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.
In response, multiple federal agencies involved in the Trump administration, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have abused their power by intimidating and retaliating against Americans who lawfully observe federal agents conducting their official duties in public in violation of the First Amendment.
Michael Khalili is one of many constitutional observers who has experienced this retaliation. After Mr. Khalili observed and documented the actions of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, they photographed his face and license plate on multiple occasions. Mr. Khalili then had his Global Entry status revoked. State law enforcement also threatened him with arrest if he continued observing federal immigration agents.
Campaign Legal Center filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Michael Khalili and nonprofit organization Common Cause challenging the First Amendment violations of several federal agencies and their leaders including: 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) and unidentified federal agencies.
The lawsuit alleges that — pursuant to directives from senior agency officials — federal agencies are engaged in a nationwide policy of violating the First Amendment by targeting individuals who lawfully observe, photograph and record federal immigration agents performing their official duties in public.
If this abuse of power continues unchecked, the administration’s retaliatory policy and practices will create a chilling effect that discourages Americans from exercising their constitutional rights.
What are constitutional observers and how are they being retaliated against?
Constitutional observers are community members who carefully work within the bounds of the law to monitor and document law enforcement activity in public spaces. This practice of legal observation of law enforcement has a decades-long history in America, going back to the 1960s.
As federal immigration enforcement operations have spread around the country since 2025, constitutional observers have organized networks to track, record and report on the actions of federal agents in their communities.
The First Amendment protects the right to gather information about government activity and to photograph and record law enforcement officers performing their duties in public. Courts across the country have recognized that public observation of law enforcement is a core constitutional right. It also acts as an essential safeguard against government abuse.
Currently, multiple federal agencies and their leaders are violating Americans’ First Amendment rights by establishing and implementing a policy and practice of retaliating against constitutional observers. This has looked like but is not limited to:
- Threatening use of force or arrest;
- Taking photos and videos of observers’ faces, identification, and license plates to identify observers and using that information to calling observers by name or drive to observers’ homes;
- Using excessive force to stop legal observation;
- Arresting and charging observers with crimes; and
- Imposing civil penalties, including the revocation of travel benefits like Global Entry.
Why does this case matter?
Federal law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, must operate within the bounds of the Constitution and respect Americans’ First Amendment rights.
In addition to violating the First Amendment, the federal government has also defied the Privacy Act by not going through the legal procedures required to collect information on the constitutional observers.
When people are afraid to document or report federal agents’ immigration enforcement activities because they are intimidated and fear retaliation, transparency suffers and it becomes more difficult to hold the government accountable.
Through this lawsuit, Campaign Legal Center seeks to protect the constitutional rights of Americans who engage in lawful observation of federal immigration enforcement activities and to ensure that federal agencies cannot retaliate against them for doing so. Courts must ensure that federal agencies respect federal law and the Constitution and that Americans remain free to exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of intimidation or punishment.
The rule of law is only meaningful when it applies equally to everyone, including those who wield power in our government. By challenging these practices in court, Campaign Legal Center is working to ensure that Americans can exercise their constitutional right to dissent freely without fear of retaliation. Join us in that effort.
