A coalition of immigrant-rights advocates and a University of Tennessee researcher has sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accusing the federal agency of stonewalling a records request about what it tells local police and sheriffs they can and cannot share with the public. The lawsuit centers on a Freedom of Information Act request that the plaintiffs say ICE strung along for weeks before shutting it down entirely.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition filed the suit alongside the American Immigration Council and Meghan Conley, a University of Tennessee associate professor and researcher, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs say they are seeking information about what local police and sheriffs are told regarding the public release of immigration enforcement records that get shared with ICE, per the complaint. As WKRN reported, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition filed the lawsuit this week following an unfulfilled Freedom of Information Act request it submitted back in August.
The station reported that the request was for the specific guidance ICE has been providing local law enforcement agencies, particularly about whether those agencies can release certain information to the public. The complaint alleges that ICE has set up a system guiding state and local agencies on whether they may release records requested under state public-records laws, as well as information about ICE cooperation itself.
How the Records Request Fell Apart
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs filed their FOIA request with ICE on Aug. 10 seeking records about the guidance ICE gives local law enforcement regarding state-law records releases.
The request was administratively closed, and the plaintiffs sued on Oct. 28 in the Middle District of Tennessee to compel ICE to produce the records, according to the American Immigration Council.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to require ICE to respond to their records request, according to the lawsuit.
163 Tennessee Agencies Have Signed On With ICE
The lawsuit states that 163 law enforcement agencies in Tennessee have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, according to WKRN's report. The 287(g) program involves partnerships between ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies.
The complaint focuses on ICE guidance to local agencies about releasing records requested under state public-records laws and information about ICE cooperation. The American Immigration Council says ICE has repeatedly worked to control the release of these records even when a request is filed under state law, and that this obstruction has prompted several lawsuits against local agencies.
The plaintiffs say ICE has told local police and sheriffs they need to check with federal officials before sharing certain records with the public, even when state transparency laws say otherwise, according to the American Immigration Council. A DHS spokesperson told WKRN that the department is aware of the complaint, and said the case was assigned to a judge Thursday, though it's not yet clear whether the judge will issue summary judgment or schedule a hearing.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Tennessee Disputes
This isn't the coalition's first fight over access to ICE-related records. In Putnam County, the group sued the sheriff's office in Chancery Court after it declined to release I-216 forms requested by Conley, with the office telling her those records belonged to ICE, according to the Herald-Citizen. That lawsuit, filed March 2, followed records requests the coalition had begun submitting in October.
The coalition also sought a narrow injunction to stop Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Matt Perry from engaging in collaborative operations with ICE, including Operation Flood the Zone, the Nashville Banner reported. A judge declined to grant that injunction in September, though the underlying lawsuit continued.
The disputes come amid growing collaboration between ICE and state and local law enforcement.
