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Intercept investigation revealed ICE database marked protest observers as domestic terrorists; DHS revoked travel credentials in retaliation

A January 23, 2026 video captured an ICE agent recording a protest observer and stating, "we have a nice little database, and now you're considered a domestic terrorist," the first documented evidence of a DHS/ICE/CBP database labeling lawful protest observers as terrorists and revoking their TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and passport access. The Intercept filed a FOIA lawsuit against DHS on June 24, 2026 after the agency refused to produce documents about the program, with court exhibits from a Minnesota immigration case corroborating the database's use and at least one civilian losing travel credentials within three days of photographing an ICE operation.

Jurisdiction
federal
Location
Nationwide

Abuses documented

Actors

On January 23, 2026, video evidence captured an ICE agent pointing a camera at a protest observer and stating, "we have a nice little database, and now you're considered a domestic terrorist" — the earliest documented instance of a Department of Homeland Security database that labels people who observe immigration enforcement operations as domestic terrorists. Court exhibits later introduced in a Minnesota immigration enforcement case corroborated the database's use, including a federal agent saying of an observer whose license plate had been photographed: "this person is gonna have a hard time traveling from now on." At least one civilian lost her TSA PreCheck and Global Entry credentials within three days of observing an ICE operation; another person who publicly supported transgender rights reportedly had both Global Entry and U.S. passport access revoked.

The surveillance program spans DHS's component agencies. ICE and CBP agents have been documented recording protest observers and feeding their identities into the database, which is then used to flag individuals to travel-security programs. The revocation of TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and U.S. passports — programs administered by the Transportation Security Administration and CBP under the DHS umbrella — converts what are normally apolitical traveler-trust designations into instruments of political retaliation. DHS refused to produce any documentation about the program in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

On June 24, 2026, The Intercept and Democracy Forward filed a FOIA lawsuit against DHS in the Southern District of New York, seeking disclosure of records about the anti-protester database and its operation. The Intercept's investigation also found that ICE's broader technology surveillance spending reached a record $513 million in 2026, corroborating the scale of the infrastructure supporting these operations.

Why we recorded this

The First Amendment protects the right to observe and document government conduct in public. When a federal agency maintains a secret database labeling those who witness immigration enforcement as "domestic terrorists" and uses traveler-trust programs as punitive leverage against people exercising First Amendment rights, the government converts accountability activity into a security threat requiring surveillance and retaliation. This entry records DHS treating protest observation as a predicate for secret designation and federal credential revocation.

Sources

  1. The Intercept Sues to Uncover Secretive Government Anti-Protester Database — The Intercept investigative accessed June 24, 2026
  2. FOIA Complaint — The Intercept v. DHS et al., SDNY — Democracy Forward / The Intercept v. DHS et al., SDNY primary accessed June 24, 2026
  3. ICE tech surveillance arsenal, $513M in 2026 contracts — The Guardian secondary accessed June 24, 2026

See also