A new federal lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the FBI and other federal agencies of violating the First Amendment and privacy rights of people who observe immigration enforcement activities. The case is brought by Minneapolis resident Michael Khalili and the nonprofit Common Cause, and represents one of the most comprehensive legal challenges to date, drawing on incidents from multiple states and seeking national relief.
Khalili, a Twin Cities resident, spent months documenting federal immigration officer activities following what he describes as an unprecedented surge of operations in his area. He stated that he conducts these observations while following the law and exercising constitutional rights. However, Khalili reported experiencing repeated confrontations with federal officers, having his photograph taken, and facing other pressures. He said his Global Entry status was revoked in March following one such encounter, though it was later reinstated after media inquiry. In May, he reported that a state trooper threatened him with harassment charges for following immigration enforcement vehicles. After 15 Minnesota activists were criminally indicted in June, Khalili said he identified a case involving similar activities on the same day he had been warned about potential charges. These circumstances led his family to express safety concerns, and he subsequently ceased his observation activities.
The lawsuit, brought by lawyers including those from the Campaign Legal Center, includes detailed accounts from Common Cause members in Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey who described being photographed, followed, reported to police, pepper-sprayed or threatened with home visits by federal officers. One instance alleged in the suit involved ICE officers reportedly directing local police to ban an observer from a public parking lot and informing the individual that they had used facial recognition technology to identify them. The complaint extends to additional states including Illinois, Maine and Tennessee.
The lawsuit cites multiple Trump administration directives, including National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, which the suit argues links impeding immigration enforcement to domestic terrorism concerns. Campaign Legal Center representatives characterized the incidents as reflecting a coordinated policy rather than isolated incidents. Additionally, the suit alleges that the Trump administration repealed certain safeguards regarding facial recognition and license plate reader use against observers, and notes that DHS dismantled its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. DHS and DOJ did not provide immediate responses to the allegations, and the FBI declined to comment.
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