On October 24, 2012, two U.S. citizens detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after taking pictures of ports of entry filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, under 5 U.S.C. § 702, 28 U.S.C. § 2201 and Bivens, against CBP, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys from the ACLU of San Diego and private counsels, sought injunctive, declaratory, and monetary relief, alleging that CBP's policy and practice of prohibiting the use of camera and video recording devices at or near CBP-controlled facilities without CBP's prior approval was unconstitutional, in violation of the plaintiffs' First and Fourth Amendment rights.

On April 12, 2013, the District Court (Judge Thomas J. Whelan) denied the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. Askins v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 2013 WL 1561546 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 12, 2013). The case is ongoing.

Emma Bao - 05/28/2013


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