ROCHESTER — David Streever filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal court in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2026. The suit follows visits by federal agents to his home and hotel regarding an email he sent criticizing the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The lawsuit was filed by the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations visited Streever's home in Rochester, N.Y., on June 23, 2026. The agents left a document labeled "WARNING NOTICE" with Streever's wife. The notice stated, "YOU MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW." It indicated that ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility had identified an email to Todd Lyons that it believed might violate federal law and requested Streever to remove or discontinue the behavior.

Streever had sent an email on January 26, 2026, to Todd Lyons, who was then the acting director of ICE. The email's subject line was "What's next." It compared Lyons to a Nazi and predicted that Lyons would be tormented by his conscience. Streever sent the email after federal immigration officers in Minneapolis fatally shot two U.S. citizen observers.

Streever was on vacation in Finland when agents visited his home. He and his daughter landed at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 25, 2026. A federal agent from DHS visited Streever at his airport hotel and left a business card. Lyons stepped down as the acting director of ICE at the end of May 2026.

The lawsuit names three federal agents, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, and ICE officials as defendants. It argues that Streever's email constituted protected speech under the First Amendment and asks the court to prevent defendants from taking further actions to coerce, threaten, or retaliate against Streever. "Like many Americans, I was deeply upset after the shootings in Minnesota and I felt compelled to do something," Streever said. "Writing an email to the head of ICE seemed like the least I could do to express my sense of outrage."

Adam Steinbaugh, a senior attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, stated, "If someone is really threatening a government official, you don't wait five months to act on it." He added, "The fact that authorities didn't respond immediately shows that David presented no threat." DHS stated, "ICE investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director." The agency added, "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on any ongoing investigations."