Original Date Announced

The Washington Post reports that DHS is increasingly relying on administrative subpoenas to obtain personal data from technology companies, universities, employers, and social-media platforms. Former officials and experts estimate DHS issues thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of these subpoenas each year, often approved quickly by mid-level officials and shielded from public accountability. Targets of such subpoenas have varied, including student protestors at Columbia University, workers at a Minnesota health system whose staff protested ICE presence in its hospitals, social-media users who posted about ICE raids in Los Angeles, and an individual who emailed an ICE attorney requesting that the attorney "[a]pply principles of common sense and decency" to the case of an immigrant profiled in the news. The man who sent that email filed a motion to quash, arguing that DHS's subpoena was substantially motivated by his speech on a matter of public concern, violating the First Amendment. Doe v. DHS, 5:26-mc-80026, (N.D. Cal.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

Trump 2.0 [ID #2193]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.02.10 Notice of Voluntary Dismissal - Doe v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

The person issued an administrative subpoena for emailing an ICE attorney voluntarily dismissed his motion to quash against DHS, noting that DHS withdrew the subpoena. Doe noted, however, that he "has not . . . received confirmation that no other legal demands are outstanding, nor that he will not be investigated for this activity in the future." His counsel noted that "[t]his is the fifth such action in recent motions of which counsel for Movant are aware" involving "similar DHS misuse of administrative subpoenas to retaliate against individuals who had communicated opposition to or concern about DHS's immigration enforcement operations." Doe v. DHS, No. 5:26-mc-80026 (N.D. Cal.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.02.13 Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts - New York Times

The New York Times reports that DHS has continued to issue hundreds of administrative subpoenas to tech companies like Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta in recent months. In the subpoenas, DHS has requested "identifying details of accounts that do not have a real person’s name attached and that have criticized ICE or pointed to the locations of ICE agents." Although companies "can choose whether or not to provide the information," government officials confirmed that "Google, Meta and Reddit complied with some of the requests."