Three civil rights groups in the U.S. sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday and asked the court to stop the agency from searching electronic devices of Americans without suspicion.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed the lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on grounds that unreasonable searches of laptops, cameras, iPods, mobile phones, "smart" phones, and information storage devices compromise confidential information of lawyers and their clients.

Named respondents to the suit were DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin and Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement John T. Morton.

The NACDL, the ACLU and the NYCLU asked the court to declare the searches as unconstitutional and stop border agents from searching electronic devices without a warrant and probable cause, or at least reasonable suspicion. The three groups also asked the court to require the DHS to return all information unlawfully obtained from the searches and destroy all copies of such information.

According to the lawsuit, nearly 3,000 U.S. citizens and some criminal defense lawyers were subjected to a search of their electronic devices as they crossed U.S. borders from Oct. 1, 2008 to June 2, 2010.

NACDL President Jim E. Lavine said searches of electronic devices of attorneys, including criminal defense attorneys, make information and communications protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrines vulnerable and pose a serious and chilling threat to the fundamental right to counsel.