Passed in 1871, 42 USC § 1983 gives individuals the right to sue state officials if those officials violate their constitutional rights. Originally conceived of as a way of ensuring that local officials did not violate the recently-ratified Fourteenth Amendment, the statute does not authorize lawsuits against the federal government.
In 1971, in a case called Bivens vs. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, the Supreme Court partially extended Section 1983 to the federal government and authorized individuals to sue the federal government when their Fourth Amendment rights were violated. Subsequently, however, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to extend these Bivens actions, going so far as to rule in 2022, in Egbert v Boule, that, absent congressional authorization, the federal government cannot ever be sued for constitutional violations when it is enforcing immigration laws. Under current law, this means that, while individuals can sue state law enforcement officers for violating their constitutional rights, they cannot sue federal law enforcement officials even when they engage in the same conduct.
Should Congress amend 42 USC § 1983 so that both state and federal officials are subject to legal action for violating constitutional rights?
