NY man sues DHS after agents tracked him for sending an email to the head of ICE

National NY man sues DHS after agents tracked him for sending an email to the head of ICE July 6, 202611:50 AM ET By  Jude Joffe-Block In side-by-side photos recorded by a doorbell camera, two federal agents in blue jackets are seen on David Streever's porch at his home in Rochester, N.Y. on June 23, 2026. David Streever hide caption toggle caption David Streever Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations tried to track down Rochester resident David Streever last month and give him a warning notice alleging that he had potentially violated the law when he wrote a harsh email months earlier to the former head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. National He sent a harsh email to ICE's top official. 5 months later, federal agents tracked him down Now a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression on Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C. argues Streever's January email was protected speech and the federal agents' and their superiors violated Streever's First Amendment rights. Sponsor Message National Some who lost jobs over Charlie Kirk posts get big payouts for First Amendment retaliation NPR reported last week about HSI agents trying to contact Streever first at his home and later at a hotel over an email that Streever wrote to Todd Lyons, who stepped down as the acting director of ICE at the end of May. FIRE's lawsuit says the First Amendment protects Americans' rights to speak out against police but says the "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is actively threatening that freedom, tracking down and retaliating against speakers like Plaintiff David Streever because he exercised his fundamental right to criticize one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in the United States." The suit goes on to say, "Our Constitution does not tolerate such a brazen abuse of authority." Streever wrote to Lyons' government email address on Jan. 26 after federal immigration officers in Minneapolis fatally shot...