Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• DHS deployed 19 USC 1509 administrative summonses to obtain records on journalists, non-profits, and unions without judicial oversight — The Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security has systematically used an obscure customs law (19 USC 1509) to issue administrative summonses demanding records from social media companies and telecommunications providers targeting journalists (Georgia Fort, Don Lemon, Megyn Kelly, Brendan Gutenschwager, Democracy Now), unions (SEIU, Communications Workers of America), and left-leaning non-profits (Sunrise Movement, Voices for Racial Justice). The summonses bypass judicial review required for search warrants and include secrecy directives. Fort's six-month phone records from T-Mobile and YouTube account information were obtained after a federal judge had twice rejected similar warrant requests in February 2026, citing lack of probable cause.
• Trump administration uses customs law to obtain journalist records without judicial oversight — The Trump administration deployed an obscure legal maneuver to obtain private information on journalists, non-profits, and unions without judicial oversight. The Department of Homeland Security served Google with an administrative summons citing 19 USC 1509, a customs statute, to obtain YouTube account information for journalist Georgia Fort and Don Lemon. The summons bypassed judicial review required for search warrants, which a judge had twice rejected for lacking probable cause. DHS officials used the customs provision—designed to investigate import duties and taxes—to investigate a domestic protest at a Minneapolis church that the journalists were covering.

Supporting reports

• ICE deploys tear gas, pepper balls, and body slams against protesters and journalists in Broadview, Illinois — ICE agents, alongside Illinois state police and Cook County sheriff's office, deployed tear gas and pepper balls against protesters gathered at an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois on Friday. Videos show agents body-slamming protesters to the ground. Journalists covering the protests were also attacked—a CBS Chicago reporter was hit with a pepper ball from 50 feet away; a Chicago Sun-Times reporter was tear-gassed; and an Unraveled Press reporter was detained. Legal observers were similarly targeted. The facility, not designed as a detention center, holds nearly 5,000 detainees statewide under "Operation Midway Blitz."
• ICE agents deploy tear gas against protesters in multiple U.S. cities — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used tear gas and other force against peaceful protesters in Portland, Washington DC, and Chicago during enforcement operations. The article references unspecified brutality by the Administration and an unwarranted raid on a Chicago apartment building, indicating escalating use of force against civilian demonstrators opposing immigration enforcement actions.