The Expansion of Immigrant Data Collection

Collecting private information from foreign travelers has sizabley increased over the past year. From collecting social media passwords of visa holders to taking DNA samples of travelers at the border.

On July 31st, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allowing both agencies to freely share immigrant petition and data records among each other. This latest agreement adds to the growing evidence of privacy erosion. Today we document this occurrence and look at examples of administrative actions from the past year that has brought us to this point.