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The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed a Freedom of Information Act request today with its local U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 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.
“In spite of court orders to the contrary, some CBP officials appear to be continuing to detain people, though the approach appears to differ by location,” said Linda Lye, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. “The public has a right to know the facts on the ground.”
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 of Northern California CBP FOIA request, submitted jointly with the ACLU of Hawaii and the ACLU of Utah, is here:
www.aclunc.org/docs/20170202-ACLU_norcal-cbp_foia.pdf
The ACLU national FOIA request can be found here:
www.aclu.org/cbp-foia-filing-trump-immigration-ban
The ACLU national release is available here:
www.aclu.org/news/aclu-files-demands-documents-implementation-trumps-immigration-ban
For an interactive timelime of the Muslim Ban, see here:
https://www.aclunc.org/sites/muslim-ban/index.html?utm_source=aclunc&ut…
