Minnesota activist sues US over airport phone seizure
Council on American-Islamic Relations represents organizer in federal suit, citing systematic targeting of left-wing critics under counterterrorism guise
Janette Zahia Corcelius, a Minnesota labour organizer, has initiated federal proceedings against the Department of Homeland Security following the seizure of her mobile phone by US Customs and Border Protection agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The complaint, filed in late April after Corcelius returned from a three-week trip to Europe, alleges that the confiscation breaches the Fourth Amendment and existing CBP regulations.
Corcelius was detained and questioned by customs officials upon her return. During the process, agents searched her luggage twice and confiscated political literature she had purchased overseas. The seizure of her phone occurred after she handed the device to a CBP manager to facilitate a call with her attorney. The device has not been returned to her since.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is representing Corcelius in the litigation, arguing that the agency is conducting systematic searches of activists' devices. The group contends that CBP is utilising counterterrorism frameworks to target left-wing critics, specifically citing Corcelius’ opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the Twin Cities.
Data obtained by the Council highlights a significant rise in such operations. The agency conducted 55,318 device searches during the 2025 fiscal year, representing a 32 per cent increase from the 41,767 searches recorded in 2023. The complaint notes that while agents require reasonable cause to confiscate property, an exception exists for national security concerns, a threshold the group argues is being exploited to harass political opponents.
The legal challenge seeks the return of the phone, the deletion of any extracted data, and a prohibition on future non-routine searches of Corcelius’ property. It also requests a policy change regarding non-routine phone searches. However, legal precedent remains fragmented; while a 2024 ruling in New York requires warrants for such searches, a 2021 appeals court decision permits warrantless searches, creating a jurisdictional patchwork that may limit the broader impact of any ruling in Minnesota.
