Following Major Revelations About CIA Surveillance of the Latino Civil Rights Movement, Reps. Castro and Gomez Lead 30+ Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members in Push for[...]

Following Major Revelations About CIA Surveillance of the Latino Civil Rights Movement, Reps. Castro and Gomez Lead 30+ Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members in Push for Transparency from FBI

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) led 32 of their fellow Congressional Hispanic Caucus members in a letter calling on President Biden to direct the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release long-buried files on the historical surveillance of the Latino civil rights movement.

Today's letter follows the recent release of 55 documents related to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) surveillance of the Latino community. The CIA documents were released in response to a previous request to the FBI and CIA from Castro and Gomez.

In today's letter, lawmakers wrote: "The Latino civil rights movement took place during a pivotal period in our nation's history, marked by the struggle for equality, justice, and recognition of the fundamental rights of all Americans. During this time, the FBI and CIA used their authority to inappropriately monitor, infiltrate, and disrupt the peaceful activities of American citizens. Much of this surveillance is a matter of public record through press reports and previous U.S. government disclosures, but our understanding is many documents from this period remain unreleased."

"The FBI has neither provided a timeline for the release of any documents nor committed to releasing anything new, instead directing Members of Congress to submit a Freedom of Information Act request. This is particularly concerning given the FBI's historic role in the surveillance of the civil rights movements, including the Latino civil rights movement. Given this lack of action on the part of the FBI, as members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and in light of the substantial historical significance and public interest in these materials, we request that you direct Director Wray and the FBI to immediately take actions to identify and release these historical records to provide transparency, as the CIA has done," lawmakers continued.

The full letter is available here. Signers include Senator Alex Padilla and Reps. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Greg Casar (TX-35), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Gil Cisneros (CA-31), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Pablo Hernández (PR-ATL), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Norma Torres (CA-35), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07).

Media reporting and public disclosures indicate that U.S. intelligence agencies conducted an extensive campaign of surveillance, infiltration, and disruption directed at the Latino civil rights movement, motivated in part by concerns about the growing political power of American Latinos. Notable targets of these activities include the labor leader Cesar Chavez and the moderate American G.I. Forum. In recent decades, U.S. intelligence agencies have declassified and released extensive archival materials related to government surveillance of various activist movements, but the historical record with regard to the Latino civil rights movement has remained incomplete.

In March 2024, Congressman Castro and Congressman Gomez formally requested the declassification and publication of FBI and CIA files related to the surveillance of the Latino civil rights movement. During a subsequent hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Congressman Castro secured a commitment from CIA Director William Burns to improve transparency and declassification efforts related to surveillance of the Latino community, but FBI Director Christopher Wray declined to make a similar commitment.

In December 2024, the CIA released 55 documents pertaining to surveillance of the Latino civil rights movement. The documents, which date from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, detail an extensive pattern of CIA surveillance and infiltration directed against students, labor organizers, Chicano civil rights leaders, and advocates for Puerto Rican independence. A working summary of these documents is available from Congressman Castro's office upon request.