Lawsuits challenge federal surveillance and intimidation of ICE observers
Rule ChangesCommon Cause joins ACLU and Protect Democracy in accusing DHS, DOJ, and FBI of punishing people who record immigration enforcement
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Overview
Updated YesterdaySeven Common Cause members say federal officers photographed them, followed them, pepper-sprayed them, or showed up at their homes because they watched immigration enforcement operations. The watchdog nonprofit filed a 94-page complaint Thursday in Washington, D.C., against the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and related agencies, arguing those encounters violated First Amendment and privacy rights.
The suit is the broadest of several pending challenges. It asks a federal judge to bar the agencies nationwide from intimidating or retaliating against observers, and to expunge records already collected on them. It is the first to consolidate incidents across multiple states and to seek national relief.
Why it matters
A ruling for the plaintiffs could bar federal agencies nationwide from surveilling or retaliating against anyone who films immigration enforcement.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
Nonprofit focused on government accountability and citizen participation.
Parent agency of ICE and CBP, both named in the lawsuits.
Issued memo operationalizing NSPM-7, linking observer activity to domestic terrorism.
Accused of participating in surveillance and intimidation of observers.
Filed the separate Memphis Safe Task Force lawsuit on Demster's behalf.
Timeline
January 2025 September 2026
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Hearing scheduled on Memphis observer preliminary injunction
Upcoming LegalFederal court hears arguments on whether to block the Memphis Safe Task Force from retaliating against observers.
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Common Cause files sweeping observer intimidation lawsuit
Latest Legal94-page complaint filed in Washington, D.C., against DHS, DOJ, FBI. Seeks nationwide injunction barring retaliation against observers.
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Agents make second visit to Demster's home
SurveillanceSecond visit in four days, documented in ACLU court filing.
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Task force agents visit Demster's home
SurveillanceAgents go to Demster's residence and take photos or video of him.
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Memphis task force arrests observer Hunter Demster
LegalAgents arrest Demster while he records them, citing Tennessee's Halo Law. ACLU says agents created a 'moving wall' to trigger it.
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Observer's Global Entry revoked after ICE stop
RetaliationCustoms and Border Protection revokes Khalili's Global Entry one day after ICE officers photographed him. Later reinstated.
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Protect Democracy files observer intimidation lawsuit
LegalNonprofit alleges federal agents unconstitutionally retaliate against observers using facial recognition and license plate readers.
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Minnesota investigation leads to charges against 15 activists
LegalFederal charges for conspiracy to impede ICE, based on NSPM-7. Exact date not confirmed.
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DOJ issues memo operationalizing NSPM-7
PolicyMemo extends NSPM-7 framework to investigations of activists. Exact date not confirmed.
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NSPM-7 links observership to domestic terrorism
PolicyNational Security Presidential Memorandum 7 ties impeding immigration enforcement to domestic terrorism. Exact date not confirmed in sources.
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Second Trump administration begins
PoliticalNew administration begins issuing national security directives, including NSPM-7.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
COINTELPRO (1956–1971)
The FBI ran a covert program of surveillance, infiltration, and harassment targeting civil rights, anti-war, and other political groups it deemed subversive. Agents labeled legitimate activists as threats and used informants, wiretaps, and smear campaigns against them.
The 1975 Church Committee hearings exposed the program and forced the FBI to adopt domestic security guidelines limiting surveillance of political activity.
The program became the defining example of federal surveillance of lawful political activity, shaping decades of First Amendment jurisprudence.
The Common Cause suit makes a similar argument: that the federal government has labeled lawful observers as 'domestic terrorists' and used surveillance tools to punish them for exercising protected speech.
Church Committee (1975)
The Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations, chaired by Senator Frank Church, investigated abuses by the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence agencies. It documented warrantless surveillance of American citizens, including civil rights leaders and journalists.
The committee's findings led to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and lasting restrictions on domestic intelligence gathering.
It established the principle that presidential directives cannot authorize surveillance of American citizens without statutory and judicial oversight.
The plaintiffs argue that NSPM-7 and the DOJ memo are being used to authorize exactly the kind of domestic surveillance the Church Committee found unconstitutional — and that the repeal of guardrails on facial recognition and plate readers made it easier.
Glik v. Cunniffe (2011)
The First Circuit Court of Appeals held that a citizen has a First Amendment right to record police officers performing their duties in public. Simon Glik was arrested for filming an arrest on Boston Common; the court ruled the arrest was unconstitutional.
Glik's charges were dropped and the city settled. The ruling became a widely cited precedent for recording police activity.
The decision cemented the right to record public officials, framing it as a core First Amendment activity.
The observers in the current lawsuits are exercising the exact right Glik established. The federal arguments that their recording constitutes obstruction or terrorism directly challenge that precedent.
