Our Work

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has vastly expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence across the country, extending its reach to nearly every state and major city. In response, state and local governments are increasingly looking to location-specific protections, and to property law more broadly, to address the effects of this federal presence.

"Federal law makes it very difficult to file lawsuits against federal officers, but some states have adopted their own laws to give people a so-called cause of action to sue."

"A recently proposed California bill would create a new avenue for individuals seeking relief for constitutional rights violations by federal officials. The proposal – which cleared the state Senate in a 30-10 vote and is currently pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee – is part of a broader national trend, with similar legislation proposed in Illinois, New York and Connecticut."

"Over the course of months, from coast to coast, MS Now searched for answers and it became more clear that US Citizens don’t have much if any recourse when their rights are violated by Federal Agents. We followed LA native, Andrea Velez who is a US Citizen that was on her way to work last June when she was caught up in an ICE surge and detained for several days. Her charges were dropped but the experience has had lasting effects. We followed her to DC where she spoke alongside other US Citizens who have been in similar situations and hope to hold federal agents accountable. Legal experts we spoke to on this topic explain how the current administration has been a real stress test on these policies."

For decades, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) limited enforcement operations at so-called “sensitive locations” like courthouses, schools, or hospitals. But during both Trump Administrations, officials rescinded those guidelines. This report discusses states and localities’ ability to adopt their own state-law policies to protect “sensitive locations” from the disruption of warrantless immigration arrests.

"'It has arguably never been harder in American history than it is today, in 2026, to sue a federal official for money damages if they violate your constitutional rights,' Harrison Stark of University of Wisconsin Law School said."

"On Thursday, Minnesota state prosecutors announced a historic set of charges against a federal immigration agent. Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. has been charged with two felony counts of second-degree assault for pointing his gun at two Minnesota residents as they sat in their car back in February, right in the midst of the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she believes that this might be the first charge of its kind nationwide."

From Portland to Minneapolis, aggressive actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents against citizens and noncitizens alike have been well documented. Many of these encounters raise grave constitutional concerns. Yet it may surprise—and alarm—many to learn that there is often no viable path to sue federal officers if they violate your constitutional rights, even egregiously.

“A U.S. citizen and Army veteran who was detained by federal immigration authorities for three days last summer in Southern California filed a civil rights suit against the federal government on Wednesday."

Horizontal, interbranch competition is only one species of checks and balances. Especially in moments of politically consolidated federal power, the Constitution’s structure offers another, potentially more meaningful safeguard: the states.