United States of America: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance activities; harassment of political activists, particularly communists
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | USA32026.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, United States of America: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance activities; harassment of political activists, particularly communists, 1 July 1999, USA32026.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aafe43.html [accessed 23 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No reports of FBI harassment of communists between 1998 and June 1999 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. For information on the organizing, and other, activities of the Communist Party USA please consult USA32020 of 14 June 1999. For information on the lack of information on FBI surveillance activities please consult USA32184.E of 6 July 1999.
In regard to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) surveillance activities, its Website states:
The FBI had traditionally used its own criteria for intelligence collection, based on executive orders and blanket authority granted by attorney generals. After congressional hearings, Attorney General Edward Levi established finely detailed guidelines for the first time. The guidelines for FBI foreign counterintelligence investigations went into effect on March 10, 1976, and for domestic security investigations on April 5, 1976. (The latter were superseded March 21, 1983.) (n.d.a).
For further information on these guidelines please see the attached document from the Office of the Attorney General, dated 7 March 1983, entitled "The Attorney General's Guidelines on General Crimes, Racketeering Enterprise and Domestic Security/Terrorism Investigations." On 26 April 1995 the Center for National Security Studies (CNSS), a non-governmental advocacy and research organization (details below 10 Dec. 1997), stated that the FBI was still operating under the 1983 guidelines. The Director of the CNSS stated during a 20 July 1999 telephone interview that these guidelines still govern the FBI although there have been "minor" changes. Please refer to the attached document from the CNSS for a comment on the "FBI's Domestic Counterrorism Program" (26 Apr. 1995).
The Director of the CNSS stated that the Smith guidelines state that the FBI cannot open an investigation based solely on a person's, or organization's, political beliefs. However, she said the CNSS believes the FBI does in fact do this and that there is a need for an explicit legal prohibition against the FBI doing this, since there is "a lot of evidence" that the FBI interprets the guidelines loosely. She also said that in the opinion of the CNSS "the FBI will always deny this."
However, in an another undated FBI document pertaining to guidelines for the FBI's monitoring of groups, the organization's Website also states that the FBI "investigates domestic hate groups within guidelines established by the Attorney General. Investigations are conducted only when three elements exist: a threat or advocacy of force; apparent ability to carry out the proclaimed act; and the potential violation of a federal law" (n.d.b). Furthermore, in regard to the "monitoring" of "potential terrorist groups" the FBI is bound by guidelines from the Attorney General "which establish a consistent policy on when an investigation can be initiated. Through these guidelines, the FBI obtains authorization to collect information. The facts are analyzed, then used to prevent terrorist activity and, whenever possible, to aid in the arrest and prosecution of persons or groups who have violated the law" (ibid.).
Nevertheless, following Congressional approval in 1996 of anti-terrorism legislation, the CNSS described the new law as "a major setback for civil liberties" and that its effects include "open[ing] the door once again to politically focused investigations...by repealing the Edwards amendment, a provision enacted less than two years ago, which barred the FBI, when investigating the crime of material support for terrorism, from opening investigations based solely on activities protected under the First Amendment" (20 June 1996).
Information on specific FBI surveillance activities is scarce. The Sunday Telegram of Worcester, Massachusetts recounted on 1 March 1998the arrest and detention by the FBI of an alleged terrorist suspect. According to the suspect's lawyer the African student in Cambridge, Massachusetts was awakened early in the morning by five men who "without a search warrant, pushed him aside, searched his apartment, handcuffed him and took him to the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston." The five men were allegedly from the FBI and the INS. His lawyer claimed that "the FBI suspected the young man of being affiliated with a terrorist group, but failed to prove its case." Nevertheless, he was detained for three and a half weeks and faced deportation "on the grounds that he illegally worked part time as a student." His lawyer attributed the incident to "recent changes to the country's immigration laws" which permit "increased surveillance on aliens and [are] being used as a tool to bring terror to the workplace" (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Center for National Security Studies, Washington. 22 June 1999. Telephone interview with the Director.
_____. 10 December 1997. "In More Detail..." A non-governmental advocacy and research organization, ... founded in 1974 to work for control of the FBI and CIA and to prevent violations of civil liberties in the United States. From 1978 to 1994, the Center was a joint project of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Fund for Peace and is now solely a project of the Fund for Peace. It is the leading expert on the legal and policy issues at the intersection of national security and civil liberties.
_____. 20 June 1996. "Terrorism Law Is Major Setback for Civil Liberties."
Sunday Telegram [Worcester MA]. 1 March 1998. Clive MacFarlane. "Coalition Hits 'Reign of Terror'; Forum Spotlights Immigration Laws." (NEXIS)
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). n.d. (a). "History of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
_____. n.d. (b). "Frequently Asked Questions About the FBI: FBI Investigative Responsibilities; Counterterrorism."
Attachments
Center for National Security Studies, Washington. 26 April 1995. "The FBI's Domestic Counterterrorism Program."
United States. Office of the Attorney General. 7 March 1983. "The Attorney General's Guidelines on General Crimes, Racketeering Enterprise and Domestic Security/Terrorism Investigations." Office of the Attorney General: Washington. pp. 1-19.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International. 1998. Amnesty International Report1998.
Resource Centre. United States country file. April 1997 - June 1999.
_____. United States: Amnesty International country file. March 1998 - June 1999.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD.
