A Minnesota man who lost his Global Entry privileges after observing immigration agents has sued the Department of Homeland Security, alleging federal officials illegally retaliated against him and violated his First Amendment rights. As HuffPost previously reported, Michael Khalili had a series of run-ins with federal agents while documenting their actions in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s deportation surge earlier this year. Then, on March 18, a day after he says one agent screamed at him, Khalili received an email from DHS saying it had revoked his Global Entry status, which allows for expedited screening when entering the U.S.His privileges were restored shortly after HuffPost asked DHS what the basis was for the revocation. But the retaliation didn’t end there, Khalili alleges in his lawsuit filed Thursday. Last month, after returning from a trip abroad with his family, Khalili says he was detained at an immigration checkpoint for the first time in his life. He was sent to a “secondary location” with his children, then questioned while his passport was held before being released. “Khalili recently stopped observing immigration agents ‘for fear that the federal government would come to their home and arrest him in front of his children.’”Khalili says he requested records from the state of Minnesota on law enforcement queries to his license plate, driver’s license, or name and date of birth. Until this year, he had received only two queries from state, local and federal officers, according to the complaint. But over a four-month period starting this March, there were 55 queries.He recently stopped observing immigration agents “for fear that the federal government would come to their home and arrest him in front of his children,” the complaint states.Khalili is joined in the lawsuit by Common Cause, an advocacy group that cites seven of its members who were allegedly retaliated against for observing and recording agents. They are represented by the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit legal group focused on voting rights and government ethics.Khalili and Common Cause allege that DHS and the Justice Department have implemented “a policy of intimidating and retaliating against Americans who observe, record, and share information about federal immigration operations.” That policy “sends a clear message: so long as constitutional observers seek to hold federal agents accountable, they will not be safe, even in their own homes,” they claim.The lawsuit, which cites the fact that DHS restored Khalili’s Global Entry after HuffPost’s inquiry, seeks a nationwide federal injunction blocking DHS and the Justice Department from intimidating or retaliating against people who observe Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. It also seeks a declaration that “constitutional observers do not engage in doxxing, an act of violence, or criminal conduct when they engage in First Amendment-protected observation.”Several people have told HuffPost they lost their Global Entry status after unsettling encounters with immigration agents.via Associated PressMaryam Jazini Dorcheh, Common Cause’s vice president of litigation, said in a statement that DHS is trying to “threaten Americans into silence.”“The government has no right to punish ordinary Americans who use their power to bring violent ICE raids to light,” she said.There were many people like Khalili who started watching and recording federal agents as Trump’s immigration crackdown spread in late 2025 and early 2026. Many had no background in activism but felt compelled to get in the street and document agents’ actions due to violent and sometimes fatal encounters, including the shooting deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. HuffPost reported a series of stories on observers who were pulled over or reprimanded by agents and then lost their Global Entry within a matter of days. DHS has broad leeway to revoke people’s privileges, though they typically do so due to criminal convictions or customs violations. Khalili and the others had never been charged with crimes. In July, three women who lost their Global Entry after observing agents filed a similar lawsuit against DHS, accusing the agency of illegally tracking and retaliating against people. They were joined by a nonprofit devoted to privacy issues that said the Trump administration was abusing its surveillance powers to stifle opponents of the immigration crackdown.“The government has no right to punish ordinary Americans who use their power to bring violent ICE raids to light.”- Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, Common CauseU.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS and oversees the Global Entry program, has denied that people could lose their status over lawful protest. “Membership may be denied or revoked for reasons such as criminal activity (including pending charges or warrants), violations of customs or immigration laws, or inability to demonstrate low-risk traveler status,” a spokesperson told HuffPost in July.Khalili told HuffPost in an interview in May that his revocation amounted to “an abuse of the system by the people in power.”“There is nothing that I’ve done that is wrong or illegal,” he said. “This is not how the system is supposed to work.”RelatedImmigrationU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementfirst amendmentDepartment of Homeland Securityglobal entry