On Tuesday, civil liberties in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire began suing the federal government to obtain immigration enforcement records to try and get a clearer view of the tactics used since the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the US at the beginning of last year.
The lawsuit is targeted at the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection, which are alleged to have failed to comply to release records on arrests, detentions, and raids following a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Maine attorney, Emma Bond, said people have the right to know the truth about immigration enforcement actions that have taken place hundreds of time across New England communities.
The ACLU groups claim that immigrant arrests increased by almost 38% across the US in the first 100 days of the new administration, and by 50% in New England states. So far, the groups have only been provided with information on a breakdown of arrests, border crossing actions, and apprehensions in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire last year, which appeared to be more than 1000.
The ACLU groups allege that the one-page document given offered little detail and claim that ICE and Border Patrol are among the federal government’s least transparent and most abusive agencies who believe they are above the law. The initial FOI request was filed in September 2017.