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Judge Keeps Ban on Reviewing Data From Seized Immigration Lawyer’s Phone

The court left the dispute in a holding pattern pending a ruling on Andrew Lattarulo’s bid to force deletion of the extracted files.

Overview

  • The judge maintained a temporary restraining order that bars investigators from accessing a forensic copy of the phone as the case proceeds.
  • Government counsel told the court the phone’s contents were extracted and placed in a preserved format that is not currently readable or reviewable.
  • Lattarulo seeks the phone’s immediate return, a halt to any search, and destruction of copied data in a lawsuit naming DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE acting director Todd Lyons, and others.
  • Prosecutors cite reasonable suspicion tied to a Homeland Security Investigations audit seeking work-authorization records for 117 employees, first noticed to the firm on Sept. 8 before the Sept. 28 seizure at Logan Airport.
  • Lattarulo alleges he was singled out for his public criticism and immigration advocacy, and the judge pressed the government on how his name was flagged, prompting a “can’t say” response from its attorney.