House Democrats are seeking more information and a face-to-face briefing from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) about the Trump administration’s use of Postal Inspection Service officers to aid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“The investigative activities of USPIS are crucial in taking down criminal networks, drug traffickers and other dangerous actors who use or abuse the mail system to carry out illicit activities,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee wrote in a letter to USPS leaders obtained by The Hill on Wednesday.
“We are deeply concerned that the partnership between USPIS and DHS is not only an improper use of USPIS personnel but will also significantly detract from USPIS’s critical mission of addressing the present and increasing threats of mail theft and fraud, and attacks against our Postal workforce,” the letter continued.
Trump issued an executive order Jan. 20 shortly after he was sworn back into office that created a system of task forces under DHS and the Attorney General with “representation from any other Federal agencies with law enforcement officers.”
The Postal Inspection Service, one of the country’s oldest law enforcement agencies, has nearly 1,300 postal inspectors and 500 uniformed Postal Police officers, according to the latest Postal Service figures.
The House Oversight Democrats wrote in their letter that they want to know more about how postal workers are aiding with immigration efforts after a Postal Inspection Service officer was spotted at a recent immigration raid of a Colorado nightclub where more than 100 migrants were detained.
“To reach every address in the United States, the Postal Service maintains a wide swath of
personal information on individuals present in the United States,” they wrote. “This data is highly restricted, may only be shared in very limited situations, and is largely protected by the Privacy Act, which requires the Postal Service to implement comprehensive protections of personal information.”
The USPS didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The Washington Post reported in April that the Trump administration was using the Postal Service’s law enforcement arm to obtain photographs of envelopes and packages through its long-existing mail surveillance program, as well as “package- and mail-tracking information, credit card data and financial material and IP addresses” to track down people who are in the country illegally.
U.S. postal inspectors have similarly collaborated with law enforcement agencies in the past to locate fugitives, drug traffickers and other alleged criminals.
According to the Washington Post report, Postal Service officials agreed to aid the federal immigration enforcement efforts because leaders fear a larger threat to the Postal Service from Trump, but one source told the outlet that “Inspection Service is very, very nervous about this.”
“It is clear that DHS intends to use the highly sensitive information maintained by the
Postal Service as part of its broader weaponization of personal information to carry out its mass deportation agenda,” House Democrats wrote in their letter.
