Suing the federal government is ridiculously hard. It shouldn’t be that way.

Looking at the history of the U.S. founding and how this country originated by defying overbearing authority, one would think that suing the government for rights violations would be rather straightforward. It is not. Instead, it’s a Kafkaesque nightmare that often leaves Americans unprotected and with untold damage left unrepaired in the face of government force.

As the Trump administration continues with its mass deportations (a program that has swept up U.S. citizens as well), Americans...