A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled on July 15, 2026, that the U.S. government violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Osama Abu Irshaid. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) alleging that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents unconstitutionally seized and searched Abu Irshaid's phone during two international trips in 2024.
Judge Michael Nachmanoff stated in the filing that the warrantless 'advanced' searches of the cell phone violated protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Abu Irshaid, a U.S. citizen and executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, was reportedly stopped by agents upon returning to the United States from abroad.
The lawsuit further alleged that Abu Irshaid had been placed on a discriminatory government watch list. While the government previously stated it does not use race, religion, or free speech as criteria for such lists, the court found the specific searches in this case to be a constitutional violation. The Department of Homeland Security did not provide an immediate comment following the decision.