Law enforcement to get access to spy satellite photos

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has approved a plan to expand domestic access to some of the most powerful tools of 21st century spycraft, giving law enforcement officials and others the ability to view data obtained from satellite and aircraft sensors that can see through cloud cover and even penetrate buildings and underground bunkers.

A program approved by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security will allow broader domestic use of secret overhead imagery beginning as early as this fall, with the expectation that state and local law enforcement officials will eventually be able to tap into technology once largely restricted to foreign surveillance.

Administration officials say the program will give domestic security and emergency preparedness agencies new capabilities in dealing with a range of threats, including illegal immigration, terrorism, hurricanes and forest fires.

But the program, first described Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, quickly provoked civil liberties advocates, who said the government was crossing a well-established line separating use of military assets and domestic law enforcement.

Although the federal government has long permitted the use of spy-satellite imagery for certain scientific functions -- such as creating topographic maps or monitoring volcanic activity -- the administration’s decision would provide domestic authorities with unprecedented access to high-resolution, real-time satellite photos.

They could also have access to much more.

A statement issued Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security said that officials envision “more robust access” not only to imagery but also to “the collection, analysis and production skills and capabilities of the intelligence community.”

“These systems are already used to help us respond to crises,” Charles Allen, the chief intelligence officer for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a telephone interview.

“We anticipate that we can also use it to protect Americans by preventing the entry of dangerous people and goods into the country, and by helping us examine critical infrastructure for vulnerabilities.”

Oversight of the department’s use of the overhead imagery would come from officials in the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and would consist of reviews by agency inspectors general, lawyers and privacy officers. “We can give total assurance” that Americans’ civil liberties will be protected, Allen said. “Americans shouldn’t have any concerns about it.”