The Section 702 Surveillance Program: A Threat to Civil Liberties and Civil Rights of the American People, a Counterexample to Congress

“In its current form, [Section 702] is dangerous to our liberties and our democracy, and it should not be renewed for any length of time without robust debate, an opportunity for amendment, and—ultimately—far-reaching reforms,” a letter from the groups to Schumer says. It says that prolonging the program by rushed amendment would show blatant disregard for civil liberties and civil rights of the American people.

The more than 20 groups—Demand Progress, the Brennan Center for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice among them—oppose plans that would allow the program to continue temporarily by amending “must-pass” legislation, such as the bill needed now to avert a government shutdown by Friday, or the National Defense Authorization Act, annual legislation set to dictate $886 billion in national security spending across the Pentagon and US Department of Energy in 2024.

If Congress doesn’t reauthorize the program at the end of the month, the program could go on for another six months. The program was last certified by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in April 2023 for a full year. When the statute codifies “Transition procedures” they let the orders to continue into the future.

The program includes procedures for intercepting, storing, and querying the information in ways that are designed to “minimize” the odds of Americans’ rights being violated, but the rules are also subject to various exemptions. A top criticism of the 702 program is that it permits the Federal Bureau of Investigation to access the calls and emails of US citizens without a warrant and without evidence they’ve committed a crime.

Dozens of prominent Asian American groups are asking United States lawmakers this morning to hold fast in the face of an anticipated campaign by congressional leaders to extend the Section 702 surveillance program by securing it, like a rider, to another “must pass” bill.

Nearly half of Asian Americans are immigrants, according to a program director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “We are far more likely to have family, friends, and business associates abroad. As a result, Asian Americans will be overrepresented in most of the data the government can collect.