by Brittney Melton

July 12, 2026

Good morning. This week, a South Florida airport officially renamed itself after President Trump, Victor Marx won the Republican primary for Colorado governor, and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander announced his plans to retire at the end of this season.

Federal agents tracked him down

by Jude Joffe-Block, Power and Influence reporter

When I first heard about David Streever’s case, it was the afternoon on the last Friday in June. My editors and I were scrambling to publish a different story to NPR’s website, about how Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents confronted poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea during the New York primary election on June 23 over a social media post she had posted five months earlier.

The agents accused her of doxxing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. They gave Gonyea a warning notice to sign that said it is illegal to threaten a federal official and her Instagram account may have violated the law.

Civil liberties advocates told us they had never seen the warning notice before and expressed concern that it was a tool to intimidate critics from speaking out.

David Streever

Civil liberties advocates told us they had never seen the warning notice before and expressed concern that it was a tool to intimidate critics from speaking out.

As we were preparing to publish our digital story, I checked in with Gonyea again and learned that since we last spoke, she had heard from someone else, who said that the same agents had tried to reach him and had left the same form to sign.

She shared his name, David Streever.

I reached him within a few minutes. Streever at that point was on a train back to his home in Rochester, N.Y., after landing the night before at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

I learned he had been in Finland taking his daughter to a theme park when he noticed his doorbell camera had captured footage of what looked like two law enforcement officers on his front porch on June 23. He later learned from his wife, the Rev. Hilary Streever, that the officers were Homeland Security Investigations agents looking to talk with him about an email he had sent Todd Lyons, the former acting director of ICE.

Streever had written Lyons a scathing note in late January after federal immigration officers had fatally shot two Americans. The email compared Lyons to a Nazi and warned he would be tormented by his conscience.

Streever’s wife told the agents that he was out of the country and would be home on June 26.

The agents left her with a warning notice for Streever to sign. It was the same notice Gonyea had received. It said the email to Lyons may have violated the law.

Streever and his daughter landed at JFK airport on the evening of June 25 and went to a nearby airport hotel to sleep. That night, Streever received a call from the hotel front desk letting him know that an agent from the Department of Homeland Security had come looking for him. He then noticed he had voicemails from two callers who said they were calling from HSI. The next morning, the front desk gave him the agent’s business card, which matched the number that had called his cell phone. It is unknown how the agent tracked him to the hotel.

I consulted with my editors about whether we should try to include Streever’s story in our story about the agents visiting Gonyea.

We decided to take more time and pursue a standalone story about Streever. I spoke with Streever on June 28, and he showed me documentation to corroborate his account, including the notice. I continued reporting over the next two days.

DHS gave us the following comment when we asked about Streever’s account: "ICE investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on any ongoing investigations."

On July 1, we published our story, and a radio version aired on Morning Edition.

Then, on Monday, the nonprofit free speech group the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed a federal lawsuit on Streever’s behalf against DHS officials and the agents who contacted him. The lawsuit says DHS violated his First Amendment rights by tracking him down and pursuing him over protected speech.

"Our Constitution does not tolerate such a brazen abuse of authority," the lawsuit reads.

The suit also seeks to get a court finding that the warning notices given to Gonyea and Streever chill speech.

DHS responded to the lawsuit with a statement that read in part, "Any allegation DHS and its components are attempting to 'squash' free speech is categorically FALSE.”

We will keep following Streever’s story, and how free speech advocates are responding to the administration’s efforts to crack down on ICE critics.

Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed:

➡️ Trump Accounts are now available. The new investment accounts are open to U.S. citizens under 18 for things like college or a home down payment. But with plenty of existing savings options, are they worth opening? Here are four things to know.
➡️ Some Medicare recipients could lose prescription drug coverage. Thousands of people in 32 states and Washington, D.C., could lose coverage next year if they don't realize their zero-premium Medicare drug plan now carries a premium. This year, many were left without coverage and unable to switch plans until fall open enrollment, with new coverage not beginning until 2027.
➡️ Some Republicans want to negotiate expanding the H-2A farmworker visa program. Demand for the temporary agricultural visa has surged from about 63,000 workers in 2012 to nearly 400,000 in 2025. But efforts to expand the program come as the Trump administration steps up immigration enforcement, raising concerns among farmers about labor shortages and the food supply.

Newsletter continues after sponsor message

Read It. Listen to It. Explore the World of Planet Money.

Whether you prefer turning pages or pressing play, Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life brings the curiosity and storytelling you love from the podcast into an entirely new format. The audiobook, recently named one of Spotify's Best Audiobooks of 2026 (So Far), is narrated by members of the Planet Money team, while the book has also been recognized by both Amazon Editors' Best Nonfiction Books of the Year So Far 2026 and Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2026 So Far. Whether you're curious about AI, housing, work, sports, or the hidden economic forces shaping our everyday lives, there's a format for everyone. Get your copy, or start listening today.

Shop the Book & Audiobook

Pod Club

Three people against a rainbow colored backdrop.

NPR

Thanks for tuning in last week to the Pop Culture Happy Hour episode on how films and TV depict the American dream.

Today, we’re listening to It's Been a Minute just in time for Love Island USA’s finale episode. Host Brittany Luse chats with Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox's Explain it to Me podcast, and Marcus Jones, Awards Editor at IndieWire, about what the show’s relationships tell us about modern dating – and why this season’s villains have found defenders online. Listen to the episode or read the transcript here.

Do the show dynamics feel true to your life? Click here and let us know. Your response could appear in next week's Sunday newsletter.

Love podcasts? For handpicked episode recommendations every week, check out Pod Club — a newsletter written FOR podcast fans BY podcast fans. Subscribe here!

And, on this week's episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, host of the new NPR Network podcast Are We Doomed?, Ben Bradford, helps listeners separate doomsday hype from real threats.

Two words, same number of letters, matching first and last letters

NPR

It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For this week’s on-air challenge, NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz will provide you with a clue and based on that you will name two words that have the same number of letters and begin and end on the letters provided. For example, if you are given the clues “Rocks,” “five letters” and “S and E,” the answer would be “Slate, Shale.” Test your skills here. Check the page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m. ET.

This week's online challenge comes from Steve Baggish, of Arlington, Mass. Take the 10-letter name of a popular TV series for which most of its seasons have been filmed in a foreign country. Remove the first and last letters, and the remaining letters can be rearranged to spell the name of a country. What are the two names? Submit your answer here, and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle.

Get headlines from your local NPR station.

Visit NPR.org to find your local station.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen and Majd Al-Waheidi.

Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here.

Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more!

You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002

Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy