This case challenges an unlawful search and seizure, as prohibited in the 4th Amendment, and asserts the rights of U.S. citizens—particularly immigrants—traveling across borders.
In March 2015, the Sagal Abdigani and her husband, Abdisalam Wilwal, traveled from their home near Minneapolis, Minnesota with their four children (aged five, six, eight, and 14) to visit Abdigani’s sister in Regina, Saskatchewan. On their way home, the family sought to reenter the United States at the border crossing in North Dakota. Within minutes, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers surrounded the family’s vehicle with guns drawn, handcuffed Abdisalam Wilwal, and forcibly detained him and the rest of the family for over 10 hours.