Judge blocks ICE from searching phone of immigration lawyer with know-your-rights page

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from searching data copied from an immigration lawyer's cellphone. She found he is likely to succeed on his claim that the government seized the device in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment ¹.

U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, an Obama appointee, granted attorney Andrew Lattarulo a preliminary injunction on Thursday. A preliminary injunction is a court order that holds things in place while a case continues. The judge found that the evidence so far suggests he "would not have been searched except for his protected speech" ¹.

What happened at the airport

Lattarulo is a part owner of the law firm Georges Cote LLP. He represents clients in immigration proceedings and runs a popular Instagram account with "know-your-rights" information. According to the ruling, his videos regularly draw hundreds of thousands of views ¹.

Three Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and an officer with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) stopped him at Boston Logan International Airport when he returned from Aruba in September. HSI is the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ¹. An earlier report from the ABA Journal, a legal trade publication, put the date at September 28, 2025 ².

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Agents took his phone without a warrant and downloaded a complete copy of its data. The phone was returned eight days later ¹. The ruling says it holds confidential information and attorney-client communications ¹.

Why the judge saw retaliation

The government denied targeting Lattarulo for his speech. It said the seizure was tied to an HSI inquiry into whether his law firm employed people not legally authorized to work in the United States ¹.

Burroughs pointed to timing. The firm received a Notice of Suspect Documents on September 25, 2025, and the phone was seized just three days later. HSI policy generally gives employers 10 business days to address such questions ¹.

That aggressive deviation from protocol strongly suggests that the seizure did not arise from an ordinary investigative motive,

She also noted that Lattarulo's law partner, Audai Cote, had the same or greater access to employment records. Cote had not spoken publicly about immigrant rights, returned to Boston a day earlier without incident, and was not searched ¹.

Rather, it appears that the government seized on a fortuitous border crossing following a weekend vacation as an opportunity to search for evidence of a domestic crime it was already investigating,

What the ruling does not decide

Burroughs did not rule on whether the seizure broke the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches. The government argued it may search phones at the border, but the judge questioned that because the investigation involved alleged employment violations unrelated to his trip ¹.

The copied data is currently in a format that cannot be read. The administration said it wants to convert and search it if the court allows, and that it would use a "taint team" to protect privileged material ¹. Burroughs ordered the government to keep the data unreadable and unreviewed until the case ends. She found a search now could cause Lattarulo an irreparable loss of privacy ¹.

The government said it has additional evidence supporting the search. It declined to disclose that evidence publicly because of the ongoing investigation ¹.

What happens next

The case continues. This ruling is not a final decision, and the government could appeal. Newsweek said it asked the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, CBP and Lattarulo's legal team for comment, and its report included no response ¹.

The pattern is worth watching. Judges are being asked whether a lawyer's public criticism of immigration policy can lead to a search of his clients' private communications. This ruling says the government cannot read the data while that question is decided. Anyone who relies on a lawyer's confidentiality has a stake in the answer.

The Record

1. Sep 25, 2025Lattarulo's law firm received a Notice of Suspect Documents from HSI ¹.
2. Sep 28, 2025Agents stopped Lattarulo at Boston Logan Airport and seized his phone without a warrant ¹².
3. Oct 3, 2025Judge Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order barring a search of the phone ².
4. Nov 12, 2026Burroughs granted a preliminary injunction blocking a search of the copied data ¹.

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<h2>Judge blocks ICE from searching phone of immigration lawyer with know-your-rights page</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files National Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/judge-blocks-ice-from-searching-phone-of-immigration-lawyer-with-know-your-rights">The GOP Files</a> on Saturday, November 14, 2026.</em></p> <p>A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from searching data copied from an immigration lawyer&#39;s cellphone. She found he is likely to succeed on his claim that the government seized the device in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment .</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, an Obama appointee, granted attorney Andrew Lattarulo a preliminary injunction on Thursday. A preliminary injunction is a court order that holds things in place while a case continues. The judge found that the evidence so far suggests he &quot;would not have been searched except for his protected speech&quot; .</p> <h2>What happened at the airport</h2> <p>Lattarulo is a part owner of the law firm Georges Cote LLP. He represents clients in immigration proceedings and runs a popular Instagram account with &quot;know-your-rights&quot; information. According to the ruling, his videos regularly draw hundreds of thousands of views .</p> <p>Three Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and an officer with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) stopped him at Boston Logan International Airport when he returned from Aruba in September. HSI is the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) . An earlier report from the ABA Journal, a legal trade publication, put the date at September 28, 2025 .</p> <p>Agents took his phone without a warrant and downloaded a complete copy of its data. The phone was returned eight days later . The ruling says it holds confidential information and attorney-client communications .</p> <h2>Why the judge saw retaliation</h2> <p>The government denied targeting Lattarulo for his speech. It said the seizure was tied to an HSI inquiry into whether his law firm employed people not legally authorized to work in the United States .</p> <p>Burroughs pointed to timing. The firm received a Notice of Suspect Documents on September 25, 2025, and the phone was seized just three days later. HSI policy generally gives employers 10 business days to address such questions .</p> <blockquote><p>That aggressive deviation from protocol strongly suggests that the seizure did not arise from an ordinary investigative motive,</p><p>&mdash; Allison D. Burroughs, U.S. District Judge, District of Massachusetts</p></blockquote> <p>She also noted that Lattarulo&#39;s law partner, Audai Cote, had the same or greater access to employment records. Cote had not spoken publicly about immigrant rights, returned to Boston a day earlier without incident, and was not searched .</p> <blockquote><p>Rather, it appears that the government seized on a fortuitous border crossing following a weekend vacation as an opportunity to search for evidence of a domestic crime it was already investigating,</p><p>&mdash; Allison D. Burroughs, U.S. District Judge, District of Massachusetts</p></blockquote> <h2>What the ruling does not decide</h2> <p>Burroughs did not rule on whether the seizure broke the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches. The government argued it may search phones at the border, but the judge questioned that because the investigation involved alleged employment violations unrelated to his trip .</p> <p>The copied data is currently in a format that cannot be read. The administration said it wants to convert and search it if the court allows, and that it would use a &quot;taint team&quot; to protect privileged material . Burroughs ordered the government to keep the data unreadable and unreviewed until the case ends. She found a search now could cause Lattarulo an irreparable loss of privacy .</p> <p>The government said it has additional evidence supporting the search. It declined to disclose that evidence publicly because of the ongoing investigation .</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>The case continues. This ruling is not a final decision, and the government could appeal. Newsweek said it asked the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, CBP and Lattarulo&#39;s legal team for comment, and its report included no response .</p> <p>The pattern is worth watching. Judges are being asked whether a lawyer&#39;s public criticism of immigration policy can lead to a search of his clients&#39; private communications. This ruling says the government cannot read the data while that question is decided. Anyone who relies on a lawyer&#39;s confidentiality has a stake in the answer.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/judge-blocks-ice-from-searching-phone-of-immigration-lawyer-with-know-your-rights">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/judge-blocks-ice-from-searching-phone-of-immigration-lawyer-with-know-your-rights.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Newsweek, “Judge Blocks ICE From Searching Immigration Lawyer's Phone” (2026-11-14). newsweek.com/judge-blocks-ice-from-searching-immigration-law
2. ABA Journal, “Immigration lawyer who criticized ICE online and on TV wins TRO after his phone is seized at airport” (2025-10-06). abajournal.com/web/article/immigration-lawyer-who-criticized

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