The government shutdown hasn’t stopped Immigration and Customs Enforcement from trampling civil liberties. The agency continues to tear apart families across the country, placing people in secretive detention centers beyond the reach of congressional oversight.
It’s unacceptable. And if a government shutdown can’t stop ICE from violating the law, then it won’t stop Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) from demanding transparency and accountability.
That’s why this week, FPF, represented by Free Information Group’s Kevin Bell and Ginger Quintero-McCall, filed a new Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against ICE.
Specifically, we are suing for all emails sent to “[email protected],” the email address Congress is supposed to use when scheduling visits to ICE’s detention facilities, since June 1.
The agency failed to provide any documents in response to our initial FOIA request. “ICE loves to demand our papers but it seems they don’t like it as much when we demand theirs,” Quintero-McCall said.
We filed this suit because Congress has the right to visit immigration facilities unannounced to conduct oversight. But ICE has been trying to curtail congressional access for months, leaving lawmakers and the public in the dark about how dangerous and overcrowded these facilities have become, and about any neglect or mistreatment of the human beings who are being held there.
This suit couldn’t come at a more important time. ICE recently furloughed its entire congressional relations office, leaving lawmakers without a clear point of contact. Our litigation will not only show how members of Congress are fighting for their rightful access to these facilities — it will literally force ICE to check its emails from Congress.
“ICE is the most lawless agency in government. It’s no surprise they disdain FOIA as much as the right of Members of Congress to inspect their facilities, or any other inconvenient law. ICE will find hiding from FOIA harder than simply pulling on their balaclavas, which tend to be frowned on in court,” said Bell.
This is our third lawsuit targeting the Department of Homeland Security this year. Our other two suits, in which we are represented by Matthew Cate, seek records about Secretary Kristi Noem’s claim that she wanted to prosecute CNN for reporting on “ICEBlock,” an app that allows users to track ICE agents, and for a copy of the July 14 agreement granting ICE access to the personal data of the nation’s nearly 79 million Medicaid enrollees.
It’s clear that the government shutdown isn’t stopping agencies from behaving badly. So FPF will keep fighting to force transparency and policy change.
If you’d like to help support our FOIA effort, you can donate here or contact FPF Director of Development John Halpin at [email protected]. Or, if you are a FOIA lawyer who is interested in working with us pro bono or for a reduced fee on FOIA litigation, you can contact me at [email protected].
