A group of civil and immigrant rights groups have sent a thorough Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the feds to find out if U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or the White House were in coordinated talks with state officials before the widespread immigration crackdown in Texas. The Texas Civil Rights Project, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Workers Defense Project also want to know whether ICE’s actions served as political payback. The raids came directly after Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez announced plans to not comply with noncriminal detainer requests and Dallas County Commissioners adopted a resolution that called to end nonessential ICE collaborations. FOIA search terms include Gov. Greg Abbott, Sheriff Hernandez, and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt. The groups are requesting an answer from the Department of Homeland Security by March 15.
“We are ready and prepared with the legal tools necessary to defend our immigrant communities,” said Efrén C. Olivares, TCRP’s racial and economic justice director. “This means we must reveal the facts that led to the wave of apprehensions in Texas. If the immigration raids were politically motivated, these actions raise serious legal and constitutional concerns that must be addressed.”
Show Me Your Papers
A version of this article appeared in print on Feb 24, 2017 with the headline: Show Me Your Papers
This article appears in February 24 • 2017.