On May 18, 2021, Faiza Patel, Co-Director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the role of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) within the Department of Homeland Security. She spoke about I&A’s history of targeting Muslim Americans, protestors, and journalists, and urged the Committee to strengthen safeguards to ensure I&A’s protection of civil rights and civil liberties. Without appropriate oversight, I&A’s intelligence collection efforts risk infringing on Americans’ civil and Constitutional rights and targeting First Amendment-protected activities.
