Sarah Sherman-Stokes, Laila Hlass, and Mary Yanik v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 24-cv-12533 (D. Mass.)
Three immigration law professors—Sarah Sherman-Stokes of Boston University School of Law and Laila Hlass and Mary Yanik of Tulane Law School—are suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to obtain records on how the agency runs its detention centers across the country.
In July 2024, the professors submitted a FOIA request seeking individualized data on everyone ICE has detained nationwide since fiscal year 2010, records showing whether ICE complies with a Supreme Court limit on how long it can detain people after a final removal order, and contracts and correspondence concerning detention facilities used by ICE’s New Orleans, Louisiana, and Burlington, Massachusetts, field offices since fiscal year 2018. ICE missed FOIA’s statutory deadline to respond.
The professors argue that ICE’s failure to timely respond amounts to wrongful withholding of records under FOIA, and are asking the court to order ICE to fully process the request, disclose the records, and cover the litigation costs and fees.
Co-counsel:
Law Office of Amber Qureshi, Tulane Immigrant Rights Clinic, Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program at Boston University