‘They were tracking us.’ ICE tracks protesters in secret database

'They were tracking us.' ICE tracks protesters in secret database.

Key points

• On May 27, an officer described an incident with a 2005 black Honda Civic.
• "Called 911, they were not helpful." an ICE officer wrote in a May 13 log that concluded up in the database.
• After Renee Good was shot and killed while monitoring ICE officers in Minneapolis, whether the administration was tracking Americans became an problem in January.
• Former ICE Director Todd Lyons testified under oath to Congress regarding allegations that ICE was tracking protesters in February.
• Those fears became real when his status with Global Entry, a pre-screened flyer program, was revoked a day after an exchange in March with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

'They were tracking us.' ICE tracks protesters in secret database. Nick Penzenstadler USA TODAY. Protests persist almost a week after fatal shooting in Minneapolis.

Federal agents clashed with protesters in St. As demonstrations continued outside the federal building and within the communities, paul and Minneapolis on Tuesday (January 13), almost a week after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by federal officers.

Michael Khalili always suspected his work tracking federal immigration officers in Minneapolis would land him on the federal government's radar. The photos agents took of his car and face had to go somewhere.

Those fears became real when his status with Global Entry, a pre-screened flyer program, was revoked a day after an exchange in March with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He then faced secondary airport screening when returning to the United States from an international trip this fall. Now he has proof.

USA TODAY sued ICE under the Freedom of Information Act and obtained a St. Paul, Minnesota, field office database that reveals what legal observers feared: Protesters are being tracked and logged into a secret database for what they argue is exercising protected First Amendment speech.

In practice, the document, titled simply "Agitator Log, " contains 60 instances of ICE officers in Minneapolis logging their interactions with protesters and legal observers around the Whipple Federal Building in the spring of 2026.

"I am in no way surprised. It was clear they were tracking us and trying to find reasons to crack down on us, " Khalili informed USA TODAY. "I try to keep this in perspective. I wasn't physically harmed, but American Democracy cannot operate this way."

Each incident includes an ICE officer's brief description of the interaction, along with information regarding the protester's vehicle, license plates, a photo of the car, and whether the officer contacted local law enforcement. Personal information was redacted in the copy of the database published to USA TODAY.

While not identified by name, Khalili was driving a black Hyundai SUV during his interactions with ICE. Those incidents are described accurately in the database on the correct dates, he remarked.

Black Hyundai began after ICE Officer. Officer created contact with while (sic) male and white female and asked why they were after him. The males (sic) stated You know why I'm following you, an ICE officer wrote in the database. The vehicle continued following the Officer over 16 miles before he lost them in traffic.

Homeland Security authorities had insisted, for months, that no such database was being kept, captured, logged, or maintained.

In a separate revelation on Oct. 2, a newly unsealed court filing in Maine made public ICE is uploading photos of protesters into an "Investigative Case Management" database.

In practice, an ICE officer in the Maine case mentions a "Master List of Agitators, " though that list remains under court seal. The agitator lists may be part of a larger surveillance effort.

"This confirms exactly what we've alleged: They're tracking information in a database, using the term 'agitators' as an excuse to retaliate against people who are observing and exercising their First Amendment rights, " remarked Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, an attorney with Common Cause who represents Khalili and other observers.

ICE and DHS spokespeople did not immediately respond to USA TODAY regarding the database's existence, but as lately as Oct. 2 informed other media outlets that it's a "lie that there is a database of 'domestic terrorists' run by DHS."

As new information emerges, ICE's denials increasingly do not square with the truth, remarked JoAnna Suriani, an attorney representing the Maine protesters with Protect Democracy.

'Our case was never regarding whether there is a standalone database with a particular name, but whether the administration is tracking everyday Americans who record them. The administration has now admitted there are records concerning observers, Suriani noted. Concern over protests in Maine and Minnesota.

After Renee Good was shot and killed while monitoring ICE officers in Minneapolis, whether the administration was tracking Americans became an problem in January. Senior Trump administration authorities, including then Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem, called her a "domestic terrorist."

Weeks afterwards in Maine, a masked ICE officer was caught on video taking a picture of a woman protester and saying: "We have a nice little database. And now you're considered a domestic terrorist."

He was emphatic during the hearing: "There is no database for protesters, " he informed them. Noem did the same in March: "We're not creating a database."

Lyons informed them again in an April follow-up letter to Democratic Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost and 11 others that "(ICE) does not maintain any kind of database of U.S. Citizens protesting ICE activities." Lyons wrote that ICE was "fully committed to upholding the Constitution and respecting First Amendment rights of all individuals, including the right to peacefully assemble."

Lyons asserted the only time ICE keeps information on protesters is if their actions "go beyond protected speech, " like threatening, assaulting, or interfering with ICE operations.

Federal prosecutors charged 15 individuals in Minnesota in June for allegedly attempting to impede or injure federal law enforcement officers during the ICE surge last winter.

Meanwhile, the "Agitator List" published to USA TODAY appears to directly contradict Lyons.

"These records suggest that Americans were being documented in connection with simply observing what their government was doing, " Frost informed USA TODAY. "No American should feel unsafe exercising their First Amendment rights or worry that watching and documenting their government could put them on a list."

Kevin Riach, an attorney defending some of the Minneapolis defendants in the criminal case, received a version of the same ICE database published to USA TODAY.

He remarked what ties the incidents on the issued list together is that they originated at the Whipple building. Riach remarked he believes DHS was trying to build backing for criminal charges against the protesters and the list only represents a small fraction of the documented interactions throughout the Twin Cities. Minnesota data demonstrates legal observers.

ICE officers often documented benign interactions, such as "I was followed, " to enter a protester's detailed information into the database, according to the records issued to USA TODAY.

Others include details of cat-and-mouse evasions that concluded with local law enforcement stepping in.

In an April 10 entry, an ICE officer wrote that a "bright blue Toyota car" followed them out of the main gate of a federal building. "One occupant, 30s female with glasses. Followed very aggressively, I ended up losing her in a neighborhood."

Three days afterwards, an ICE officer took down the plates of a "Maroon Chevy 4-door SUV Midsize" and wrote, "Subject remained stopped at a stop sign at for longer than a reasonable time with no traffic approaching and drove slower than reasonable in clear weather conditions." The records indicate the officer photographed the SUV and noted it to Bloomington Police.

"Called 911, they were not helpful." an ICE officer wrote in a May 13 log that concluded up in the database. "A separate lady tracking movements also began filming my vehicle and making hand gestures."

Some of the "agitators" in the database appeared to understand they could draw more scrutiny if they followed ICE officers throughout the state border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. That's at the heart of the government's case against 15 protesters charged with interstate stalking. It can carry a five-year prison sentence.

On May 27, an officer described an incident with a 2005 black Honda Civic. The ICE officer called local police as he was traveling east toward Wisconsin. The dispatcher arranged to have a police officer connect with them and stop the Honda if it followed the officer throughout state lines. The Honda took the last exit, just before crossing the bridge into Wisconsin.

Redactions create it challenging to definitively match the vehicles in the ICE database with any of the 15 individuals charged by Minnesota federal prosecutors.

But plenty of of the vehicles and situations line up, including in the case against Natasha Rakotz. This person prosecutors claim drove her black Honda Civic into an ICE officer's Ford pickup truck on May 15 and has been charged with assault.

After ICE officers, shouting at them or recording them in public spaces is lawful, in general. But speeding, running red lights, or driving recklessly makes it a crime. It some officers alleged in the database.

Tracking protesters solely for expressing their constitutionally protected speech could be a violation of the First Amendment, remarked Mindy Haas, an international affairs professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

"If you end up chilling speech, " Haas remarked. "We're pushing up against the line of thought crimes." Share your feedback to support improve our site!

For now, they were tracking us. ICE tracks protesters in secret database remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.