DHS Expansion of Social Media Policy Beginning October 18th!
Sept. 27, 2017
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expanded its social media policy and as of October 18, 2018 will be collecting “social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results” for all immigrants. It is currently unclear as to how DHS will obtain the “search results.”
Furthermore, the Federal Register states that DHS will “update record source categories to include publicly available information obtained from the internet, public records, public institutions, interviewees, commercial data providers, and information obtained and disclosed pursuant to information sharing agreements.”
It is important to note that this new policy could impact anyone who interacts with immigrants on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Any conversation or interaction with an immigrant could be subject to surveillance.
We will continue to monitor the above as more information becomes available.
For any questions on how to fill out the DS-160 and DS-260, or any questions regarding the change in policy, please contact one of the immigration lawyers in our office today.