnic groups,” the DHS official told FP.

“Second, the analysis, which is misleadingly packaged as a comprehensive analysis of post-9/11 terrorism, could lead policymakers to overlook significant national security threats,” the official added.

This report comes after news last month that the Supreme Court plans to take up Trump’s travel ban, which is currently being challenged in court.