Common Cause Sues DHS Over a Nationwide Campaign to Intimidate ICE Observers

Common Cause and Minneapolis observer Michael Khalili filed a 94-page federal lawsuit on September 10, 2026, accusing DHS, the Justice Department, the FBI and other agencies of a coordinated campaign to intimidate people who film or monitor ICE operations. The suit, litigated by the Campaign Legal Center, cites incidents in six states, including officers photographing and following observers, revoking Global Entry status, and one Maryland case in which officers said they had identified an observer through facial recognition.

The complaint argues the incidents reflect a top-down policy, pointing to National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 and a Justice Department memo linking impeding immigration enforcement to domestic terrorism, plus DHS's dismantling of its civil-rights-and-civil-liberties office. It seeks a nationwide order barring retaliation against observers, testing how far the government can police citizens who watch federal agents.

DHS said ICE "respects the First Amendment rights" of observers but will act if they interfere with operations; the Justice Department and FBI did not comment. The case is pending in federal court in Washington, D.C.