Seizing Control: ICE, Mass Surveillance,
and the Dismantling of the 4th Amendment

September 28, 2026 | 4:30-6:30 pm | Howard University School of Law | Washington, DC
Come early at 2:30-4 pm for a workshop with Paola Mendoza

The audacity of ICE enforcement has brought Fourth Amendment protections into sharp focus. Tactics such as warrantless entries into homes and invasive searches of people’s cars and devices have become rampant. Magnifying the impact of these aggressive searches are increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies, such as Flock cameras, that are giving immigration authorities powerful new tools to locate, track, and target people.

Join us for Seizing Control: ICE, Mass Surveillance, and the Dismantling of the Fourth Amendment, a free public forum to unpack the growing tension between immigration enforcement, surveillance technology, and Fourth Amendment rights—and what it means for all of us.

Sirine Shebeya, Executive Director of the National Immigration Project, will shed light on best practices when confronted by ICE.

Sidney W. Thaxter, Senior Litigator for the Fourth Amendment Center at NACDL, will discuss the new and emerging field of electronic surveillance, including location tracking, communication interception, device searches, government hacking, biometric identification, and data collection.

Before the Forum, from 2:30-4 pm, JusticeAid Artist in Residence Paola Mendoza will present Dear Andrew, a participatory workshop based on a hypothetical interaction with an ICE agent.  Please join us!

SIRINE SHEBAYA

Sirine Shebaya is the Executive Director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. She is a longtime immigrant rights advocate who focuses on combining litigation and public campaign strategies to defend and advance the rights of immigrant communities of color. She is one of the lead attorneys litigating COVID-related detention issues nationwide. She was one of the organizers of a movement of lawyers, organizers, translators, and concerned citizens doing rapid-response work at Dulles Airport in the aftermath of the Muslim Ban. She has litigated several high-profile cases alongside and on behalf of communities impacted by family separation, discriminatory police practices, immigration detention and enforcement issues, and the Muslim Ban. In partnership with local community groups, she led a campaign that resulted in eliminating ICE holds in most jurisdictions in Maryland. Sirine previously worked at the Capital Area Immigrant’s Rights Coalition and at the ACLU of Maryland. She has experience in litigation, public education campaigns, and advocacy focused on immigration detention and criminal legal system issues. Sirine’s work with immigrant communities has been honored with the Capital Area Muslim Bar Association Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service and Commitment to Advancing Justice, the Americans for Democratic Action Winn Newman Equality Award, and the NIPNLG Daniel Levy Award.

SIDNEY THAXTER

Sidney Thaxter serves as a Senior Litigator for the Fourth Amendment Center at NACDL, which provides the defense bar with resources and litigation support designed to preserve privacy rights in the digital age. Sidney focuses on new and emerging electronic surveillance including: location tracking, communication interception, device searches, government hacking, biometric identification, and data collection.

PAOLA MENDOZA

2026 Artist in Residence Paola Mendoza is a prolific creator who immigrated from Colombia when she was three years old. She has dedicated her energy to making art and organizing movements to uplift the stories and cultural impact of humans from across the world. Mendoza embraces the idea that “art is a hammer with which to shape reality,” and her fine art, films, books and performance pieces all uplift her passion for justice and the beauty that cannot be contained by borders. We hope you enjoy these selections which represent a small sample of Mendoza’s extensive body of work.
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The program is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please RSVP. Thank you!

Monday, September 28, 2026
Howard University School of Law
2900 Van Ness St NW, Washington, DC 20008
4:30-6:30 pm

Sponsored by JusticeAid, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), National Immigration Project, and Howard University School of Law.