Immigration-enforcement officers have used tear gas on nonviolent protesters, broken into homes and cars, and killed people, including U.S. citizens. ICE and Customs and Border Protection have been behaving like an out-of-control police force. No wonder, then, that when lawyers and other advocates try to challenge these federal officials' abuses of power'in court and on the streets'they tend to reach for the same legal tool used to combat police violence: the Fourth Amendment, which guards against excessive force and 'unreasonable searches and seizures.' But this path comes with serious challenges. A pair of Supreme Court decisions has undercut the amendment's power against ICE and CBP, allowing evidence gathered in violation of its requirements to be used in deportation proceedings, and shielding agents from lawsuits seeking compensation for excessive force. Another strain of precedent makes obtaining court orders aimed at preventing ICE misconduct extremely hard. But there's...
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