ACLU-PA sues ICE to get information on subpoenas to ‘unmask' online critics

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) filed a federal complaint to get more information about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of administrative subpoenas.

The complaint, filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on April 18, came after the ACLU said it had requested records to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about the use of administrative subpoenas, but the agency did not respond nor confirm the receipt of their request.

ACLU said it is requesting the information because two of its clients “became the target of DHS subpoenas” that sought their personal information.

“Our clients were doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights to criticize the government and, as a result, became the target of DHS subpoenas,” said Stephen Loney, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Fortunately, when we fight back, we win on this issue. Every time we’ve filed motions to stop these subpoenas, DHS and ICE have cut and run.”

The ACLU-PA said in one case, an Instagram user was posting information about ICE activity in Montgomery County and received a notice of the DHS subpoena from Meta.

In a separate incident, a Montgomery County resident sent a concerned email to a government officials and, shortly after, he was notified by Google that his personal information had been subpoenaed. The ACLU said a few weeks later, federal agents knocked on this resident’s door.

According to ACLU, both cases were challenged in court, and DHS rescinded the subpoenas after that.

Now, the organization said it wants the records of these subpoenas from 2024 to present to hold ICE accountable for its “unlawful use of unmasking subpoenas.”

“Beyond holding ICE to its obligations under FOIA, we have brought this lawsuit to hold ICE to account for its unlawful use of unmasking subpoenas intended to chill the First Amendment rights of people who disagree with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities,” said Ari Shapell, staff attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Our goal with this lawsuit is to share the records we receive with the public, other advocates and academics studying ICE’s overreach to hold the agency accountable.”

Learn more about the lawsuit here.