ACLU of Pa. sues ICE over ‘unmasking’ subpoenas sent to Montgomery County residents

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seeking information about the federal agency’s use of administrative subpoenas to intimidate and “unmask” Montgomery County residents who criticize and monitor federal immigration enforcement activities.

The organization filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act in February, asking ICE to share relevant memos and records related to the “unmasking” subpoenas from 2024 to present. ICE didn’t respond to the request or confirm receipt, attorneys for the ACLU of Pennsylvania said.

In response, the organization filed a lawsuit April 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, asking for the court to order ICE to do a full and complete search of its records.

“We intend to use this lawsuit to gather necessary information to hold the government to account for using these unmasking subpoenas in a way that chills people’s First Amendment rights,” said Ari Shapell, staff attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “If we, once we get records that are responsive, we plan to share them with the public and with other advocates and academics who are studying ICE’s overreach.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DHS dropped both administrative subpoenas of Montgomery County residents after the ACLU of Pennsylvania challenged them in court last year.

One administrative subpoena sought the identity and personal data of the person who runs the Montco Community Watch Instagram and Facebook pages. The group monitors ICE activity throughout the county.

Steve Loney, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania.’s Philadelphia office, said the case showed that DHS is using administrative subpoenas, which are not signed by a judge, in a much broader context than before.

“The fact that somebody is receiving this email saying that your information is going to be shared with the government is a huge concern for people who are posting anonymously and doing things that the government disagrees with, but those things are completely legal,” he said. “Identifying what public officials are doing out in the public is something we all have the right to do, assembling online to post some commentary about your disagreement with how immigration enforcement is going or with any government activity, is a core First Amendment right that makes this country great.”

In another case, a Montgomery County man received notice from Google that DHS had issued an administrative subpoena seeking his personal information after he wrote an email to a government official expressing concerns about federal immigration enforcement operations. A federal agent also visited the person’s home and asked them questions about their political beliefs.

Shapell said the scope of the administrative subpoenas, which he said are filed by “relatively low-level officers” at ICE’s field offices and headquarters, could be much wider than reported.

“They only really come to light in the few instances in which someone takes them to court and seeks a motion to quash,” he said. “And so our concern is that there could be a huge number of these being used over the last few years at real harm to people’s First Amendment rights.”