Durbin Continues To Call For Reforms To FISA Section 702

Durbin Continues To Call For Reforms To FISA Section 702

Durbin pushes his bipartisan legislation with Sen. Lee, the SAFE Act, which would protect Americans from foreign threats and from warrantless government surveillance, as a path forward

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for serious reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 allows the government to collect the private communications of foreigners overseas without a warrant. The problem is that millions, and potentially billions, of innocent Americans' communications with friends, family members, or co-workers abroad are swept up in this collection. Once collected, the government can read Americans' private text messages and emails-and even listen to phone calls-without ever having to obtain a warrant from a judge.

Durbin and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) have proposed their bipartisan, compromise bill, the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act, as a path forward. Their legislation reflects a carefully crafted, pragmatic approach that protects national security by reauthorizing Section 702 and protects Americans' privacy and civil liberties by enacting meaningful safeguards against warrantless surveillance and government abuses. Durbin and Lee published a joint op-ed in the New York Times calling for passage of the SAFE Act.

"Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, is an important tool for gathering foreign intelligence and keeping America safe. But this authority of the government also serves as a back door for warrantless surveillance of Americans right here at home," Durbin said. "The Trump Administration, led by Stephen Miller, has asked Congress for a no-strings-attached extension of Section 702. There is a growing, bipartisan recognition of the need to reform this surveillance tool to protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties."

Durbin continued, "Once collected, the government can read Americans' private text messages and emails-and even listen to phone calls-without ever obtaining a warrant from a judge. To no one's surprise, without court approval for such searches, Administrations of both parties have abused Section 702 to spy on American families-including protesters, members of Congress, journalists, and even women on dating apps and rental tenants. We have every reason to believe that such abuses will continue-if not get worse-under the Trump Administration as it is using every tool at its disposal to target political enemies and undermine the basic underpinnings of our democracy."

Durbin then noted that during the first year of the second Trump Administration, abuses of Section 702 have continued. Last year, the Trump Administration conducted more than 23,000 warrantless searches of Americans' private phone calls, texts, and emails. And under Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel's leadership, there has been an increase in "sensitive queries" conducted by the FBI. These are searches of Section 702 data that target religious leaders, politicians, political candidates, or journalists. In 2025, the FBI conducted over three times as many sensitive queries as in 2024.

"We don't know who the FBI has targeted using these sensitive queries. But we know under Kash Patel's leadership, the FBI has been all too willing to target political enemies to appease President Trump," Durbin said. "The Trump Administration also refuses to release the latest FISA Court ruling on Section 702, which found 'deficiencies' with how the Administration is conducting searches on Americans. Rather than telling the American people what those deficiencies in the program are, the Trump Administration is appealing the Court's ruling. The American people deserve to see this opinion before their House members and Senate members vote on reauthorizing Section 702."

Durbin then outlined how his legislation with Lee, the SAFE Act, would reauthorize Section 702 for three years while including critical reforms to protect Americans' constitutional rights.

"Our bill would require the government to obtain a judicial warrant before accessing American citizens' texts, emails, or phone calls that the government has collected using Section 702. This would ensure independent, nonpartisan oversight of the government's use of this surveillance approach and stop this never-ending cycle of misuse under 702," Durbin said. "The SAFE Act would also put an end to the government's practice of buying our personal data from third-party data brokers without a warrant. The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly used this loophole to track protestors in real-time, under the pretext that they are 'domestic terrorists.' … The Senate could take up the SAFE Act and vote on it this week and I hope we do. I believe there is broad bipartisan support for this bipartisan measure by Senator Lee and myself."

Finally, Durbin highlighted how Congress should also address the ill-advised expansion of Section 702 that allows its use for surveillance of non-citizens traveling to the United States.

"This provision may be the reason Stephen Miller is the White House's leading advocate for reauthorizing Section 702," Durbin said. "He reportedly views [Section] 702 as quote 'critical to a variety of homeland security missions,' … in the United States, even though this section is expressly focused on foreign intelligence abroad. If a reauthorization bill reaches the floor of the Senate, I will pursue an amendment to limit the government's ability to use Section 702 for President Trump's mass deportation campaign."

Durbin concluded, "Some may argue that there's not enough time to enact reforms before Section 702 expires. False. [Section] 702 surveillance operates under year-long certifications approved by the FISA Court. Even if Section 702 were to expire this week, the law makes it clear that surveillance may continue until March of next year. There is no emergency excusing Congress from getting this right. This affects the privacy potentially of every American family. I will vote against any long-term extension of Section 702 that gives this administration, or any administration, unfettered access to Americans' communications without a warrant. I urge my colleagues to do the same."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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