ACLU Sues ICE to Release Records of Detainment Facilities

The lawsuit comes amid violent protests against ICE’s immigration enforcement operations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents charge toward protesters outside a detention facility in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 1, 2025. John Rudoff/Reuters

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seeking to compel the agency to disclose records related to specific operations, according to the complaint filed on Oct. 1.

The lawsuit, filed jointly by the ACLU and its Virginia and North Carolina affiliates in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, concerns the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

According to the lawsuit, ICE issued a request for information (RFI) on May 28, seeking information on available detention facilities capable of housing single adult populations to support the agency’s Washington field office.

An RFI is issued to gather information regarding services or products from suppliers. In this case, ICE wanted information on detection facilities. While ICE owns five detention facilities, it relies on private prison companies and other facilities to detain a majority of people in its custody, the lawsuit states.

On Aug. 8, plaintiffs submitted a FOIA request to ICE, asking for records of responses to the agency’s RFI.

“[The FOIA] was enacted to facilitate public access to government documents,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit states that the basic purpose of FOIA is to “ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed to check against corruption and to hold the governors accountable to the governed.”

With this aim in mind, the FOIA statute requires that federal agencies such as ICE disclose records within 20 working days, according to the lawsuit.

An additional 10-day extension for processing may be provided under certain circumstances.

However, “more than 30 working days have passed” since plaintiffs filed the request, and there has been no response from ICE with regard to providing the records, the complaint states, noting that the statutory time period has elapsed.

“Plaintiffs have exhausted all administrative remedies regarding ICE’s failure to respond to the Request,” the complaint states.

ACLU and its affiliates asked the court to order ICE to process and release the necessary records.

The ACLU lawsuit comes amid protests and instances of violence against ICE’s immigration enforcement operations and the officials carrying them out.

On Sept. 24, a gunman opened fire at the ICE Dallas building. Although no law enforcement officers were injured in the attack, two detainees died.

On Sept. 26, ICE’s processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, saw clashes between protesters and federal agents. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said residents approached her looking for help because of chemicals being allegedly used by federal agents near the ICE facility.

The DHS said in a Sept. 26 statement that some of the rioters had arrived with fireworks and gas masks, with one apprehended carrying a gun.

“These lawless rioters began chanting ‘Arrest ICE, Shoot ICE,’” the department stated.

Since ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz in early September, targeting criminal illegal aliens in Illinois, “rioters have assaulted law enforcement, thrown tear gas cans, slashed tires of cars, blocked the entrance of the building, and trespassed on private property,” DHS stated.

The Epoch Times reached out to the agency for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Efforts to Unmask ICE Officers

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the No Secret Police Act (SB 627) on Sept. 20.

The act bans local and federal law enforcement, including ICE personnel, from wearing ski masks and other such “extreme masks,” according to a Sept. 20 statement from the office of California state Sen. Scott Wiener, lead author of the bill.

The bill was backed by a coalition of immigrant and civil rights groups. While the DHS asked Newsom to veto the bill, the governor opted to not do so, according to the statement.

“The No Secret Police Act is a bold step that builds on a remarkable record of leadership defending our immigrant communities and democracy itself,” Wiener said.

In its Sept. 26 statement, DHS said that ICE officers were facing “a more than 1,000 percent increase in assaults against them.”

In a Sept. 26 X post, Bill Essayli, acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, criticized Newsom’s decision, accusing him of being “confused” with regard to his role under the U.S. Constitution.

“[Newsom] oversees California, not federal agencies,“ Essayli wrote. ”He should review the Supremacy Clause.

“California’s law to ‘unmask’ federal agents is unconstitutional, as the state lacks jurisdiction to interfere with federal law enforcement. I have directed federal agencies to disregard this state law and adhere to federal law and agency policies.”