The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to observe and take photos and videos of law enforcement officers — including federal agents involved in immigration enforcement — performing their official duties in public. Yet leadership at the highest levels of the federal government have authorized a policy of intimidation and retaliation against constitutional observers for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Back to topIn cities across the country, Americans have organized networks of constitutional observers to exercise their First Amendment rights and hold federal agents accountable as those agents carry out an aggressive and brutal deportation campaign.
In response, multiple federal agencies involved in the Trump administration, including Immigration and...
In cities across the country, Americans have organized networks of constitutional observers to exercise their First Amendment rights and hold federal agents accountable as those agents carry out an aggressive and brutal deportation campaign.
These constitutional observers take special care to work safely within the bounds of the law and share what they have witnessed to create the public record necessary to hold federal officials accountable for their actions.
In response, leadership of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Border Control (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and unidentified federal agencies have authorized a policy of intimidation and retaliation. Federal agents have threatened use of force and arrest, collected and used observers’ personal information to intimidate them, used excessive force, pursued criminal charges, and subjected observers to administrative penalties.
The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to observe law enforcement officers performing their duties in public. That includes federal agents involved in immigration enforcement. When the federal government tries to dissuade individuals who are lawfully observing federal immigration agents, it sets a dangerous precedent.
On September 10, 2026, Campaign Legal Center filed a lawsuit to stop this unlawful intimidation and retaliation on behalf of Common Cause, a nonpartisan nonprofit grassroots membership organization dedicated to holding government accountable, and Michael Khalili, a constitutional observer.
