Post

Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues’ cell phones.

The records contain hundreds of allegations of misuse of law enforcement databases, including federal agents querying data to look up romantic interests, monitor family members, expose various personal information and provide intelligence to suspected smugglers or drug-trafficking organizations.

Acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests to CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, the records reveal the breadth of alleged database abuse by CBP employees spanning more than a decade.

The sheer range of these records, which date from 2009 through 2022, highlights how US residents can be—and have been—targeted by federal government employees with access to highly sensitive data and powerful tools.

“Customs and Border Protection has a long history of impunity and abuse of people's civil and human rights,” says Laura Rivera, an attorney with Just Futures Law, a civil and immigration advocacy legal organization.

WIRED has made this article free for all to read because it is primarily based on reporting from Freedom of Information Act requests: