A national free speech group is suing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over a “database” that agents touted to two Mainers in a viral video during a surge in operations in the state in January.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national nonprofit, claims the federal agencies have failed to respond a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the alleged database.
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, the organization cites multiple instances in which a database of people who oppose ICE was referenced.
That includes one of the two encounters of ICE agents filming Maine observers in January that led to Elinor Hilton and Colleen Fagan to file a federal suit accusing agents of violating their First Amendment rights.
The women were among many who watched and documented ICE agents’ activities during the agency’s surge in operations in Maine in late January.
The nonprofit’s suit cites the viral video of an agent telling Fagan that they have “a nice little database and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”
It also references comments made by Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” on FOX News in January. Homan said that they were “going to create a database” of people “arrested for interference, impeding and assault,” the lawsuit states.
It also cites news reports of ICE agents using facial recognition software and a memo instructing agents to gather information on protesters.
“Americans deserve to know more about this database, starting with whether it exists,” Jacob Gaba, the organization’s attorney, said in a news release. “The First Amendment prohibits the government from retaliating against peaceful protesters, including by putting their names and faces in a shadowy database.”