BREAKING: CAIR-MN, CAIR LDF File Federal Lawsuit Against DHS, ICE, for Illegal Targeting and Search of Twin Cities Organizer Advocating for ICE Divestment
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, along with the CAIR Legal Defense Fund (CAIR LDF), today announced the filing of a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Twin Cities labor organizer and ICE divestment advocate Janette Zahia Corcelius.
The lawsuit alleges that border agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated the First and Fourth Amendments when they unlawfully seized Corcelius’ property and searched her cell phone at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on April 30, 2026. Agents had no lawful basis for their actions—they were targeting Corcelius for her speech.
“Across the country, we are seeing the Trump administration warp the federal government to attack its political opponents and undermine our constitutional rights,” said CAIR LDF attorney John Fossum. “Janette is taking this battle to court because we know that every one of these unlawful actions, every encounter and overreach, must be confronted and rejected.”
“American Muslims are being targeted for the healthy criticism of their government—the most democratic action a citizen can take,” said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Alec Shaw. “We stand with Minnesotans and we stand with Ms. Corcelius today.”
READ: Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
BACKGROUND:
After the killings of two U.S. citizens and the inhumane kidnapping and mass deportation of countless Minneapolis residents, the Minneapolis City Council passed a veto-proof resolution calling for European financial institutions to “divest from all major DHS and ICE contractors, including Palantir, Geo Group, CoreCivic, and CACI International.” The City Council’s resolution joined several others, including resolutions from local Minnesota unions, the Twin Cities chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (“DSA”), the Indigenous Protector Movement, and the Many Shields Society.
Weeks later, in April 2026, Twin Cities resident and Muslim and Arab American labor organizer Janette Zahia Corcelius traveled abroad to Europe, where she boosted the Minneapolis divestment resolutions and campaigned for European institutions to divest from DHS and ICE. She traveled to several countries and collected political literature along the way.
When Corcelius re-entered the United States at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on April 30, federal customs agents stopped her. Customs agents searched her luggage twice and seized her cell phone. They seized all of the political literature in her possession, after spending several minutes pouring over every page and pamphlet. The agents offered no explanation for the seizures and no timeline for the return of her property. Corcelius now has reason to believe that customs agents conducted an advanced search of her cell phone.
The evidence indicates that Corcelius’ experience was not “random.” She was targeted by her government for lawful advocating for divestment, and for the viewpoints on display in the political literature she had in her possession. She is suing Secretary Mullin and DHS officials for violating her First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights.
READ: CAIR Demands DHS Return the Property of ICE Divestment Advocate
ZOOMING OUT: Weaponization of the “National Security” Apparatus
For years, CAIR attorneys have represented Muslim Americans and many others who have been targeted for invasive searches, interrogations, detentions, delays, and other indignities at U.S. airports and ports of entry. But Corcelius’ case represents a new and disturbing chapter in the weaponization of the federal government under the pretext of “national security.” Starting in September 2025, the White House issued several executive orders and directives that exploit the federal government’s national security infrastructure to go after President Trump’s new worst enemy—regular Americans of all backgrounds who oppose fascism.
The most sweeping of these directives is National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (or “NSPM-7”). NSPM-7 directs federal law enforcement, including border security agents, to treat anyone who expresses “opposition to fascism” as a possible terrorist. According to the Trump Administration, an “anti-fascist” may be someone who says something “anti-American” or “anti-Christianity.” Americans with views the Trump Administration considers “extreme” on migration, race, and gender are suspected terrorists, as is anyone who disagrees with the government on “family, religion, and morality.” The categories are intentionally vague. Any American is a possible target.
READ: Brennan Center: Trump’s Orders Targeting Anti-Fascism Aim to Criminalize OppositionEven when broadly targeting its critics, the Trump Administration singles out the Muslim community. In the United States Counterterrorism Strategy 2026, issued by the White House this month and authored by notorious Islamophobe Sebastian Gorka, the Trump Administration makes the bizarre proclamation that a “Red-Green” alliance between “the far-left and Islamists” has emerged as a new threat to the nation. This rhetoric is slanderous—it also reveals how the Trump Administration’s targeting of political opponents neatly fits into a national security dragnet that violates the rights of everyday Americans, including Janette Zahia Corcelius.
DHS claims the authority to search the electronic devices of American citizens on a claim that agents claim to have a “national security concern.” But federal courts have repeatedly found these seizures are unconstitutional. Government agents should be able to explain real and immediate suspicion of a border-related crime. Because the customs agents have no reasonably basis to suspect Corcelius of any crime, and never even tried to explain why they were stopping and searching her, the search violated Corcelius’ Fourth Amendment rights.
The seizure of her political literature also suggests that DHS irrationally decided Corcelius was “suspicious,” or even a threat to national security, because of her advocacy for divestment and the political literature in her possession. The Trump Administration’s new national security initiative, most notably NSPM-7, has empowered customs agents to draw those conclusions and retaliate against individuals who dare to disagree with the government. Corcelius was exercising her free speech rights to call for divestment from DHS and ICE when she was detained, and her property was seized, by the same government agency she was criticizing. According, DHS violated her First Amendment rights by weaponizing the customs checkpoint process to punish her for speaking out.
READ: Understanding and Protecting Your Travel & Free Speech Rights, March 2025
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
MEDIA CONTACTS: Suleiman Adan, Deputy Executive Director, CAIR-MN, sadan@cair.com, 612-408-7183; Alec Shaw, Civil Rights Director, CAIR-MN, ashaw@cair.com, 612-206-3360; Gadeir Abbas, Senior Litigation Attorney, CAIR LDF, gabbas@cair.com, 720-251-0425; John M. Fossum, Staff Attorney, CAIR LDF, jfossum@cair.com, 202-850-9301; Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR National Deputy Director, e-Mitchell@cair.com, 404-285-9530; Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR National Communications Director, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; Ismail Allison, CAIR National Communications Manager, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
