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THE LATEST FILINGS
- Investigating Immigration Enforcement and Highway Patrol Collaboration in Ohio
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a headquarters for Border Patrol near Port Clinton, Ohio that operates under a veil of secrecy. CBP collaborates with local law enforcement, including Highway Patrol, yet details are shielded from public view.
The Council and our partner, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) seeking details about CBP’s presence in Ohio. We are asking OSHP to release communications, complaints, policies, and reports shedding light on OSHP’s cooperation with the Sandusky Bay Station.
Read More: Seeking Information About Border Patrol Practices in Ohio
- Uncovering the Treatment of Black Immigrants in Detention
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a disturbing, long-standing history of violating due process and human rights. Increasingly, Black immigrants report abuse, coercion, and mistreatment while in ICE detention.
The Council and Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) continue to investigate the treatment and conditions Black immigrants face while detained by ICE in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. We filed FOIA requests with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the DHS Office of Inspector General seeking five years of complaints involving eight ICE facilities.
Read more: Scrutinizing the Treatment and Conditions Black Immigrants Face in Detention
NOTEWORTHY
- Coalition Letter Calls on Biden Administration to Reevaluate Records Destruction Schedules
The Council joined a large, diverse coalition urging the Biden administration to withdraw and reevaluate plans to destroy important immigration documents, including records of abuse, neglect, and misconduct. In a letter to the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) and DHS leadership, we call for a change to DHS’ records disposition schedules.
The coalition points to the recent U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia order that ICE cannot destroy records of abuse in its facilities (CREW v. NARA, 2021 WL 950142 (D.D.C. Mar. 12, 2021)). The letter further questions the government’s method for determining the archival value of similar records not addressed by the case, stressing the importance of preserving records that may have long-term value for research, historical, and accountability purposes.
Read more: Coalition Urges Biden Administration to Withdraw Records Destruction Plans
DIG DEEPER
- Practice Advisory Regarding FOIA Requests
The Council published an updated Practice Advisory that provides a broad overview of the FOIA, including how to make a FOIA request and how to appeal an inadequate response. The Advisory discusses the exemptions from FOIA that agencies are most likely to invoke in immigration cases and lays out the basics of bringing a federal district court challenge to an agency’s failure to disclose certain documents. In addition, the Practice Advisory includes a chart that contains contact information and FOIA processes for immigration agencies.
Read More: FOIA for Immigration Lawyers
The American Immigration Council works to hold the government accountable on immigration issues. We harness freedom of information requests, litigation, and advocacy to expose wrongdoing and promote transparency within immigration agencies.
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