{"id":270,"date":"2026-05-26T19:39:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270"},"modified":"2026-05-26T19:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:39:43","slug":"dhs-is-getting-sued-for-the-truth-about-its-domestic-terrorism-watchlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270","title":{"rendered":"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n<\/div> <\/div>\n
\n\n
\"An<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Does photographing<\/span> ICE<\/span> agents<\/span> make you a domestic terrorist in Donald Trump\u2019s America?\u00a0<\/p>

Read more The ACA Affordability Crisis Congress Won\u2019t Fix<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the question being asked by a growing chorus of activists and legal observers who fear they\u2019ve been placed on a government watchlist for exercising their First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n

Months after the Department of Homeland Security ended its aggressive immigration sweeps in full-bore occupations of Minneapolis and other major cities, new information continues to emerge in legal filings detailing ICE agents\u2019 alleged pattern of intimidation against protesters. One federal lawsuit, filed by Protect Democracy on behalf of Maine residents, centers on statements made by federal agents\u2014including some caught on camera\u2014warning people they would be added to a domestic terrorist database simply for observing immigration operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DHS has maintained that such a database doesn\u2019t exist. But lawyers in cases from Maine to Chicago to Minneapolis, representing clients who are suing the agency for alleged civil liberties abuses, say that threats made by federal agents have had a chilling effect on their clients\u2019 freedom of expression\u2014and nobody knows what DHS has done with biometric and license plate information collected from observers. Last week, the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sued DHS, too, seeking to compel the agency to turn over records about the alleged database under the Freedom of Information Act.<\/p>\n

Those records could provide clarity to the growing number of people who have reported unsettling experiences after encounters with ICE, including Maine couple Carlyn Williams and Xenia Pantos, who were added as plaintiffs to the Maine lawsuit last month.<\/p>\n

On January 20, Pantos was driving their spouse\u2019s car to work in Portland when they passed several ICE agents on the side of the road. It was the middle of Trump\u2019s \u201cOperation Catch of the Day\u201d immigration surge in Maine, and Pantos pulled over to observe the agents\u2019 operations. According to the complaint, Pantos took photos of the agents and saw an ICE agent photograph another observer\u2019s license plate. After about five minutes, when it became clear that nobody was being detained, Pantos continued on to work.<\/p>\n

Later that afternoon, Williams got a phone call from an undisclosed number. According to the complaint, the person on the line identified himself as being with DHS, then asked if anyone other than Williams ever drove her car. When Williams confirmed that her spouse sometimes uses the car, the caller asked if she was aware that Pantos had \u201cstopped at an incident\u201d that morning and allegedly warned her that Pantos \u201cmight get added to a domestic terrorism watchlist\u201d as a consequence.<\/p>\n

The phone call rattled Williams and Pantos, who feared that the incident could impact their status as foster parents, and Pantos \u201cchose not to do any observing of ICE\u201d thereafter, they told me.<\/p>\n

Nearly two months later, Williams and Pantos had another experience with DHS that, lawyers say, indicates Williams\u2019s license plate information was indeed entered into some sort of watchlist or database.<\/p>

Read more Republican-Appointed Judges Just Gave the Roberts Court a Stunning Rebuke<\/a><\/p>\n

On March 16, Pantos and Williams were driving back from their anniversary celebration in Canada, in Pantos\u2019 car. After they handed over their passports at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint, an agent instructed them to pull aside. He said it was routine, but took their phones, passports, and car keys: \u201cThat, I think, is when we realized something was wrong,\u201d Pantos said.<\/p>\n

After a few minutes, the agent asked Williams for her car registration, even though the couple had been driving Pantos\u2019 car, and asked several questions about Williams\u2019 car before finally letting them go. Neither of them \u201chad indicated prior to the agent\u2019s questions that they owned another vehicle,\u201d states the complaint. \u201cThere is no conceivable reason to ask about [Carlyn Williams\u2019s] car other than the incident involving Plaintiff Pantos on January 20, 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 account is the first known case of a DHS official allegedly making a threat about a domestic terrorism watchlist over the phone. But dozens of declarations in a Minnesota class action against DHS describe a pattern in which federal agents showed up outside the homes of ICE observers, which lawyers say shows the agents \u201care obtaining these home addresses by running their license plates through a law enforcement database.\u201d Other ICE observers in the Minnesota case have described having their Global Entry status\u2014an expedited travel program under CBP\u2014revoked without explanation after encounters with federal agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fear continued and escalating retaliation. I recently cancelled an international trip that I had already paid for because I was afraid that I would be stopped at the airport or that I would be detained upon re-entry to the United States,\u201d Minneapolis resident Amanda Thompson wrote in a declaration filed last month. \u201cI changed the lock screen on my phone to display emergency contact information and instructions for what to do if I am detained. I now live my life prepared for the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another , filed against DHS in Illinois earlier in May, challenges the federal government\u2019s collection and storage of DNA samples from four people who were arrested at anti-ICE protests in Illinois. Two plaintiffs were never charged; the others quickly had their minor charges dropped. Nevertheless, the government is holding onto that genetic data indefinitely\u2014leading one plaintiff, as described in the complaint, to worry that her DNA will be used \u201cto place her on a \u2018domestic terrorist watchlist\u2019 and track her movements\u201d and \u201ckeep punishing her long after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is NO database of \u2018domestic terrorists\u2019 run by DHS,\u201d a DHS spokesperson wrote in a statement to Mother Jones<\/em>. \u201cWe do of course monitor and investigate and refer all threats, assaults and obstruction of our officers to the appropriate law enforcement. Obstructing and assaulting law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime.\u201d The spokesperson added that DHS would not comment on specific law enforcement capabilities but said that all the agency\u2019s methods followed the US constitution. The White House and CBP did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

While DHS denies it\u2019s building a database of people who exercise their constitutional rights\u2014and who were never, or are no longer, charged with violating any law\u2014<\/strong>this administration has made it clear that it considers \u201cLeft-Wing Extremists\u201d a counterterrorism priority. Earlier this month, Trump unveiled a counterterrorism strategy that includes the \u201cneutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist\u201d\u2014a largely undefined category that could feasibly encompass anti-ICE activists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea the impact of what I had done on that day,\u201d said Pantos. \u201cI feel terrible that I put our foster child and my spouse in danger, people that I love so much.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Tax Me If You Can<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The agency denies keeping ICE protesters in a database of terror threats\u2014which makes certain incidents very hard to explain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nDHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d - Moving and Mortgage Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d - Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The agency denies keeping ICE protesters in a database of terror threats\u2014which makes certain incidents very hard to explain.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T19:39:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ad030614a7679393d6a0411d0d02e1fd.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1124\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"headline\":\"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T19:39:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270\"},\"wordCount\":1147,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270\",\"name\":\"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d - Moving and Mortgage Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T19:39:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?p=270#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving and Mortgage Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movingandmortgagehub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d - Moving and Mortgage Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d - Moving and Mortgage Hub","og_description":"The agency denies keeping ICE protesters in a database of terror threats\u2014which makes certain incidents very hard to explain.","og_url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270","og_site_name":"Moving and Mortgage Hub","article_published_time":"2026-05-26T19:39:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1124,"url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ad030614a7679393d6a0411d0d02e1fd.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2"},"headline":"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d","datePublished":"2026-05-26T19:39:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270"},"wordCount":1147,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270","name":"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d - Moving and Mortgage Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-26T19:39:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/792cd0353f54d012b0a9347205deb702.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=270#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DHS Is Getting Sued For the Truth About Its \u201cDomestic Terrorism Watchlist\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/","name":"Moving and Mortgage Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b7c79bcfd888d98f34c5413df7e81a2","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}