D.H.S. Pushes Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts, and U.S. Troops Land in Nigeria
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The New York Times app has all this stuff that you may not have seen. The way the tabs are at the top with all of the different sections. I can immediately navigate to something that matches what I'm feeling. I go to games always. Doing the mini, doing the wordle. I loved how much content it exposed me to. Things that I never would have thought to turn to a news app for. This app is essential. The New York Times app. All of the times, all in one place. Download it now at nytimes.com slash app.
From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, February 16th. Here's what we're covering. The Times has learned that in recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has been pushing social media sites to reveal the identities of people who criticize ICE online. According to government officials and tech employees, who are not authorized to speak publicly, DHS has sent hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. It's asked for the names, emails, phone numbers, and other identifying data behind social media accounts that criticize the agency or post about the location of agents. According to government officials, Meta, Reddit, and Google have all complied with some of the requests.
Some of the companies say they notified the account owners first and gave them 10 to 14 days to fight the subpoena in court. In the past, these kind of subpoenas were issued only sparingly. Tech employees told The Times they were primarily used to uncover people behind accounts engaged in serious crimes like child trafficking. But the Trump administration's been aggressively trying to tamp down criticism of ICE, partly by identifying Americans who've spoken out against the agency. ICE told protesters in Minneapolis and Chicago that they were being recorded and identified with facial recognition technology. And last month, the White House border czar said on Fox News that he was pushing to create a database of people who were arrested for, quote, interference, impeding and assaults.
In court, DHS lawyers have argued that they're seeking this information to keep ICE agents safe in the field. In response to questions from The Times about the subpoenas, Meta, Reddit and Discord declined to comment. A Google spokeswoman said, quote, We review every legal demand and push back against those that are overbroad. Now, a few other quick updates on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The acting head of ICE says that two agents have been suspended and are being investigated for making false statements related to a shooting in Minneapolis. In the incident last month, an immigration agent shot a man in the leg and administration officials immediately rushed to justify the use of force, claiming three people had attacked the officer with a broom and a snow shovel and that he feared for his life.
That narrative collapsed in court, however, when the U.S. attorney said that version of events was not true. The charges against the men accused of attacking the agent have now been dropped. The agents could be fired or face criminal prosecution. It's the latest example of the Department of Homeland Security providing an account of a shooting that later proved questionable or outright wrong. And... Nobody is illegal outside! Across the country, students in more than three dozen states have walked out of class in recent weeks to protest the administration's deportation tactics. But in Texas, Republican officials are trying to tamp those demonstrations down. Governor Greg Abbott has suggested state funding could be stripped from school districts where there are protests and that students who are disorderly should be arrested.
Abbott recently warned on social media that Despite the threats, the walkouts have continued. One 16-year-old in Dallas told The Times the protests are personal for her. Her cousin was deported this year, leaving his wife and 5-year-old son to move in with her family. Late last year, President Trump caught some off guard when he threatened to send the U.S.
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