Minneapolis, Minnesota — Civil rights and immigration attorneys are raising legal concerns after federal immigration agents seized phones, identification and personal documents from individuals detained during recent enforcement operations in Minnesota.
The issue gained attention after Gust Johnson, a 76-year-old Marine Corps veteran, said agents confiscated his phone following his detention outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling. Johnson was later released without charges but said his phone was held for days before being returned.
Attorneys representing detainees told the Minnesota Reformer that some individuals have been released without work permits, driver’s licenses or cash, even after federal judges ruled certain arrests unlawful. Lawyers argue that holding phones and documents may raise Fourth Amendment concerns related to unreasonable search and seizure.
Federal judges in Minnesota have begun specifying that detainees must be released with their belongings and not left outdoors in unsafe conditions. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the confiscations.
Legal experts note that agents generally need a warrant to search the contents of a phone, though border and port-of-entry cases operate under different standards. Some detainees have since recovered their devices, while others remain without them.
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