ST. LOUIS — The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit today demanding government documents about the on-the-ground implementation of President Trump’s Muslim bans.
Today’s action is part of a total of 13 FOIA lawsuits filed by ACLU affiliates across the country.
The ACLU of Missouri lawsuit is seeking records concerning Customs and Border Protection’s local implementation of President Trump’s January 27 Executive Order. In particular, the lawsuit seeks records related to CBP’s implementation of President Trump’s Muslim bans at the Kansas City and St. Louis international airports.
The ACLU first sought this information through FOIA requests submitted to CBP on February 2. Since the government has failed to substantively respond, the ACLU is now suing.
“President Trump made an unconstitutional order to ban Muslims that created chaos and confusion across the nation,” said Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Missouri. “Now, he wants to hide what happened. The ACLU won’t let that happen on our watch.”
“CBP has a long history of ignoring its obligations under the federal Freedom of Information Act — a law that was enacted to ensure that Americans have timely access to information of pressing public concern. The public has a right to know how federal immigration officials have handled the implementation of the Muslim bans, especially after multiple federal courts have blocked various aspects of these executive orders,” said Mitra Ebadolahi, Border Litigation Project Staff Attorney with the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
Each lawsuit seeks unique and local information regarding how CBP implemented the executive orders at specific airports and ports of entry in the midst of rapidly developing and sometimes conflicting government guidance.
The coordinated lawsuits seek information from the following local CBP offices:
Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa and Tucson.
Read all the affiliate FOIA lawsuits and learn more on CBP’s FOIA practices.