Department of homeland security surveillance of gays
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The use of these characteristics is permitted only in combination with other information, and only where (1) intended and reasonably believed to support one or more of [Intelligence and Analysis’] national or departmental missions and (2) narrowly focused in support of that mission (or those missions).”
The Trump administration reversed Biden’s executive order facilitating the addition of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the intelligence agency’s prohibited list on his first day in office.
Biden’s order, signed on his own first day in office and titled “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” was hailed at the time by the Human Rights Campaign as “the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president.
In theory, this serves to uphold the rule of law and public safety. René Kladzyk, a senior investigator, highlighted how health records, DMV data, and social media activity have been weaponized to target transgender individuals in states like Florida and Texas.
Facial recognition technology, which frequently misgenders trans and nonbinary individuals, further raises concerns about misuse.
Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation urge proactive measures, including encrypted communication and secure data practices.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers a surveillance self-defense toolkit on their website. Health care records, DMV documents, social media, internet search histories, and geolocation data from cell phones are just a few tools that law enforcement has used or attempted to use to target marginalized populations.
In Florida, for example, Governor Ron DeSantis forced universities to disclose the records of trans patients.
The past few years have ushered in an uptick of efforts to criminalize queerness through legislation that punishes gender-affirming parents, doctors and educators, as well as policies such as drag bans.
“When the government gets to decide what is right and what is wrong, then you don't necessarily need to be doing anything in order to become the target of surveillance,” Bell said.
Today, millions of Americans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their President and their government believe discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not only intolerable but illegal.”
The Office of Intelligence and Analysis focuses on domestic intelligence gathering, often involving U.S. citizens and others in the country.
It “has a long track record of civil liberties and civil rights abuses,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
“Since at least 2016, I&A officers have conducted interviews with people held in jails without sufficient constitutional protections, targeted journalists and activists protesting local monuments under the guise of homeland security, surveilled racial justice demonstrators, and monitored political views shared by millions of Americans — about topics like abortion, government, and elections — that DHS baldly asserts will lead to violence,” the group said following passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in 2024.
South Dakota Gov.
Kristi Noem, a longtime LGBTQ+ antagonist, was confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in January.
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Erin In The Morning
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has scrapped privacy provisions which otherwise protected people from surveillance based on sexual orientation or gender identity alone, Bloomberg reported last week.
The updated policy manual “removes references to those characteristics in sections that set guardrails on gathering intelligence,” according to the report.
Officials said such racial profiling was justified because it was in the name of stopping terrorism. Today, some states are returning to this dark era of history. In practice, “intelligence activities” often violate the civil liberties of marginalized groups and stymie political dissent.
Don Bell, policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), said the renewed policy is alarming, especially within the larger trends of government attacks on the LGBTQ community.
This past week alone, about 100 LGBTQ intelligence officials were fired across agencies, as Erin in the Morning previously reported,
“Whenever you remove protections, it increases the risk to disfavored communities, and really Bell told Erin in the Morning. It also strikes “gender expression” and “sexual orientation” from a provision addressing workplace discrimination.
The new version also omits an attached document laying out older intelligence oversight guidelines, though that file is available elsewhere on I&A’s website.
Washington, D.C.
— The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly revised its intelligence-gathering policies last week, eliminating explicit prohibitions on surveilling individuals based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The changes, first reported by Bloomberg Government,remove LGBTQ+ identities from a list of protected categories in the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) policy manual, which previously barred intelligence activities targeting people based on race, religion, disability, and other characteristics.
The revisions follow President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order mandating the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies across federal agencies.
In Texas, the state’s Department of Public Safety was ordered to compile a list of people who had recently changed their gender markers on their driver’s license.
Kladzyk’s investigation also found that facial recognition software had been used overseas to flag women for targeted ad campaigns — technology that could just as easily be used by schools, medical institutions, law enforcement, and everyday citizens who seek to root out trans people.
Critics argue the move opens the door to discriminatory surveillance practices, particularly against LGBTQ+ communities already facing heightened political targeting under the administration.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, condemned the decision, noting the DHS’s track record of “abusive domestic intelligence practices,” including monitoring racial justice activists and journalists.
A Legal Gray Zone
The updated manual now prohibits intelligence activities based solely on “race, ethnicity, sex, religion, country of birth, nationality, or disability” — conspicuously omitting “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
A DHS spokesperson told Snopes that the policy aligns with federal sex discrimination laws, which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interprets as covering sexual orientation.
However, legal experts dispute this rationale, pointing to the Trump administration’s simultaneous efforts to narrow anti-discrimination protections, such as denying federal recognition of transgender identities and halting investigations into LGBTQ+ workplace complaints.
“Removing these guardrails creates ambiguity,” said Don Bell, policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight.
It disappeared from I&A’s website weeks ago without explanation, sparking concerns from Democrats and civil liberties advocates.
Trump’s DHS Intel Unit Buries Manual Touted for Transparency
The re-posted version makes changes to provisions that bar I&A officials from conducting intelligence activities based solely on a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation, or requires an extra layer of oversight for intelligence materials focused on such groups.
(Studies have shown facial recognition software often triggers false flags for trans people and people of color.)
Bell warned that identities can be “weaponized” and then “criminalized.” After the 9/11 attacks, law enforcement began spying on mosques and targeting Muslim people and spaces for increased surveillance. The guidelines can help you secure your communications through encrypted messaging apps, lock down social media accounts, and protect your biometric data.
But studies show that racial or religious profiling is not an effective tool for combating terrorism.
The surveillance of LGBTQ communities goes back decades, when (allegedly) queer people were purged from government positions as part of the Lavender Scare. Recent reports also indicate a resurgence of McCarthyist tactics, with federal agencies compiling lists of DEI program participants and LGBTQ+ employee resource group leaders.
Surveillance Risks and Community Response
LGBTQ+ advocates warn that the policy change could exacerbate existing vulnerabilities.
I&A’s work has attracted close scrutiny for years because of its domestic focus, with intelligence often involving US citizens and others in the country.
A DHS spokesperson said the document was taken down and reposted after the text was changed to comply with Trump’s executive orders.
I&A initially posted the policy manual at the end of President Joe Biden’s administration in an effort to improve transparency in the troubled office.
“The revisions follow President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 directive to scrap policies and protections focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion across federal agencies.”
The policy now reads: “[Office of Intelligence and Analysis] Personnel are prohibited from engaging in intelligence activities based solely on an individual’s or group’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, country of birth, nationality, or disability.” Notably absent is mention of similar protections for the LGBTQ community.
The handbook formerly included sexual orientation and gender identity in this list, which would protect some members of the LGBTQ community from targeted surveillance that would infringe upon their constitutional rights.
The DHS did not reply to a request for comment from Erin in the Morning.
“Intelligence activities” is a loosely defined term to describe any kind of information collection and analysis that the government could use to take action.
The revised language preserves protections based on sex, religion, nationality, and other factors. Even when policies are in place to ban profiling, it often does not stop the practice.
However, there are steps everyone can take to combat mass surveillance. “If you can violate one community’s rights, there’s no limit to what the government might justify.”
Historical Parallels and Political Context
The policy shift occurs alongside other anti-LGBTQ+ measures, including bans on transgender military service and gender-affirming care for minors.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, appointed by Trump in November 2024, has a history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, including signing bills barring transgender athletes from school sports and revoking state contracts with transgender advocacy groups.
Advocacy groups draw parallels to the 1950s “Lavender Scare,” when thousands of LGBTQ+ federal employees were purged over unfounded security concerns.
“If you’re able to violate the civil rights and liberties of one community or one individual, then there's no limit to it.”
In 2023, POGO senior investigator René Kladzyk released an extensive report on the ways LGBTQ people are uniquely vulnerable to surveillance. It also has specialized toolkits for LGBTQ youth, journalists, and protesters.
DHS Scraps Ban on Surveillance Based on Sexual Orientation (1)
A Department of Homeland Security unit eliminated policies prohibiting personnel from conducting intelligence activities based solely on a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
The Office of Intelligence and Analysis posted an updated policy manual late last week that removes references to those characteristics in sections that set guardrails on gathering intelligence.
The revisions follow President Donald Trump’s Jan.
20 directive to scrap policies and protections focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion across federal agencies.