New York state Sen. Zellnor Myrie is asking whether the Department of Homeland Security sought New Yorkers' phone records, bank records and other private information without prior approval from a judge. The Brooklyn Democrat sent a formal letter to DHS and separate inquiries to major companies, seeking details about the government's requests for personal data, the legal process used and whether affected users were notified.
A Letter to DHS and a List of Tech Giants
Myrie, who chairs the state Senate's Codes Committee, is seeking information about DHS's requests for personal or private information, according to Spectrum News 1. His letter named Meta, X, Reddit, Google, PayPal/Venmo, T-Mobile and local law enforcement as entities he is asking about, and he pressed each on how it evaluates government demands for customer information and how it notifies users when their data is disclosed.
“Your phone records, your bank records, other private records subpoenaed, asked for without a judicial warrant,” Myrie said, describing the activity his office is examining, according to Spectrum News 1. In his letter, Myrie said DHS has used administrative warrants that do not require judicial approval to obtain personal or private information from third parties since at least January 2025. That assertion comes from the senator's letter and has not been independently confirmed here.
Suspicion of a Chilling Effect
What administrative subpoenas allow
Administrative subpoenas can allow an agency to seek records without obtaining a judge's approval beforehand, but they are not beyond court oversight. According to a U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy report, federal administrative subpoenas are enforced by courts, and judicial review is among the limits on agencies' use of the authority. The report also notes that the Right to Financial Privacy Act generally restricts government access to bank customers' financial records while allowing specified mechanisms, including administrative subpoenas or summonses. Those mechanisms can include notice and opportunities for customers to challenge the disclosure, meaning the legal process and any notice provided are central questions in Myrie's inquiry.
Myrie went further in describing his concern about the federal government's motives, saying the efforts may be intended to intimidate people and discourage political dissent. “This is to discourage any sort of political dissent,” he said, according to the same report. He also said a federal administration may be unconstitutionally violating people's privacy, and that conversations with the companies named in his letter are ongoing.
The inquiry comes amid broader reporting about DHS's use of administrative subpoenas. The Washington Post has reported that DHS is increasingly using the subpoenas to seek personal data from technology companies, universities, employers and social-media platforms, according to a report tracked by immpolicytracking.org. Former officials and experts estimated that DHS issues thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of the subpoenas each year. The same tracking source said The New York Times reported that DHS had issued hundreds of subpoenas to companies including Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta involving accounts that criticized ICE or identified ICE agents.
Congressional Democrats Asked Similar Questions
Myrie's inquiry isn't the first of its kind. Twenty-six Democratic members of Congress previously wrote to major technology and telecommunications company CEOs asking how they respond to, track and comply with DHS administrative subpoenas, per the same tracking source. That earlier letter mirrors the questions Myrie is now posing to companies operating in New York.
Earlier federal data-collection practices have also drawn scrutiny. Court documents cited by EPIC say a surveillance program called the Transaction Records Analysis Center collected and distributed the financial records of millions of people, mostly immigrants, to DHS and more than 600 federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies. The Brennan Center separately reported that ShadowDragon tools were used to collect social-media information and connect it with other data, including email addresses and online banking accounts such as PayPal and Venmo. The center said ICE signed contracts for ShadowDragon's SocialNet tool in June 2020 and August 2021 totaling nearly $900,000, while Homeland Security Investigations bought the OIMonitor tool in June 2021 for about $171,250, with access from July 2021 through June 2022. The Brennan Center sued DHS and ICE in August 2022, alleging that the agencies had inadequately responded to its Freedom of Information Act request.
Meta Points to Its Review Process
Meta referred Spectrum News 1 to its online transparency center regarding government requests for user data, and said it maintains a dedicated, trained Law Enforcement Response Team. That team, Meta said, reviews and evaluates every government request for user data individually and ensures those requests are consistent with applicable law and Meta's own policies.
Spectrum News 1 also contacted X, AT&T and DHS for comment but did not immediately hear back from any of them. DHS has not responded to Myrie's letter either, as of the outlet's reporting.
What Comes Next
Myrie said some of the companies named in his letter have already responded to his office, though he isn't yet disclosing which ones. He said he anticipates sharing his office's findings with the public in the coming weeks, including a full accounting of which companies responded to his inquiries and which did not. Myrie added that he will seek legislation to protect New Yorkers if his office's findings warrant it.
