August 25, 2026 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanded answers from Attorney General Todd Blanche and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin on the Trump Administration’s sweeping surveillance campaign against community organizations in Minnesota following the Administration’s violent immigration crackdown in the state.

“This Administration launched a secret surveillance campaign against protestors, surveilling churches, infiltrating group chats, and subpoenaing years of banking records from community groups that were never accused of a single crime. Everyone responsible for this abuse of our freedoms should be held accountable,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

Without a legitimate basis to suspect criminal misconduct, the Trump Administration opened an investigation into several social and political organizations and individuals deemed critical of the Trump Administration’s crackdown, including major labor unions like the Communications Workers of America and the Service Employees International Union, environmental groups like the Sunrise Movement, and community groups like Voices for Racial Justice, none of whom were accused of criminal wrongdoing.

In the letters to Attorney General Todd Blanche and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Ranking Member Robert Garcia wrote, “Law enforcement in a free and democratic society depends on the officers entrusted with authority to act within the rules and safeguards of our legal system. Yet, public reporting indicates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) engaged in a sweeping campaign of surveillance targeting numerous labor unions, environmentalist groups, and even a bicycle shop, all because members of these groups dared to protest the Trump Administration’s violent crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year. For the federal government to infiltrate citizens’ group chats, surveil places of worship, and obtain financial records of organizations that are not accused of any criminal wrongdoing represents one of the most concerning abuses of surveillance power this country has seen since the days of COINTELPRO.”

In July 2026, Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal demanded answers from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) regarding the vetting and training of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the wake of the killing of Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on July 13, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine.

In February 2026, Ranking Member Robert Garcia released a report highlighting Oversight Democrats’ key findings regarding the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both victims were killed while bearing witness to the abuses and injustices on their neighbors by the Trump Administration’s aggressive, violent, and unlawful immigration enforcement tactics.

In December 2025, Ranking Member Garcia and Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal launched a series of bicameral hearings to expose and investigate abuses, excessive force, and constitutional violations by federal immigration enforcement agents.

In November 2025, Ranking Member Garcia led Oversight Democrats in launching a public Immigration Enforcement Dashboard to track and document incidents of abuse and potential misconduct by DHS immigration enforcement agents across the country.

Source: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform-Democrats