Lawsuit: DHS Illegally Tracking, Intimidating Observers

The Department of Homeland Security is being accused in a federal class action lawsuit of unconstitutionally retaliating against people who are observing and recording federal immigration enforcement operations by gathering their personal information and labeling them domestic terrorists.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Maine on behalf of two Portland residents — Elinor Hilton and Colleen Fagan — against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection and their agencies.

The lawsuit details multiple incidents in which the plaintiffs alleged federal immigration officers scanned observers' faces and license plates and threatened to appear at their homes and place them on a domestic terrorist database.

The lawsuit seeks to block DHS from collecting and keeping personal information on people who observe or record immigration enforcement in public.

It also asks a judge to order the government to delete any records that might have been created.

ICE on Jan. 20 launched Operation Catch of the Day across Maine.

ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said that approximately 1,400 illegal aliens were being targeted in the state.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, wrote Jan. 29 on X that Noem told her ICE ended its enhanced operations in Maine.

According to the complaint, Fagan was recording a Jan. 23 arrest in South Portland when two masked agents approached her.

One agent appeared to film her face, while another photographed her license plate.

When Fagan asked why they were taking her information, an agent responded: "Cause we have a nice little database, and now you're considered a domestic terrorist, so have fun with that."

In a separate incident on Jan. 21 outside a Home Depot in South Portland, Hilton said agents repeatedly filmed her at close range as she recorded an arrest from a distance.

One agent allegedly warned her: "If you keep coming to things like this, you are going to be on a domestic terrorist watchlist.

"Then we're going to come to your house later tonight," the agent continued.

Hilton said she left her home that night out of fear agents would follow through on the threat.

Both women claimed they were standing in public areas and did not interfere with arrests.

The lawsuit, filed by the nonprofit Protect Democracy and two law firms, references DHS' use of facial recognition tools, including a mobile app known as Mobile Fortify, which allows officers to take a photo and compare it against government databases containing millions of images.

According to the lawsuit, photos taken with the app are retained in DHS systems for up to 15 years.

Newsmax reached out to DHS for comment.

A DHS spokesperson told NBC News earlier this month that Mobile Fortify allows officers to "quickly identify persons of interest," adding that "claims it violates the Fourth Amendment or compromises privacy are false."

"Mobile Fortify has not been blocked, restricted, or curtailed by the courts or by legal guidance," the spokesperson said.

"It is lawfully used nationwide in accordance with all applicable legal authorities," they added.

Late last month, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin denied the agency was compiling a database of "domestic terrorists" after Fagan's video was leaked.

"There is NO database of 'domestic terrorists' run by DHS," McLaughlin told CNN.

"We do of course monitor and investigate and refer all threats, assaults, and obstruction of our officers to the appropriate law enforcement.

"Obstructing and assaulting law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime," she continued.

At a congressional hearing earlier this month, Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., asked Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to respond to what the federal agent in Maine said about "a little database" in the video Fagan recorded.

"I can't speak for that individual, sir," Lyons said. "But I can assure you that there is no database that's tracking United States citizens."