Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed an official complaint against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday, alleging the two entities have failed to produce documents regarding the release of immigrant detainees into Tennessee.
Skrmetti’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, raises claims under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
In December, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced his office was notified that ICE facilities in New Orleans were planning on transporting an unknown number of single adult detainees to Tennessee to await court proceedings.
Earlier this year, Skrmetti submitted a series of FOIA Requests seeking documents related to the planned transport and release into Tennessee of noncitizen detainees held in ICE detention facilities, however, the agencies have yet to fulfill his requests.
“Tennessee has since sought and failed to obtain information about ICE’s detainee release plan, including by making and renewing FOIA requests for Defendants’ records and third party communications with immigration-rights groups and local leaders,” Skrmetti’s complaint reads. “Records obtained directly from Metro Nashville confirm that Defendants possess records responsive to Tennessee’s requests. FOIA required Defendants to determine within 20 days whether they would comply with such a request, with an opportunity to seek a brief extension only in exceptional circumstances.”
