DHS Defends ICE Warning Visits To Critics In First Amendment Lawsuit
The Department of Justice filed a brief in federal court earlier in August defending Homeland Security and ICE investigators' practice of making in-person warning visits to critics and asking a judge to dismiss a First Amendment lawsuit.[1]
DOJ lawyers told the court that face-to-face investigatory visits that include legal warnings are a critical, lawful tool and do not violate the First Amendment.[1] The brief targets a suit by David Streever, who says the visit to his Rochester home chilled his speech after a January email to then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons.[1]
On June 23, two ICE special agents visited Streever's Rochester home about the January email and left a written notice saying he "may be in violation of federal law" and listing federal threat statutes.[1] The notice warned it would be considered if he continued similar conduct, and DOJ says the probe was formally closed at the end of June.[1] The department's filing does not contend the January email itself amounted to a prosecutable violent threat.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On June 23, 2026, two ICE special agents visited David Streever’s Rochester, N.Y., home about a harsh January email he sent to then‑acting ICE director Todd Lyons
- Agents left a written notice stating Streever “may be in violation of federal law,” listing federal threat statutes and warning that the notice would be considered if he “continue[d]” similar conduct
- In a brief filed earlier in August 2026, DOJ lawyers ask a federal judge to dismiss Streever’s First Amendment suit and argue that in‑person investigatory visits with legal warnings are a critical, lawful tool that do not violate the First Amendment
- The same filing says the investigation of Streever was formally closed at the end of June 2026 and does not contend his email was itself a prosecutable violent threat
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