ACLU Calls on Congress to to Hold Federal Agents Accountable by Allowing People to Sue Them for Rights Violations

Teyana Gibson Brown was home with her husband, 9-year-old daughter, and 11-year-old cousin in January when ten masked and heavily-armed federal agents stormed into her house. The federal agents smashed through her front door with a battering ram. They pointed their rifles at Teyana and her family members as she stood in the doorway repeatedly demanding a warrant. The federal agents never provided any judicial warrant. After they flooded into her home, they pushed her to the ground.

Teyana’s story is part of a growing pattern of unchecked abuse from federal law enforcement that has devastated families and communities across the country. From Maine to California, federal agents have masked up, demanded to see people’s papers, scanned their faces, and taken people off the street in explicit acts of racial profiling. People who record federal agents, peacefully protest, offer mutual aid in their communities, or even pray in front of ICE facilities are being sprayed directly in the face with tear gas and pepper spray, shot with pepper balls, subjected to invasive surveillance equipment, and harassed and followed home by agents.

The Trump administration has fueled this abuse by insisting that federal agents operate with "absolute immunity." The killings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Ruben Ray Martinez, Keith Porter Jr, and countless others show the devastating and predictable consequences of Trump’s reckless immigration agenda.

Congress should listen to the American people, who overwhelmingly believe that federal agents should be subject to the same constitutional limits as everyone else. Ninety-three percent of voters across ideological lines agree that no one — including federal agents — should be above the law and that government officials who violate people’s rights must be held accountable.

The ACLU, joined by leaders from affiliates across the country, were on Capitol Hill this week for the ACLU’s third annual Community Safety Week, urging members of Congress to pass legislation that will restore pathways to accountability when federal law enforcement violates our rights. When government officials abuse their power, there must be a clear way for people to seek justice.

Right now, civil rights laws leave little room for people to hold federal officers accountable when their constitutional rights are violated. Congress has the power to change that. The ACLU and its partners are urging lawmakers to pass two pieces of legislation: the Bivens Act and the Constitutional Accountability Act.

Currently, there is often no clear pathway to sue federal officers for constitutional violations. The Supreme Court once upheld people's right to hold federal officers accountable in court — but has steadily dismantled that right, decision by decision. For many victims of federal misconduct, the courthouse door is simply shut.

Abuse by federal law enforcement has become all too common under the Trump administration, but the accountability gap that enables them has existed for decades. Take Cathy George, for example, who joined us on the Hill this week with her lawyers at the Institute for Justice. In 2023, federal officers violently raided Cathy’s home in search of a man who had no connection to her whatsoever. Cathy was asleep and alone with her small dog when officers came storming in. As she opened her bedroom door, she found herself covered in lights from laser-equipped firearms pointed at her body. Officers grabbed her and pulled her into the hallway. They held her there — cold, exposed, confused, and terrified — while more officers ransacked her home. After they realized their mistake, the entire team quickly left, leaving behind a home turned upside down and a deeply shaken resident. They did not show her a warrant or give her any explanation of what had gone wrong.

When abuse goes unchecked, reckless and aggressive conduct becomes more likely. It creates a culture in agencies where public officials may feel empowered to violate people’s rights, knowing they will face few – if any – consequences.

The Bivens Act and Constitutional Accountability Act would create meaningful pathways for people to seek justice when federal law enforcement violates their constitutional rights. Specifically, they would allow people to take federal officers and federal agencies to court when they violate our rights. For families like Teyana Gibson Brown’s and Cathy George’s, these barriers are not abstract legal debates: they determine whether people harmed by federal agents can have their day in court.

Throughout Community Safety Week, the ACLU made that clear to lawmakers. At a congressional briefing, we shared firsthand stories of abuse with lawmakers to show the need for reforms that protect constitutional rights and public safety. Additionally, ACLU affiliates met with lawmakers about the need for reforms.

The stakes right now could not be higher. At the same time that we were meeting with lawmakers, President Trump and his Congressional allies were pushing a reconciliation bill that would fund ICE and Border Patrol without any reforms, any accountability, or any guardrails. This would give ICE and Border Patrol $70 billion in additional funding, on top of the $170 billion in immigration enforcement they received last summer.

Congress must decide whether it will continue enabling unchecked abuses or finally put meaningful limits on federal police power. Passing the Bivens Act and the Constitutional Accountability Act would restore a measure of accountability, strengthen constitutional protections, and help ensure that people harmed by federal agents are not denied justice before they even step into a courtroom.