Jordan urges warrants to search Americans' data and protect constitutional liberties as GOP fights over FISA

EXCLUSIVE: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan wants the intelligence community to obtain a warrant before it searches Americans’ data through the government surveillance tool known as Section 702 of FISA, telling Fox News Digital that unless there is an "emergency," it is critical to protect Americans’ constitutional liberties.

The House of Representatives this week is considering renewal of FISA’s controversial Section 702. Some lawmakers – both Republicans and Democrats – have said it is used as a tool of privacy infringement. Others say the tool is critical to preventing terror attacks.

HOUSE SINKS JOHNSON-BACKED FISA RENEWAL AFTER TRUMP PUSH

Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the government to conduct targeted surveillance of non-U.S. persons located abroad to acquire foreign intelligence information. When U.S. citizens are flagged as part of these investigations, the FBI takes over the process of querying them for possible security reasons.

"The warrant requirement is necessary," Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Jordan said that when the intelligence community, like the FBI, collects "this giant haystack of information," Americans’ data often gets swept up in the mix.

"When trying to collect on foreigners, we should do that – they don’t have any constitutional liberties," Jordan said. "But when you do that, you inevitably catch up a bunch of Americans in this database."

FBI IMPROPERLY USED WARRANTLESS SEARCH POWERS MORE THAN 278,000 TIMES IN 2021, FISA COURT FILING REVEALS

"So, all we’re saying, is if you are going to search this database for Americans’ name, phone number or email address… you’ve gotta get a warrant," Jordan told Fox News Digital. "It is a