Lawmakers and Civil Liberties Advocates Sound the Alarm
In June 2025, a coalition led by Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.) sent a formal letter to Acting Postmaster General Doug Tulino and Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale demanding detailed information about the extent of the Inspection Service’s involvement with DHS and immigration operations. The lawmakers warned that such cooperation could amount to an improper use of USPS infrastructure and sensitive personal data for immigration enforcement unrelated to the agency’s mission.
“We are deeply concerned that the partnership between USPIS and DHS is not only an improper use of USPIS personnel, but will also significantly detract from USPIS’s critical mission of addressing mail theft, fraud, and threats to postal workers,” the lawmakers wrote, emphasizing that the Postal Service’s data systems contain highly personal information about Americans.
Earlier in the spring, 43 House members led by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) condemned what they described as the diversion of USPIS resources to facilitate aggressive deportation operations. In a press release, the members highlighted that postal inspectors’ primary responsibilities include combating mail fraud, assault on postal workers, and illegal use of the postal system — not serving as a surveillance arm of immigration enforcement.
