The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, along with its Minnesota chapter (CAIR-MN), have issued a letter to DHS and DOJ officials demanding the immediate return of property seized at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from Twin Cities organizer and ICE divestment advocate Janette Zahia Corcelius.
READ: CAIR’s Demand Letter
The CAIR Legal Defense Fund and CAIR-MN gave federal officials one week to respond and intend to pursue legal action.
“If the violation of my First and Fourth Amendment rights in retaliation for my political beliefs, organizing, and identity was meant to inflict fear and suffering, then it has failed,” said Janette Zahia Corcelius, “I am unabated and undeterred.”
“Americans do not give up their constitutional rights at the border,” said CAIR LDF attorney John M. Fossum. “When the government uses customs checkpoints to target its critics and seize their electronic devices, it is conducting illegal and anti-democratic surveillance. We will continue to shine a light on the government’s actions and hold it accountable.”
“American Muslims are being targeted for the healthy criticism of their government—the most democratic action a citizen can take,” said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Alec Shaw. “We stand with Minnesotans and we stand with Ms. Corcelius today.”
BACKGROUNDER:
In March 2026, the Minneapolis City Council passed a veto-proof resolution calling for European financial institutions to “divest from all major DHS and ICE contractors, including Palantir, Geo Group, CoreCivic, and CACI International.” In April, Muslim and Arab American labor organizer Janette Zahia Corcelius traveled abroad to Europe and promoted the City Council’s call for divestment.
When Corcelius re-entered the country at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on April 30, federal customs officers stopped her, searched her belongings, and seized her cell phone and all political literature in her possession. Government agents offered no explanation for the seizures and no timeline for the return of her property.
READ: Understanding and Protecting Your Travel & Free Speech Rights, March 2025
DHS claims the authority to search the electronic devices of American citizens. But federal courts have repeatedly found these seizures are unconstitutional. Government agents should be able to explain real and immediate suspicion of a border-related crime. Agents cannot make that claim here—the search violated Corcelius’ Fourth Amendment rights.
The seizure of political literature also raises the disturbing possibility that government agents targeted Corcelius because of her First Amendment-protected speech and political associations. Corcelius was exercising her free speech rights to call for divestment from DHS and ICE when she was detained, and her property was seized, by the same government agency she was criticizing.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) is a civil rights and advocacy organization dedicated to enhancing understanding of Islam, protecting civil liberties, empowering American Muslims, and building coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Suleiman Adan
Deputy Executive Director, CAIR-MN
612-408-7183
Alec Shaw
Civil Rights Director, CAIR-MN
612-206-3360