Massive Coalition Calls on Democratic Leadership to Stand Firm Against Stephen Miller’s Plans to Reauthorize Dangerous Government Spying

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Free Press Action and Demand Progress organized 90 civil-society groups to call on Democratic leaders in Congress to stand firm against White House efforts to extend government surveillance powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without new safeguards.

Congress adopted the Act in 1978, and modified it in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and again in 2008 to expand government surveillance and information-sharing capabilities. Since then, “Section 702 has been used to conduct millions of warrantless ‘backdoor’ searches for the phone calls, text messages, and emails of people in the United States,” reads a letter sent by the coalition to Democratic leadership.

Congress has until April 20 to reauthorize Section 702. Stephen Miller is a leading advocate for extending Section 702 without any reforms, and President Trump is now openly supporting this approach. The groups urge Democratic members of Congress to refuse to reauthorize these powers without key reforms, including reforms to the government’s warrantless querying of communications of people in the United States without prior court approval. Such surveillance allows government officials to conduct sweeping backdoor searches, accessing the private communications of millions of people.

A new poll conducted by Data for Progress found that only 12 percent of U.S. residents thought that Congress should reauthorize these surveillance powers as is, with a large majority calling for reforms. 

“Supporting Stephen Miller’s warrantless surveillance agenda would be a massive detriment to the privacy and civil rights and liberties of people in the United States,” reads the letter, which was signed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, Color of Change, Demand Progress, Free Press Action, Indivisible, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Immigrant Justice Center and Reporters Without Borders, among many others. “These surveillance authorities have long jeopardized privacy, and efforts by Miller to continue them without meaningful reforms and sufficient oversight are deeply troubling.”

Free Press Action Advocacy Director Jenna Ruddock said:

“There are terrifying risks to reauthorizing government surveillance powers that have been abused to spy on protesters, immigrants, journalists and even political candidates under any presidential administration. People across the country and on both sides of the aisle agree, and overwhelmingly support urgently needed reforms to FISA. 

“This White House in particular has relentlessly labelled perceived political opponents as ‘domestic terrorists,’ justifying in their minds the relentless surveillance and persecution of those who oppose the administration’s agenda. Congress must insist on these common-sense reforms and put the civil and constitutional rights of Americans above the authoritarian desires of Miller and others in the Trump administration.” 

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