Judge Approves Landmark Settlement in Immigration Policy Case
FBI, DHS and ICE Agree to Release Crucial Documents Relating to Controversial
Deportation Dragnet Program, Se Communities
March 15, 2013, New York – Last night, a federal judge approved a settlement between the government and several rights groups in a long-running lawsuit demanding transparency in the controversial Se Communities (SCOMM) program.
Since its rollout in 2008, SCOMM has spread nationwide, over the protests of local and state leaders, contributing to the Obama administration’s widely criticized, record-setting deportation numbers. The program targets all people booked into local jails, regardless of how minor the charges or even if no charges are pressed at all. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently come under fire for revelations that it has trolled state agencies and local jails looking for low-level offenders so as to meet its arbitrary criminal deportation quotas.
Precedent-Setting Ruling in E-FOIA Case
Court Orders FBI, DHS and ICE to Lift “Veil of Secrecy” and Comply With Freedom of Information Act July 13, 2012, New York – Today, in an important victory for open government, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, of the Southern District of New York, ruled that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland…