New Lawsuit Seeks Trump Administration Records on Weaponized Immigration Enforcement

American Oversight on Friday filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Trump administration for failing to release records that could shed light on its shifting immigration enforcement priorities, including troubling efforts to target vulnerable immigrant communities through attempted arrests at schools, job sites, places of worship, and even baseball stadiums. The records may also provide insight into the administration’s decisions that appear designed to reward the president’s political allies while punishing perceived opponents.

The lawsuit, filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, follows mounting evidence that the administration has abandoned long-standing enforcement protections and due process norms in favor of politically expedient crackdowns designed to stoke fear in immigrant communities and consolidate power.

“The American people deserve full transparency about what’s driving this administration’s sweeping immigration raids,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “From arrests in schools and churches to raids on small businesses and farms, the administration’s immigration enforcement has disproportionately targeted our most vulnerable — including children, low-income workers, and immigrant communities. It appears to be driven more by partisan politics than by any legitimate public safety concern, with devastating decisions that have torn families apart — all behind a wall of secrecy. Transparency isn’t optional — it’s a requirement. We’re going to court to ensure the public gets the answers it deserves.”

In a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed earlier this year, American Oversight sought internal communications and policy directives related to enforcement actions at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship; the administration’s arrest and deportation priorities; raids at workplaces including farms, factories, restaurants, and construction sites; and the use of I-9 audits, “collateral” arrests, and other tactics affecting both U.S. citizens and immigrant communities.

Despite the agencies’ legal obligations under FOIA, none of the entities named in the suit have produced responsive records or provided lawful justifications for withholding them.