The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is working with immigration officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help “find, detain, and deport unauthorized immigrants.”
The report said that the White House initiated using the postal service as an arm of DHS.
Here’s how a local mail carrier would be involved. One would be to report any suspicious behavior or something that looks illegal in the neighborhood. Secondly, DHS would partner with the Postal Inspection Service program to look at “mail covers,” which take pictures of the outside of envelopes and other packages.
DHS would also want data from online Postal Service accounts and package and mail-tracking information. This would include financial information, IP addresses, and credit cards. Access to the Inspection Service’s surveillance systems would provide all of this.
The Trump administration says all of this is needed regarding immigration investigations.
