RT
A group of First Amendment attorneys has filed suit against the federal government after a surge in electronic device data searches at US border crossings.
On Monday, the the Knight First Amendment Institute (KFAI) at Columbia University filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seeking “statistical, policy, and assessment records regarding the government’s searches” involving electronic devices.
In a press release, the group states that they filed a FOIA request on March 15. When the request was ignored, they filed suit in US District Court for the District of Columbia to access the information.
The KFAI filed the request after Cynthia McFadden, senior investigative and legal correspondent at NBC News, released findings of a dramatic increase in American citizens who had their electronic devices searched at border crossings.
