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The American Civil Liberties Union launched legal action against Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday, seeking transparency about potential plans to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s promised mass deportation program.
The lawsuit aims to uncover details about ICE Air Operations, a system of chartered flights currently used for deporting illegal migrants who have received deportation orders.
ACLU sues ICE over release of deportation program records @ARiquelmy https://t.co/MGzLMukHCq
— Courthouse News (@CourthouseNews) November 19, 2024
The civil rights organization wants to understand how these operations could be expanded to accommodate Trump’s deportation promises and explore potential military involvement in the process.
Trump has repeatedly emphasized his commitment to launching what he calls the largest mass deportation operation targeting illegal aliens in U.S. history, beginning on his first day in office.
Earlier this week, Trump confirmed reports about his intention to declare a national emergency, which would allow him to deploy military resources for the deportation initiative.
According to The Guardian, the lawsuit follows an unsuccessful Freedom of Information Act request filed by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California in August, seeking information about potential expansion of ICE’s private charter flights.
“Little is known about how President-elect Trump would carry out its mass deportation agenda, but what we do know is that this proposal has already instilled fear among immigrant communities,” Eva Bitran, director of immigrants’ rights at ACLU SoCal, said in a statement.
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement seeking information on mass deportations.
ACLU National Legal Director Cecillia Wang joins @jdbalart to explain.https://t.co/oYF4TW3pjQ
— MSNBC Reports (@MSNBC_reports) November 19, 2024
“The public has a right to know how its taxpayer dollars could be used to fund deportation flights that would tear apart not only families, but also our communities.”
Such mass deportation programs have historical precedent. During the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower implemented a similar initiative, resulting in the deportation of approximately 1.2 million illegal aliens to their countries of origin.
