
Expanded FBI Authority
In the decade since 9/11, the FBI has broadly used expanded authorities to peer into the lives of American communities on the basis of constitutionally protected beliefs and activities.
Today, the FBI is also engaged in unconstitutional and crude stereotyping, attributing certain types of crimes to entire racial and ethnic communities around the country. It is then collecting racial and ethnic information to "map" those communities on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, and national origin. Learn more about the ACLU’s "Mapping the FBI" initiative »
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Sweeping away protections that have been in place since the 1970s, new, permissive regulations also allow the FBI to spy on innocent Americans and peaceful groups with little or no suspicion of wrongdoing, using intrusive techniques such as physical surveillance, commercial and law enforcement data base searches, FBI interviews, and informants. And even when these investigations produce no evidence of wrongdoing, the FBI retains the information collected indefinitely.
This misguided approach to law-enforcement betrays fundamental American principles of equal protection under the law and freedom of speech, religion and thought, without making us any safer.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Department of Justice and the FBI can reverse the abusive new authorities. Below, we have identified some of the most intrusive authorities, as well as the ACLU’s recommendations for reform. For a more in-depth dicussion, read our report, "Unleashed and Unaccountable: The FBI's Unchecked Abuse of Authority."
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Racial and Ethnic Mapping: The FBI is collecting and mapping racial and ethnic demographic data about American communities for intelligence purposes, based on crude stereotypes regarding which groups commit different types of crimes. The Department of Justice’s 2003 Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies purported to ban racial profiling, but it contains broad exemptions for national security and border integrity investigations. Exploiting this loophole, in 2008, the FBI issued its Domestic Investigation and Operations Guide, which permits FBI agents to collect, analyze and "map" racial and ethnic demographic information and the location of ethnic oriented business and facilities in both national security and other law enforcement investigations. |
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Suspicion-less Investigations: The FBI claims the unfettered authority to conduct investigations without a factual basis to suspect that targeted individuals have engaged in wrongdoing or pose a threat to national security. It derives this authority from amendments made in 2002 and 2008 to the DOJ’s Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations. So-called "Assessment" investigations can be conducted without any suspicion whatsoever. During these suspicion-less Assessments, the FBI can use intrusive investigative techniques including physical surveillance, interviews conducted without any suspicion of wrongdoing, and the use of informants. "Preliminary Investigations" require only "information or an allegation" of wrongdoing, authority which the FBI has interpreted to permit surveillance based on mere speculation that a crime may be committed in the future. During these Preliminary Investigations, the FBI is permitted to use the same intrusive techniques available for full investigations, with the exception of court-ordered electronic surveillance and searches. |
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Misuse of Informants: When conducting suspicion-less "Assessment" investigations, the FBI has the authority to use informants to spy on innocent Americans. This authority has been used to conduct surveillance in community centers, mosques, and other public gathering places, and against people exercising their First Amendment right to worship or to engage in political advocacy. |
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Inappropriate FBI Interviews: The FBI is using its "Assessment" authority to conduct interviews based on race, ethnicity, national origin and religion. |
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Biased Training Materials: Documents obtained by the ACLU and the news media reveal that FBI and DOJ training materials and FBI intelligence products are factually-flawed and biased. Many of the materials reflect an anti-Muslim and anti-Arab viewpoint based on prejudice or political animus. |
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ACLU Letter to Attorney General Holder »