“We feel this enforcement zone is a violation of our First Amendment rights — our rights to observe and record agents in their public capacity,” he said.

Through the lawsuit, the two Arivaca residents are seeking a judicial order that would prevent agents from obstructing their monitoring. The case also notes disparate treatment, saying supporters of the Border Patrol have been allowed to stand closer to checkpoint than protesters.

Last month, the Arivaca residents group released a report with more than 100 hours of data gathered from monitoring activities. Findings showed that Latinos are more likely to face prolonged stops and secondary inspection than others at the checkpoint, which residents have to drive through on a regular basis to get to and from Arivaca.

“There couldn’t be a clearer demonstration of Border Patrol’s lack of transparency than literally preventing members of this community from observing the actions of agents in their own town,” said James Lyall, an attorney with the ACLU based in Arizona, in the news release.

In an interview, Lyall said that “citizens have a right to observe what government officials are doing and not be retaliated against.”