1/ The Supreme Court’s ruling in Chatrie v. United States is a win for privacy. In a 6-3 decision (with Justice Gorsuch concurring in judgment), the Court ruled that police need a warrant to obtain a person’s cell phone location information from a third party. Some background and key takeaways:

A bill up for a vote in the senate would renew the government’s power to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans. @lizagoitein.bsky.social lays out the stakes of the fight over FISA Section 702.

The Brief With Jim Sciutto - Elizabeth Goitein joins The Brief

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On Friday, the Trump administration, which is demanding that Congress pass a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702, missed a deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion that reportedly reveals yet more major Section 702 compliance problems. 1/14

Speaker Johnson's latest proposal to reauthorize FISA Section 702 would perpetuate warrantless government access to Americans' "incidentally" collected communications. @lizagoitein.bsky.social and I explain why the House should reject the proposal (again): www.justsecurity.org/137206/johns...

Fool’s Gold: Speaker Johnson’s Section 702 proposal would place no limits on backdoor searches

A critique of the Speaker's most recent legislative proposal to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

justsecurity.org

In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20

President Trump is urging Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but lawmakers in both parties oppose extending it without reforms. Congress now has a chance to protect Americans’ privacy. bit.ly/4tASUmW

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

For too long, this law has allowed the government to evade privacy protections and spy on Americans. Reform is overdue.

brennancenter.org

The @nytimes.com has a story tonight that should put a nail in the coffin of the administration’s plans to push a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Bottom line: the FBI is seemingly *still* engaged in systemic violations of the law. 1/20 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...

The FBI reports a large drop in its warrantless searches of Americans' communications under Section 702. @lizagoitein.bsky.social and I explain why the reported numbers don't tell the full story — and why a warrant requirement is still needed.

Just Security@justsecurity.org · 4mo ago

On April 20, a surveillance authority - FISA Section 702 - sunsets unless Congress reauthorizes. @lizagoitein.bsky.social @hannahajames.bsky.social write: USG reports on use of the tool are incomplete, and reveal why Congress should pass a warrant requirement to protect Americans’ communications.

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court has held that Trump’s worldwide tariffs exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The decision is a victory for the rule of law and the separation of powers. 1/18 www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

SCOTUS tariffs ruling "is a victory for the rule of law," says @lizagoitein.bsky.social. Emergency laws like IEEPA "give presidents vast powers that are highly vulnerable to abuse." The Court stopped Trump from stretching them beyond what Congress intended.

Supreme Court Strikes Down President Trump’s Tariffs; Brennan Center Reacts

Court held in Learning Resources v. Trump that the president exceeded his authority under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act.

brennancenter.org

No DHS funding without stronger oversight and accountability, civil liberties protections, curbs on violence. Congress must "flex its muscle" - by @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social, @margyoh.bsky.social, @hannahajames.bsky.social

Expert Survey on DHS, CBP, and ICE Reforms

Experts detail targeted reforms and legislative pathways Congress could enact to improve ICE and CBP accountability.

justsecurity.org

DHS has a Fourth Amendment problem. @hannahajames.bsky.social of the @brennancenter.org explains why the agency’s new policy allowing ICE to enter homes to conduct arrests is not only a break from past practice, it violates the Constitution. www.justsecurity.org/130497/dhs-w...

DHS Warrantless Home Entry Memo’s Fourth Amendment Problem

A leaked ICE memo authorizes warrantless home raids, defying DHS policy and raising grave Fourth Amendment concerns.

justsecurity.org

The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. bit.ly/49qN4Mv

No Legal Basis for Invading Venezuela

1989’s U.S. military action in Panama offers no constitutional cover for Trump’s Venezuela attack.

brennancenter.org

My take on the appellate courts' rulings in the Nat'l Guard cases, & why SCOTUS should follow the approach of the 7th Circuit (which held that the deployment was untethered to the facts), not the 9th Circuit (which accepted the admin's alternate reality): www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Appeals Courts Split on Domestic Military Deployments

The Supreme Court must now recognize how excessive judicial deference to the president can endanger Americans’ fundamental liberties.

brennancenter.org

Sen. Cotton is reportedly pushing for an 18-month extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Project for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability explains why that would derail any meaningful consideration of reform: www.protectprivacynow.org/news/the-lat...

The Latest Proposal to Compromise Americans’ Privacy – Delay the Reauthorization Debate of Section 702

​Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is an authority enacted by Congress to allow U.S. intelligence agencies to surveil foreign spies and terrorists. But it has been used in...

protectprivacynow.org

Members of Congress, represented by the Brennan Center & co-counsel, just filed a federal court brief defending the independence of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). It’s in support of 2 board members fired without cause by the Trump admin www.brennancenter.org/sites/defaul...

The Trump administration’s plan to use 600 military lawyers as temporary immigration judges, with some starting as soon as this week, will deprive immigrants of a fair hearing and further erode the line between military personnel and civilian government. 1/14

THREAD: This morning, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that President Trump's use of National Guardsmen and Marines to support federal law enforcement in and around Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act. (1/22) www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-t...

Judge rules Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated federal law

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled in favor of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in his challenge to President Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles.

cbsnews.com

A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Trump exceeded his presidential authority by imposing tariffs. The Brennan Center filed a brief in the case arguing that the emergency powers law he relied on didn’t grant presidents that authority. bit.ly/4g31plb

Court finds Trump's tariffs an illegal use of emergency power, but leaves them in place for now

A federal appeals court has ruled President Donald Trump illegally used emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs but left them in place for now. The U.S.

apnews.com

THREAD: This morning, President Trump and members of his cabinet announced a set of sweeping, unprecedented, and unwarranted actions to impose federal control over local policing in Washington, D.C.

The government has proposed expanding the mandatory collection of social media identifiers. It would widen social media surveillance to include not only travelers and visa applicants and visa holders, but also their U.S. citizen contacts. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

The Government’s Growing Trove of Social Media Data

It’s increasingly collecting and using social media information to make high-stakes decisions related to immigration.

brennancenter.org

Border Patrol is buying new tech... "advanced AI" to surveil dense residential areas? Automated surveillance towers? Tech to see through walls?? I talked to @sambiddle.com of @theintercept.com about serious risks amid the agency's increasingly aggressive behavior. theintercept.com/2025/07/23/c...

Border Patrol Wants Advanced AI to Spy on American Cities

A Customs and Border Protection “Industry Day” deck also asks for drones, seismic sensors, and tech that can see through walls.

theintercept.com

The @nytimes.com is reporting that the Trump administration has requested deployment of 20,000+ National Guard members to help with immigration enforcement inside the U.S. This is an unprecedented move that raises a host of legal and practical concerns. 1/8

The New York Times@nytimes.com · last yr.

The Department of Homeland Security has requested more than 20,000 National Guard members to help with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the plans.

Yesterday the Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in support of four companies that challenged Trump’s imposition of worldwide tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). 1/15 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/cou...

Amicus Brief in Emily Ley Paper et al., v. Trump

On May 12, 2025, the Brennan Center for Justice filed an amicus brief in Emily Ley Paper et al., v. Trump, opposing the government's motion to transfer the case to the United States Court of Internati...

brennancenter.org

Turning the U.S.–Mexico border into a military zone seems designed to sidestep Congress. It’s the kind of presidential overreach that Congress and the courts should check.

How Turning the Border into a Military Zone Evades Congress and Threatens Rights

The administration is trying to evade limits on domestic use of the armed forces.

brennancenter.org

The line between the military and civilian government is one of the most important safeguards that we have. Creating a military installation on the border? “It steps over that line,” @lizagoitein.bsky.social tells @maddow.msnbc.com www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Trump exploits loophole to militarize the border; Americans potential targets of military arrests

Donald Trump has essentially turned the border into a military base in order to be allowed to use the armed forces to make arrests, including of any Americans in the vicinity. Elizabeth Goitein, senio...

msnbc.com

In a memo obtained by @usatoday.com, the Attorney General authorized federal law enforcement to conduct warrantless raids on homes as part of its deportation efforts under the Alien Enemies Act. This enforcement strategy raises serious 4th Amdt concerns. 1/9 www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

DOJ March 14 memo Alien Enemies Act

documentcloud.org

If the SAVE Act were enacted into law, it would be one of the worst voting laws ever passed by Congress. The Senate must vote to reject it.

A court held searches of #FISA Sec 702 data for US person communications are subject to the 4th Amdt. warrant requirement @hannahajames.bsky.social (@brennancenter.bsky.social) asks: will broad reading of the foreign intelligence exception swallow the rule? www.justsecurity.org/109879/forei...

Foreign Intelligence Exception Loophole in the Hasbajrami Decision

The Hasbajrami decision’s expansive view of the FISA foreign intelligence exception threatens the impact of applying warrant requirements.

justsecurity.org

The political question doctrine does not bar judicial review of the Trump administration’s recent #AlienEnemiesAct invocation, writes @ebrightyon.bsky.social; to the contrary, precedent establishes the important role of courts. www.justsecurity.org/109330/polit...

The Courts Can Stop Abuse of the Alien Enemies Act – the Political Question Doctrine is No Bar

A legal analysis concluding that the political question doctrine does not bar review of Alien Enemies Act invocation

justsecurity.org