Filed Date: Dec. 10, 2025
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
This case was filed by a naturalized U.S. citizen who was detained, allegedly without cause, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport when returning from Nicaragua.
On December 10, 2025, Plaintiff - a school superintendent and naturalized U.S. citizen since 2018 - filed this lawsuit against the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to challenge the policy behind an allegedly unlawful search and seizure at Bush Intercontinental Airport on his return from visiting family in Nicaragua. Plaintiff was separated from his husband at the airport and taken to an isolated screening area, where he was pressured to hand over his electronic devices and told he "had no Fourth Amendment rights at the border." Compl. at 2. The policy, Customs and Border Protection 2018 Directive 3340-049A "Border Searches of Electronic Devices" explicitly authorizes warrantless searches of the type plaintiff was subjected to at the airport. Filing suit under the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unlawful searches and seizures and 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(B), plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief prohibiting DHS from continuing to search people without cause. This case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Dabney Langhorme Friedrich.
This case is ongoing.
Summary Authors
Nick Martire (3/6/2026)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72014766/parties/chavarria-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/
Friedrich, Dabney Langhorne (District of Columbia)
Nixon, Molly (District of Columbia)
Peikoff, Amy (District of Columbia)
Talcott, Johanna B. (District of Columbia)
Jones, Sian (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72014766/chavarria-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/
Last updated April 20, 2026, 3:23 a.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 10, 2025
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Plaintiff is a U.S. citizen who was detained at an airport without cause.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Federal
United States Department of Homeland Security
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Ex Parte Young (Federal) or Bivens
Other Dockets:
District of District of Columbia 1:25-cv-04289
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Immigration/Border:
Case Summary of Chavarria v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/47492/ (last updated 3/6/2026).