ACLU sues to get clues on Trump's mass deportation plans
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Buses transporting migrants to board the first deportation flight of undocumented Venezuelans after a US-Venezuelan agreement are seen as another deportation plane headed to Central America is seen flying above them in Harlingen, Texas, on October 18, 2023. Photo: Veronica G. Cardenas/AFP via Getty Images
Civil liberties advocates worried about President-elect Trump's plan for mass deportations are suing the federal government to get information on how authorities could rapidly remove people from the U.S.
Driving the news: The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles on Monday.
- They are seeking records on how "ICE Air Operations" could be expanded to carry out a deportation and detention program that could ensnare millions of undocumented immigrants.
- Trump has repeatedly promised he will launch the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history once he takes office.
The big picture: ICE Air Operations are the network of for-profit, commercial, and privately chartered deportation flights run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- The lawsuit was filed after ICE failed to respond to an open records request from the Biden administration in August 2024. It was filed with the national ACLU and Mayer Brown LLP.
Catch up quick: The ACLU lawsuit also comes after Trump confirmed Monday that he is planning to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military to carry out mass deportations.
- Trump made his promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants one of the cornerstones of his 2024 campaign, and his team has already begun strategizing how to carry the plan out.
- His plans to crack down on immigration include using a range of tools to deport millions of people in the U.S. each year — from obscure laws to military funds to law enforcement officers from all levels of government.
Zoom in: Civil liberties advocates are demanding that ICE immediately turn over the requested records, including all ICE contracts and records regarding air transportation to execute removals.
- They also want documents containing information on what ground transportation is used to transfer noncitizens to airports for removal flights.
- They are also seeking records showing the airfields ICE uses, or has access to, for removal.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not immediately return an email.
What they're saying: "For months, the ACLU has been preparing for the possibility of a mass detention and deportation program, and FOIA litigation has been a central part of our roadmap," Kyle Virgien, senior staff attorney at the ACLU's National Prison Project, said in a statement.
- "A second Trump administration underscores the urgency of our litigation," Virgien said.
- "Little is known about how President-elect Trump would carry out its mass deportation agenda, but what we do know is that this proposal has already instilled fear among immigrant communities," said Eva Bitran, director of immigrants' rights at ACLU SoCal.
Maribel Hernández Rivera, director of policy and government affairs for border and immigration at the ACLU, tells Axios the group is also preparing to challenge any new temporary detention camps it deems inhumane.
Zoom out: The mass deportation plans outlined by Trump could cost $150 billion to $350 billion, immigration experts say.
- Trump promised to use local law enforcement, the military, the FBI and other federal agencies for mass deportations while also vowing to end birthright citizenship.
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