October, 29 2015, 04:15pm EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Naren Daniel
Sr. Communications Coordinator
646.292.8381
naren.daniel@nyu.edu
How Many Americans are Swept up in NSA's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance?
Broad Coalition Sends Letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
WASHINGTON
Today the Brennan Center for Justice, joined by more than 30 other privacy and civil liberties organizations, urged Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper to determine and disclose how many Americans are swept up in NSA surveillance under a law that authorizes the agency to target foreigners overseas. Coming on the heels of the DNI's release of a "Principles of Intelligence Transparency Implementation Plan" earlier this week, the letter challenges the Intelligence Community to put action behind its words.
"Americans deserve to know the truth about so-called 'foreign intelligence' surveillance," said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program. "The NSA claims it's only targeting foreigners overseas, but it refuses to provide even an estimate of how many Americans' communications are picked up and handed over to the FBI. And the FBI won't reveal how many times it searches this data, without a warrant or any judicial oversight, for information about American citizens."
The law at issue is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which will expire in 2017 unless reauthorized. Section 702 allows the NSA to collect the phone calls and e-mails of anyone reasonably believed to be a foreigner overseas, as long as acquiring "foreign intelligence" is a significant purpose of the surveillance. Because the law doesn't require the target to be suspected of any crime, and because international communication is common, Section 702 surveillance is virtually guaranteed to acquire millions of communications between innocent Americans and foreigners. Moreover, the FBI routinely searches Section 702 data for Americans' communications, according to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, thus evading the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement for domestic investigations.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and former U.S. Sen. Mark Udall made repeated requests for an estimate of the number of Americans swept up in Section 702 surveillance. The NSA responded that providing such an estimate would itself violate Americans' privacy because it would require the NSA to examine the content of communications. In a letter sent to DNI Clapper today, a broad coalition of privacy groups from across the ideological spectrum rejected the NSA's claim. The letter concludes that the NSA can assess the impact of Section 702 surveillance on Americans in a manner that is a "net gain" for privacy.
"The NSA claims that it cannot ascertain the effect of foreign intelligence surveillance on Americans because that would violate privacy. Leading privacy organizations across the country disagree," said Goitein. "It does not serve Americans' privacy to keep them in the dark about how often the NSA scoops up their phone calls and e-mails.
"The fact that the NSA has made no effort to determine how much of its intake consists of Americans' communications is actually quite alarming," she added. "The law requires the NSA to minimize collection of Americans' information, and the NSA's mission statement includes protection of privacy and civil liberties. How can the NSA claim to be protecting Americans' privacy if it has no idea how much data about Americans it's collecting?"
The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute. We strive to uphold the values of democracy. We stand for equal justice and the rule of law. We work to craft and advance reforms that will make American democracy work, for all.
(646) 292-8310LATEST NEWS
Unions Cheer After Judge Halts Trump Order on Federal Workers' Collective Bargaining Rights
"Today's court order is a victory for federal employees, their union rights, and the American people they serve," said the head of the National Treasury Employees Union.
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Labor unions representing federal workers celebrated on Friday after a U.S. district judge blocked President Donald Trump's March executive order intended to strip the collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of government employees.
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) swiftly took action over what union national president Doreen Greenwald called "an attempt to silence the voices of our nation's public servants," filing a lawsuit in in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.
Judge Paul Friedman, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, granted a preliminary injunction on Friday, blocking implementation of the executive order (EO), which aimed to restrict workers' rights under the guise of protecting national security.
CNNreported that during a Wednesday hearing, Friedman questioned "Trump's motive in issuing the order" and "the administration's contention that certain agencies have national security as their primary function, citing the National Institutes of Health, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Agriculture."
Also reporting on the hearing earlier this week, Politicodetailed:
Attorneys representing the NTEU mentioned that the Trump administration, after issuing the EO, immediately sued an NTEU-affiliate union in Kentucky and Texas—federal districts dominated by Republican appointees.
Shortly after Friedman's hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, who is hearing the government's case in Kentucky, denied a request from a local NTEU chapter to postpone oral arguments that are scheduled for Friday. Reeves is an appointee of President George W. Bush. A decision in those cases could affect the NTEU's lawsuit before Friedman.
Still, the NTEU welcomed Freidman's Friday decision to halt what it called an "anti-union, anti-federal employee executive order" while also preparing for the Trump administration to "quickly appeal."
"Today's court order is a victory for federal employees, their union rights, and the American people they serve," said Greenwald. "The preliminary injunction granted at NTEU's request means the collective bargaining rights of federal employees will remain intact and the administration's illegal agenda to sideline the voices of federal employees and dismantle unions is blocked."
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Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said on the social media site X: "Judge Dugan's arrest is outrageous and a fear tactic to our independent judiciary. Trump has always thought he was above the law, but now he's enabling his goons to push that limit as far as it can go. His reckless deportations and flaunting of the Constitution will fail."
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.)
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The FBI arrested a Wisconsin judge who stood up for due process for immigrants. This is unprecedented. All of us need to stand up and speak out against arresting judges in this country. We are living in dangerous times.
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— Rep. Ro Khanna ( @khanna.house.gov) April 25, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Accusing the Trump administration of a "shocking" willingness to "weaponize federal law enforcement," Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) contended that the FBI "coming into a community and arresting a judge is a serious matter" that would require a "high legal bar."
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Advocacy groups including Voces de la Frontera, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR), and Milwaukee Turners led a Friday afternoon protest against Dugan's arrest outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
HAPPENING NOW: A HUGE crowd of protesters have gathered outside a Milwaukee courthouse to support Judge Hannah Dugan after her arrest earlier today
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— Marco Foster ( @marcofoster.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
"To refer to this heinous attack as alarming would be an understatement," MAARPR said in a statement accusing FBI Director Kash Patel of "intentionally being public with his announcement and accusations" and "seeking to bypass Dugan's due process and label her as a criminal before she even has an opportunity to speak up."
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MAARPR continued:
During this period of racist and political repression, we must stand together to denounce today's actions by the FBI. What happened to Dugan is not new. The FBI and other agencies have been emboldened in recent months, snatching people off the streets, separating families, terrorizing communities, breaking doors down of pro-Palestine activists, and contributing to the unjust deportation of immigrants who don't have criminal records. What is new is that they have gone after a judge.
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