The Department of Homeland Security is using a rarely invoked summons power to pull records on journalists, non-profits, and labor unions.
According to a Guardian report, DHS has been issuing what's known as a 1509 summons - an administrative records demand typically reserved for narrow investigative purposes - to collect information tied to reporters, non-profit organizations, and unions. The mechanism lets the agency request records with less judicial oversight than a standard subpoena or warrant requires. The report links the practice to how DHS authority has been used under the Trump administration. Specifics on the number of summonses issued and exactly which outlets or groups were targeted remain limited in what's currently public.
Administrative summons powers exist on the premise that some investigations need speed more than judicial sign-off. Point that same tool at journalists and advocacy groups instead of, say, customs violations, and the efficiency argument starts to look like a workaround for scrutiny that would otherwise require a judge's approval.
Obscure legal authorities have a way of becoming very well-known the moment they get pointed at people who write about the government instead of people the government is investigating.