In order to learn more about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) might implement Donald Trump’s plans for a mass deportation scheme, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the agency.
Since winning the presidential election earlier this month, the US president-elect has intensified his pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants once he assumes office. As part of the major deportation effort, Trump on Monday confirmed a rumor that he planned to declare a national emergency in order to mobilize military resources.
The new complaint follows a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) request from the ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) for information on how Ice’s privately chartered flights could be expanded to speed up deportations. The ACLU claims that Ice did not adequately address the August Foia request.
Foia lawsuit has been a key component of our roadmap as the ACLU has been prepared for the potential of a mass incarceration and deportation scheme for months,” stated Kyle Virgien, senior staff attorney at the organization’s national prison project. “A second Trump administration highlights how urgent our legal action is.
The ACLU claims that aircraft operated by the Ice Air Operations network helped deport over 140,000 people last year, and supporters of immigrant rights worry that the operation may be greatly expanded to serve Trump’s goals.
Eva Bitran, director of immigrants’ rights at ACLU SoCal, stated, “We know that this proposal has already instilled fear among immigrant communities, but we don’t know how President-elect Trump would carry out its mass deportation agenda.” The public is entitled to know how taxpayer money might be utilized to finance deportation flights that would destroy our neighborhoods as well as families.
According to the lawsuit, Ice must provide records detailing any contracts pertaining to air transportation, the ground transportation utilized to carry noncitizens, and the air fields that are available to the agency.
Sophie Mancall-Bitel, a lawyer at Mayer Brown LLP, which joined the action, stated that federal agencies are required by the Freedom of Information Act to provide information that the public requests. Knowing what federal resources could be utilized to forcibly remove people from the United States is more crucial than ever.
