A new social media directive issued by the Trump administration to its border force has alarmed experts, a new report revealed.
According to a Customs and Border Protection document obtained by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, Trump's CBP agents are using a program known as "masked engagement" to anonymously obtain information about social media users through fake identities. In some instances, the agents have been able to access friends' lists and other sensitive data about people on social media.
Rachel Levinson-Waldman, director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, described the new directive as "insidious," Klippenstein reported.
“CBP’s expansion into what they’re calling ‘masked engagement’ is cause for real concern," Levinson-Waldman told Klippenstein. “This new capability is being shoehorned in one step below undercover engagement (which already allows for a lot of overreach), it appears CBP believes that friending someone, following them, or joining a group is not as invasive as directly engaging or interacting with individuals.”
Trump's immigration forces have sought to collect records about immigrants, and even American citizens, since the administration's deportation operations began in early 2025. They have also sought, and in some cases secured, sensitive data about immigrants from Medicaid rolls and the IRS.