The US has launched a massive surveillance campaign targeting left-wing organizations and anti-ICE protesters.

Newly released documents show that US authorities conducted extensive surveillance of prominent left-wing organizations and protesters as part of a major operation against groups protesting immigration enforcement in Minnesota earlier this year, reports The Guardian.

The US Department of Homeland Security placed undercover agents at public meetings in Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York City, infiltrated Signal chats, and obtained financial data from left-wing labor unions and nonprofits.

On August 13, approximately 30 internal law enforcement reports were released as part of a criminal case brought by the US Department of Justice against 15 protesters in Minneapolis. They are accused of "conspiring" to obstruct US immigration officials during operations in the region during the Trump administration.

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Department of Homeland Security reports were disclosed by the government and submitted to the court by the attorney for one of the defendants. The documents reveal that in January, the agency launched an investigation codenamed "Operation Puppeteer," aimed at identifying a "network of conspirators" organizing resistance to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The operation in the region began during a period of growing public outcry against the agency following the murders of Renee Goode and Alex Pretty.

One February report stated that ICE was investigating individuals "providing material support to violent actors and provocateurs." The documents indicate that agents have deployed a broad surveillance system targeting activists, protesters, and major progressive organizations opposing the Trump administration's immigration policies.

"I was shocked by the scale of what was happening and the apparent lack of discipline in the investigation, although it didn't come as a complete surprise," said Kevin Riach, a lawyer for one of the defendants who filed the materials in federal court.

Representatives of the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment, and the Justice Department declined to comment.

Documents show that the investigations were conducted in accordance with Donald Trump's executive order signed last year, which designated Antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization" responsible for "riots" against ICE. These investigations led to a criminal case filed in June against 15 protesters, focusing on Direct Action Minnesota, a loose coalition of organizers that authorities believe is part of a "conspiracy" to suppress ICE enforcement in the region.

Authorities linked a number of major organizations to this "conspiracy," including the national labor unions AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union; local unions Minneapolis Federation of Educators and Minnesota Association of Professional Employees; and several major left-liberal organizations, including Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ).

None of these organizations were charged.

The publication of the documents has heightened concerns among human rights organizations, which had previously stated that federal authorities, under the guise of combating left-wing "terrorism," are criminalizing legitimate forms of protest.

According to the documents, Department of Homeland Security investigators obtained financial data from trade unions and nonprofits as part of a "domestic terrorism financing" investigation. One report states that the department used subpoenas to obtain information on "wire transfers to and from various financial institutions" related to the SEIU, one of the largest trade unions in the United States. Investigators also sent a request to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for financial data from the Communications Workers of America.

The agency also obtained financial information related to the Sunrise Movement, a national nonprofit focused on addressing the climate crisis.

The documents detail the operations of undercover agents who posed as activists and monitored public activity.

One report details the activity of an embedded agent on January 31 at a Sunrise Movement "resistance skills" training session at the Minneapolis Public Library. The agent reported that activists discussed recruiting new members and "reducing tension" at protests, proposing the appointment of "police liaisons" and "security personnel." The report emphasizes: "It was clear that the Sunrise Movement organization was focused on peaceful protests."

According to the documents, the agent actively interacted with the participants. At one point, he told one of those present that he "worked in construction and could make items that would help other groups in more 'direct action.'" He said he "wasn't afraid of the prospect of going to jail" and left his phone number.

The materials describe the work of another embedded agent who joined activist groups on Signal.

Additionally, agents monitored an online meeting at Hunter College in New York City focused on "ICE brutality" and "responses to state violence"; a meeting at a Minneapolis labor center where a wide range of policy issues were discussed; a gathering at a Minneapolis city park focused on protest tactics; and a Direct Action Minnesota meeting at a church.

Documents show that agents audio-recorded these events.

One of the undercover agents attended a "workout" at a church gym and participated in "boxing sparring," according to a Department of Homeland Security report. He was secretly recording the proceedings, but at one point the recording device "accidentally fell to the floor," forcing the agent to return to the gym to retrieve it.

According to the documents, at one anti-ICE event held at a church, agents recorded the license plates of participants. When a man approached two agents and asked if they were ICE officers, one of them denied it, even though they weren't.

Riach's lawyer filed these materials along with a motion asking the court to compel the authorities to disclose additional documents. In his petition, he accused the government of promoting "absurd conspiracy theories driven by fantasies of political reprisal."

He said the Department of Homeland Security investigations constituted a "massive surveillance campaign" and that the undercover agents "were involved in organizing and coordinating the activities of the groups they were monitoring, sometimes inciting individuals to discuss or commit crimes."

The materials cover activities that extend significantly beyond the charges against the 15 defendants. The 94-page indictment alleges a broad "conspiracy" against ICE, but it makes no allegations of harm to specific ICE officers or of serious violence.

Emilia González Ávalos, executive director of the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Unidos MN, whose activities are mentioned in the documents, stated, "I believe this is a clear attempt to intimidate us, punish us, and politically suppress dissent. This is not the America we've spent hundreds of years building. And it's certainly not the America we're working for."

According to her, during the training sessions, the organizers asked participants not to take notes. However, they said that if immigration agents or law enforcement officers were present, they were allowed to remain, as the group had "nothing to hide" and its activities were "fully based on the US Constitution."

Mike German, a former FBI agent and civil liberties expert, noted that it was unusual to see the Department of Homeland Security acting as the lead agency in an investigation, as such operations are typically coordinated by the FBI. He emphasized that the agency used administrative subpoenas, which do not require judicial approval.

According to German, the authorities appeared to rely on the principle of "guilt by association" to justify surveillance, rather than conducting targeted investigations into specific alleged crimes. Having previously worked as an undercover agent, he expressed skepticism about the claims of "infiltration" of events that were, in fact, open.

"We're talking about public meetings where the organizers directly say, 'Come to the protest,'" German said. "It's hard to call this 'infiltration,' and that should suggest we're not dealing with a criminal group. Criminals rarely discuss their actions publicly."

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He added that such investigations are consistent with historical US practice, when authorities paid particular attention to left-wing activists and the trade union movement. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, German noted, the powers to monitor communities were significantly expanded.

"It should come as no surprise that these tools are being used against political opposition rather than criminals, especially under the current administration," he concluded.

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