Key Takeaways
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Tennessee filed for a preliminary injunction against the Memphis Safe Task Force, accusing agents of retaliating against residents who record law enforcement activity.
- The filing includes accounts from community members who say they faced surveillance, traffic stops, threats, and intimidation after observing or filming task force operations.
- The lawsuit challenges the task force’s use of Tennessee’s “Halo Law,” which the ACLU says has been used to push civilian observers away from public law enforcement activity.
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Tennessee are asking a federal court to step in against the Memphis Safe Task Force, accusing agents of retaliating against residents who record law enforcement activity.
On Thursday (May 28), the groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The request seeks to block task force agents from punishing civilians who observe, film, or gather information about immigration and policing operations.
The filing builds on a mid-May lawsuit brought by four Memphis residents who say they faced harassment after documenting task force activity. According to the ACLU, new declarations from nine community members describe surveillance outside homes, unlawful traffic stops, agents calling residents by name, and threats of arrest. One plaintiff said a task force agent tackled her to the ground while she filmed an encounter. The charge against her was later dropped.
“What we’re seeing in Memphis is the systematic repression of the First Amendment right to peacefully observe, gather information about, and film government officials operating in public,” said Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.
The lawsuit also challenges how agents use Tennessee’s “Halo Law,” which makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet of law enforcement after a warning to back up. The ACLU argues that task force agents have used the law to push observers away even when they are not interfering.
Task force faces scrutiny in majority-Black city
The Memphis Safe Task Force includes federal agencies such as ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Marshals, along with Tennessee law enforcement. Since September 2025, the operation has carried out traffic stops, warrants, and immigration arrests in Memphis, a majority-Black city.
The Department of Justice previously defended the task force and said it has made more than 9,000 arrests, including 951 known gang members, and helped locate 150 missing children. DOJ officials said they “strongly disagree” with the lawsuit’s claims and remain committed to fair and professional law enforcement.
For the ACLU, the issue is not only the task force’s policing mission, but the public’s right to watch it unfold. The injunction request asks the court to stop further retaliation while the lawsuit continues.