DC attorney general sues ICE for information on immigration crackdown

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit Monday to force the Trump administration to answer questions about a crackdown on immigration over the summer.

Racine argues Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to provide information about immigration enforcement actions between July 9 and July 12 that resulted in 12 people being detained. 

Racine said in the eight-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that activists and community groups have expressed concern that this operation involved ICE officials detaining individuals indiscriminately or based on ethnic profiling.

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“We are very concerned that District residents may have been racially profiled and unfairly targeted during ICE raids in the city this summer,” Racine said in a statement.

“We are also eager to learn more about the individuals who were detained, including their current status. Our immigrant neighbors should not have to live in fear of law enforcement. District residents deserve to know the facts regarding the ICE raids.”

The lawsuit asked the court to force ICE to respond and disclose the records Racine asked for in the Freedom of Information Act request the district filed on July 19. 

“The District has a legal right to the requested records,” the attorney general argued in the filing. “Defendant has improperly withheld those records, forcing the District to file suit to enforce its rights under FOIA.”

An ICE spokeswoman said as a matter of policy the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

— Updated 9:18 p.m.