The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the federal government Monday to get more information on Trump's plan to carry out mass deportations.
The Union, which primarily seeks to advocate for and against federal, state and local measures, says it will seek to build a "roadmap" on how the incoming Trump administration, which has vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in "American history," will fulfill its promises.
The lawsuit will specifically look for details about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement airlines, which was used to remove some 140,000 people last year, according to The Hill.
The group alleges that ICE has failed to respond to requests for basic information about its existing contracts with private airline companies that make up "ICE Air," as well as ground transportation services, airfields and policies governing deportation flights, including those carrying children, The Washington Post reports.
The group released a statement following the lawsuit filing, in which they expressed "concerns that ICE's infrastructure, including its air operations network, could be expanded to assist the Trump administration in its efforts to deport more than 11 million people from the United States."
"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, an attorney at the ACLU's National Prison Project, said in the statement. "A second Trump administration underscores the urgency of our litigation."
The lawsuit comes after President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Monday that he is planning to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military to carry out mass deportations. Cracking down immigration and carrying large-scale deportations was a cornerstone to his 2024 reelection campaign, promising to deport millions of people in the U.S. each year, using obscure laws, military funds and law enforcement officers from all levels of government, Axios reports.
Trump's deportation plan confirmation on Monday was made clear on his social media platform Truth Social. Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative Judicial Watch, said on the platform earlier this month that the President-elect was "prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program."
Trump reposted Fitton's comment Monday with the caption, "TRUE!!"
ICE spokesman Mike Alvarez did not respond to the ACLU's lawsuit, saying that the agency does not comment on pending litigation, according to The Washington Post.
As per the Trump team, Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition team, reaffirmed Monday that Trump intends to "marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history while simultaneously lowering costs for families."
The ACLU has been a major critic of Trump, filing approximately 430 legal challenges against his immigration policies and other issues. On immigration, lawyers fought Trump's efforts to restrict access to asylum and led a major case that halted his forced separation of migrant parents and children at the southern border.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
