Four protesters arrested during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Chicago have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), accusing the agencies of illegally collecting and storing their DNA.
The complaint, filed in an Illinois district court on Wednesday, targets actions taken during Operation Midway Blitz—a 2020 initiative in which thousands of federal agents conducted raids across Chicago, including at the Broadview ICE facility.
The plaintiffs allege that federal agents wrongfully arrested peaceful protesters, collected their DNA samples, uploaded their genetic profiles to government databases, and stored the samples in federal labs permanently.
Legal Claims and Constitutional Violations
The lawsuit asserts that the federal government’s actions violate the First Amendment (freedom of speech and assembly), the Fourth Amendment (protection against unreasonable searches and seizures), and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The protesters are seeking an injunction to prevent DHS and the FBI from continuing these practices, arguing that the collection and storage of DNA from individuals engaged in lawful protest activity is unconstitutional.
Background on Operation Midway Blitz
Operation Midway Blitz was launched in August 2020 as part of a broader federal enforcement effort targeting immigration-related activities. During the operation, federal agents conducted raids in multiple locations across Chicago, including the Broadview ICE facility, resulting in numerous arrests.
The protesters named in the lawsuit were among those detained during these raids, and their legal challenge centers on the alleged misuse of their genetic data.
Government Response and Legal Precedent
While the federal government has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court filings, the case raises broader questions about the scope of DNA collection by law enforcement agencies. Critics argue that such practices could chill free speech and disproportionately target individuals engaged in political activism.
Legal experts note that previous court rulings have limited the government’s ability to collect DNA from individuals not convicted of crimes, emphasizing the need for strict legal boundaries in genetic data collection.
Related articles
The promises and pitfalls of personalized health
This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and po...
Closing time
Today was closing arguments in the Musk v. Altman trial, and I almost feel bad writing about the unbelievable demolition derby I just witnessed. Steve...
Fired hacker twins forget to end Teams recording, capture own crimes
Perhaps you remember Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, the 34-year-old twin brothers we profiled earlier this week. Although they had the tech chops to commit...
Behold, the Elon Musk jackass trophy
Yesterday, in Musk v. Altman, before the jurors came in, Sam Altman's team passed up what looked - from a distance - like a little league trophy. It w...
Cell phone users can't stop incriminating themselves
"What kind of doctor was dr. pepper," Utah real estate agent Kouri Richins once asked a search engine. (Sadly, there was no actual Dr. Pepper.) But it...
Linux devs are fighting the new age-gated internet
In January, Colorado lawmakers introduced a proposal to make operating systems collect users' ages and pass them to app developers. The bill, SB26-051...
Zero-day exploit completely defeats default Windows 11 BitLocker protections
A zero-day exploit circulating online allows people with physical access to a Windows 11 system to bypass default BitLocker protections and gain compl...
The ChatGPT desktop app for Mac just got hit with a security breach
OpenAI found no evidence that user data was accessed.