(Image source from: The Washington Post)
Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine is suing the Trump administration to acquire more information about an operation this summer that emerged in the arrests of over 130 undocumented immigrants in the Washington region.
Earlier in July, Racine submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking for records accompanying Operation Eagle's Shield, in which 12 city residents were taken into detention.
ICE agents were accused by advocates of racially profiling and targeting Latino immigrants at random.
Since the federal immigration agency did not answer to Racine's petition within the prescribed period of time by law, his office is asking the U.S. District Court in Washington to force officials to bring forth the records. Dissimilar to criminal arrests, immigration arrests are considered civil matters, and the data is normally not made public.
"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."
A spokesperson for ICE said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
The arrests commenced July 9 as part of a unified operation to "identify priority targets for enforcement action." ICE says many of those taken into custody were violent offenders, sex offenders, gang members and other people who posed threats to public safety.
Among 132 people arrested, 37 were charged with condemnable offenses such as firearm violation or an illegal reentry. The remainder were placed in deportation proceedings.
Community activists in the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights neighborhoods of Northwest Washington say agents arrived on 16th Street looking for specific people. When they were not found, the advocates say, agents entered apartment buildings and businesses arresting people at random - including a young waiter.
The arrests triggered indignation and protests in the historically Latino neighborhoods.
Activists say at least four of the people arrested in the District have been deported. A few others were released to their families pending immigration court hearings.
Despite the District's status as a sanctuary city, activists say, immigrants, continue to be picked up by federal agents at courthouses, where the U.S. Marshals have jurisdiction.
-Sowmya Sangam
