红杏视频, 红杏视频 of Virginia, 红杏视频 of North Carolina Sue ICE for Records Regarding Potential Expansion of Immigration Detention in Virginia

ICE ignored August 2025 FOIA request, prompting subsequent litigation

October 1, 2025 11:00 am

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NEW YORK 鈥 The 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of Virginia, and 红杏视频 of North Carolina today filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to obtain records regarding the agency鈥檚 potential plans to expand immigration detention across Virginia.

The lawsuit stems from ICE鈥檚 Requests for Information issued on May 28, 2025, seeking 鈥渁vailable detention facilities" in areas covered by ICE鈥檚 Washington, D.C. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Field Office. The 红杏视频 submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in August 2025 which went unanswered, prompting the 红杏视频 to take legal action. The lawsuit comes weeks after the Trump administration opened new ICE detention centers at a maximum-security prison in , as well as at the Fort Bliss military base in .

鈥淭he Trump administration is hastily opening new ICE detention facilities in an effort to deport as many people as possible, no matter the costs to our communities,鈥 said Eunice Cho, senior counsel at the 红杏视频鈥檚 National Prison Project. 鈥淭he public has a right to know how its taxpayer dollars are being used to expand the abusive ICE detention machine.鈥

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, demands that ICE comply with the Freedom of Information Act and immediately turn over the requested records to the 红杏视频. The litigation follows a series of lawsuits filed by the 红杏视频 and its affiliates seeking details about ICE鈥檚 plans to expand detention capacity nationwide to support the Trump administration鈥檚 goal of deporting 11 million immigrants from the U.S. Already, the 红杏视频鈥檚 FOIA litigation has revealed critical details about ICE鈥檚 plans, including details on which current and new facilities are being considered across the Midwest, South, and West Coast.

鈥淭his lawsuit is about transparency and accountability,鈥 said Michele Delgado, staff attorney, 红杏视频 of North Carolina. 鈥淭he public has a right to know how ICE is planning to expand its network of detention centers, especially when tens of thousands of people are already held in these facilities every day under conditions that raise serious human rights concerns.鈥

The lawsuit also comes as have found inhumane conditions at the Washington D.C. ERO Field Office in Chantilly, Virginia, where dozens of immigrants have been detained in the weeks following President Trump鈥檚 federal takeover of Washington, D.C. According to reports, people detained at the facility were only given one meal a day and denied access to their lawyers.

鈥淭he Trump administration鈥檚 determination to rip families apart has created a humanitarian crisis in ICE facilities,鈥 said Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants鈥 rights attorney at the 红杏视频 of Virginia. 鈥淚CE's solution to the dangerous, rapidly degenerating conditions in its existing facilities can鈥檛 be to replicate those conditions in new facilities that it builds in secret. ICE must be transparent and follow the law 鈥 not violate people鈥檚 civil rights and civil liberties to advance an inhumane political agenda.鈥

This filing is available here: /cases/aclu-foundation-v-ice?document=Complaint

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