The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada joined the southern California affiliate in filing a Freedom of Information Act request today with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Los Angeles field office to expose how Trump administration officials are interpreting and executing the president’s Muslim ban, acting in violation of federal courts that ordered a stay on the ban’s implementation. The filing today is part of a coordinated effort from 50 ACLU affiliates, which filed 18 FOIAs with CBP field offices and its headquarters spanning over 55 international airports across the country.
“We continue to believe that the executive order signed by President Trump is an unconstitutional Muslim ban that harms and discriminates against law abiding citizens, legal permanent residents, and visa holders. The only way to discover the total impact and true nature of this ban is to see who it is directed against and how many individuals under the guise of a national security threat and families have been affected by it,” said Tod Story, executive director ACLU of Nevada.
Media reports indicate that CBP officials detained and deported individuals, even after federal courts ordered officials to stop enforcing the executive order following a court challenge from the ACLU and other organizations.
“It is imperative that the public learn if federal immigration officials are blatantly defying nationwide federal court orders that block President Trump’s unconstitutional Muslim ban,” said Mitra Ebadolahi, Border Litigation Project Staff Attorney with the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “To shed light on this critical issue of pressing public concern, 50 ACLU affiliates are using the Freedom of Information Act to expose Customs and Border Protection’s abuse of power.”
The Trump administration has yet to inform the public of how many refugees, visa holders, and legal permanent residents have been affected by this action.
The following ACLU affiliates participated in this coordinated FOIA filing:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, San Diego, California, South Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin,
The ACLU national release is available here:
https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-files-demands-documents-implementation-trumps-immigration-ban
About American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada:
The ACLU of Nevada is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to the defense and advancement of civil liberties and civil rights for all people in Nevada since 1966.
