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Judge blocks search of immigration lawyer's phone seized at Boston airport

11h ← 45h

Summary

  • A federal judge blocked the government from searching data copied from immigration lawyer Andrew Lattarulo's phone, finding he is likely to prove the seizure retaliated against his First Amendment-protected speech.
  • Customs and Border Protection agents and a Homeland Security Investigations officer seized Lattarulo's phone without a warrant at Boston Logan Airport in September 2025 and copied its data.
  • The seizure came amid a Homeland Security Investigations inquiry into whether Lattarulo's firm, Georges Cote LLP, employed workers without legal authorization.
  • Lattarulo, a part owner of Georges Cote LLP, posts know-your-rights immigration videos on Instagram that regularly draw hundreds of thousands of views.
  • The judge ordered the copied data preserved in unreadable format until the case concludes, declining to order its destruction or rule on Lattarulo's Fourth Amendment claim.

Reactions

  • Judge Allison D. Burroughs wrote that the government's aggressive deviation from protocol strongly suggests the seizure did not arise from an ordinary investigative motive.
  • The Trump administration denied targeting Lattarulo for his speech, saying the seizure was connected to the employment investigation of his firm.
  • The administration said it had additional evidence supporting the search but declined to disclose it publicly because of the ongoing investigation.
  • The government said it intended to convert the copied data into an accessible format and search it if the court permitted, using a taint team to protect privileged material.
  • Burroughs wrote that Lattarulo's partner Audai Cote, who returned a day earlier and was not searched, would have been a more logical target.

Timeline newest first

  1. Federal Judge Allison D. Burroughs granted Andrew Lattarulo a preliminary injunction blocking the government from searching data copied from his phone, finding he is likely to succeed on his First Amendment retaliation claim.
  2. Judge Allison D. Burroughs ordered the government to preserve the data copied from Andrew Lattarulo's phone in unreadable format until the case concludes, and declined to rule on his Fourth Amendment claim.
  3. After an October 20, 2025 preliminary injunction hearing, the court took the parties' positions under advisement before ruling on Andrew Lattarulo's motion.
  4. On October 2, 2025, Andrew Lattarulo filed a complaint over the seizure and search of his phone, and the court granted a temporary restraining order.
  5. The government returned Andrew Lattarulo's phone by overnight delivery eight days after seizing it, with the copied data still in an unreadable format.
  6. On September 28, 2025, three Customs and Border Protection agents and a Homeland Security Investigations officer seized Andrew Lattarulo's phone without a warrant at Boston Logan Airport and downloaded a complete copy of its data.
  7. On September 25, 2025, Georges Cote LLP received a Notice of Suspect Documents giving it ten days to verify employees' work authorization; Lattarulo's phone was seized three days later.
  8. Homeland Security Investigations served Georges Cote LLP with a Notice of Inspection on September 8, 2025, over alleged employment of workers without legal authorization; the firm responded on September 12.

Sources newest first

  • Judge Blocks ICE From Searching Immigration Lawyer’s Phonenewsweek.com· 11h

    A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from searching data copied from immigration lawyer Andrew Lattarulo's phone, finding he is likely to prove the seizure retaliated against his First Amendment-protected speech. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs ordered the data preserved in unreadable form, while the administration denies targeting Lattarulo for his speech and says the search tied to an inquiry into whether his firm employed workers lacking legal authorization.

  • gov.uscourts.mad.289822.28.0.pdfcourtlistener.com· 45h

    Judge Allison D. Burroughs granted Andrew Lattarulo, an immigration lawyer whose firm is under Homeland Security investigation, a preliminary injunction after CBP agents seized and copied his phone at Logan Airport, finding he is likely to prove the search retaliated against his protected speech. She ordered the government to keep the phone data in its unreadable format pending the case but declined to order its destruction.

Background newest first

  • U.S. border device searches near record highfreedom.press

    Freedom of the Press Foundation's Digital Security Digest reports, citing CBC News, that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is on track for a record-setting year, having increased device searches 32% in the first three quarters of fiscal 2026, with 47,517 basic and 4,564 advanced searches. The newsletter advises travelers to use long unique passcodes, keep devices updated and powered down at the border, and delete sensitive data in advance, noting non-citizens and journalists face elevated risk.