On Monday, the office of Karl Racine, the DC Attorney General, filed a suit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claiming that the agency has improperly responded to requests for information about raids carried out earlier in 2018 in District communities with a predominantly Latino population.
Racine says his office wants to know more about the raids, including their current status, and fears that residents were racially profiled and targeted unfairly by ICE during their summer raids on the city. The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia’s US District Court, follows recent calls for a congressional hearing over the issue by Delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has expressed frustration at being unable to get more information from ICE.
Earlier this year, ICE confirmed that immigration enforcement actions had been carried out by their agents, but failed to provide specific details on the number of individuals arrested during the raids, or what charges were filed as a result. In July, an ICE spokesman told the Washington Post that individuals were not targeted and raids were not carried out in an indiscriminate manner.
ICE spokeswoman, Justine Whelan, told WTOP on Monday that the agency does not comment on pending litigation. According to immigration activists, the raids carried out earlier in 2018 heightened anxiety among residents, resulting in a demonstration featuring hundreds of supporters and activists in July. The lawsuit wants a court to order ICE to release all records about the raids.