DHS Waited Until It Was Sued to Remind ICE Agents About the First Amendment

The Trump administration sent a First Amendment protection policy to ICE's Boston Field Office on March 10—hours before submitting it to federal court as evidence the agency prohibits agents from targeting legal observers—after ICE agents in Maine threatened to add women documenting immigration operations to a "domestic terrorist database." The 2019 memo had been archived on the DHS website before the lawsuit was filed; DHS unarchived it on March 13, a day after Mother Jones inquired about current First Amendment policy, raising questions about whether the policy was genuinely operational or created for litigation purposes. A viral video from January 23 shows ICE agent Colleen Fagan telling a legal observer she'd be added to the database simply for recording, generating over 7 million views and sparking concerns about government watchlists of critics. Plaintiffs' lawyers argue the email submission is "entirely self-serving and for purposes of this litigation alone," and there is no evidence the agents involved have faced discipline despite the incidents occurring over six weeks prior.