Three U.S. citizens and a nonprofit devoted to privacy sued the Department of Homeland Security on Friday, accusing the agency of unlawfully tracking and retaliating against people who oppose the president’s immigration crackdown.

The trio of women at the center of the case served as legal observers trying to document immigration enforcement, and they all lost their Global Entry status after run-ins on the street with federal agents over the past year.

Their stories were detailed in a series of HuffPost articles about DHS revoking Trusted Traveler memberships from people who had been “ICE watching.”

The plaintiffs allege that Homeland Security agents have been using facial recognition technology, license plate readers, body cameras and other methods to stifle people’s legal observation of agents’ actions. They argue the agency has violated privacy law and illegally punished them for exercising their First Amendment rights.

The women were joined in the lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit devoted to data protection and surveillance oversight, among other issues. The group argues that DHS has abused its surveillance powers, including through its “automated targeting system,” to muzzle opponents of the administration’s deportation campaign.

“DHS’s national policy of recording Americans’ legal observation in connection with federal immigration enforcement has dramatically expanded the federal government’s surveillance apparatus to stifle dissent and target protesters,” the complaint states.

One of the plaintiffs, Nicole Cleland, had been observing federal agents in Minnesota in January when one approached her, addressed her by name and told her he was using facial recognition technology, she said. He told Cleland to stop following them, and three days later, she lost her Global Entry.

“People should be free to peacefully observe and document what their government does in public without worrying they’ll be tracked or retaliated against,” Cleland said in a statement. “This case is about protecting that right for everyone.”

Michelle Shara, another plaintiff, had her Global Entry revoked shortly after filming agents outside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in North Carolina last November. The agents had accused her of trespassing but did not arrest her. “You always joke… ‘I’ll probably be on a list.’ But then I was like, ‘Oh shit,’” Shara told HuffPost in March. (Shara goes by her legal name, Jacquelyn Ivey, in the lawsuit.)

Anna Walker, the third observer, told HuffPost she lost her Global Entry after getting boxed in by federal agents in a Target parking lot in San Diego earlier this year. She had been following the agents in hopes of documenting any arrests they made. Walker’s Global Entry was reinstated shortly after HuffPost inquired about it with DHS.

“I knew when they were taking videos of me and my [license] plates, I was like, ‘There goes my Global Entry,’” Walker recalled in April.

The Trump administration has denied that people could lose their Global Entry over lawful protest, although the agency has a lot of leeway to yank someone’s privileges. “Global Entry or other [memberships] are not revoked because someone exercises their First Amendment rights,” a spokesperson for CBP said in an email. “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.”

The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Democracy Forward, a nonprofit that’s filed a number of lawsuits accusing the Trump administration of abuses of power.

“The federal government cannot build secret dossiers on people because they exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully observe, document, or criticize its actions,” Skye Perryman, the group’s president, said in a statement.

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.