Under pressure from the federal government, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) may be collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by providing addresses where immigrants facing deportation can be located.
The newspaper The Washington Post reported that some officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, claim that the USPS police force is participating in the arrest and deportation operation of undocumented immigrants ordered by President Donald Trump.
The sources agree that the Postal Inspection Service—a federal police unit responsible for protecting the mail system and combating crimes such as mail fraud, drug trafficking, and child pornography distribution—has begun collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to locate and deport immigrants.
Reportedly, DHS officials requested access to images of the exterior of envelopes and packages, postal tracking data, online account records, associated credit cards, and IP addresses.
This type of surveillance is not covered by the protections of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
In this regard, since data on the outside of mail is considered public, it does not require a court order to collect.
As a result, DHS’s goal was to strengthen the identification and location of people living in the country without documentation to validate their stay.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border and remove illegal immigrants from our country. The safety of American citizens is our priority,” the statement read.
As part of the collaboration, Postal Inspection Service personnel also reportedly participated in a raid to detain immigrants conducted by FBI, DEA, and IRS agents in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The sources indicate that USPS agreed to cooperate with immigration authorities in an effort to persuade President Trump to abandon plans to dismantle or privatize the agency.
In light of the new role assumed by approximately 1,700 Postal Inspection Service officers, a large number of undocumented immigrants have begun questioning whether it is safe to send letters and receive packages.
Image: Opinion
