Insiders are nervous after the Washington Post broke a report revealing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has been quietly cooperating with federal immigration officials to assist with efforts to locate people suspected of being in the country illegally.
An investigative force within the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has joined forces with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) task force, which focuses on identifying, detaining, and deporting undocumented immigrants. The collaborative efforts include looking for pictures on the outside of envelopes and packages, known as “mail covers” in addition to gaining access to the postal investigation agency’s surveillance systems that include online account data, package- and mail-tracking information, credit card data, financial material and IP addresses, according to the anonymous insiders.
As USPS’s Postal Inspection Service is primarily tasked with keeping safety protocols within the mail system, investigating threats and attacks on postal workers and mail facilities, and keeping illegal items like narcotics and child pornography out of the mail, insiders feel this is a heightened escalation of Trump’s immigration crackdown. However, it is not far-fetched, as Homeland Security officials have previously worked with tax, housing, and public health authorities.
In an email to the agency’s 1,700 officers, leaders agreed to participate in the shakedown, stating, “We want to play well in the sandbox.”
While it’s not uncommon for the Inspection Service to conduct raids or multi-agency operations, insiders believe this is different.
“The Inspection Service is very, very nervous about this,” one USPS insider familiar with the situation said.
“They seem to be trying to placate Trump by getting involved with things they think he’d like. But it’s complete overreach. This is the Postal Service. Why are they involved in deporting people?”
However, a top DHS official calls the move a “key part” to guaranteeing Trump keeps his “promise to the American people to remove violent criminals from our streets.” “Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country. The safety of American citizens comes first,” the official said, according to the Daily Beast.
As efforts advance across numerous federal agencies, experts are giving the side-eye to the number of immigrants the Trump administration has allegedly deported during the president’s first 100 days in office. Border czar Tom Homan reported on April 28 that the White House has deported 139,000 people since Inauguration Day, after the announcement of the country’s largest deportation efforts.
However, data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paints a different picture. Numbers suggest that 57,000, a little less than half of Homan’s figure, have been deported.
