Department Of Homeland Security Ignoring Requests For Data, Complaint Records: ACLU
By Reuters
Tuesday, April 29, 2014 6:30 EDT
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ignored repeated requests for stop-and-search data and other information related to its “extensive but largely opaque” border-patrol operations in southern Arizona, a civil rights group alleged in a lawsuit filed on Monday.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in a complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in Arizona, said the agency has ignored two requests made in January 2014 seeking information under the Freedom of Information Act.
The requests sought information on policies, complaints, and vehicle stops and searches, among other specifics on checkpoints and so-called roving patrols in the Tucson and Yuma areas. The ACLU, which has demanded an investigation of checkpoints near the U.S.-Mexico border, has accused law enforcement officials of abuse of authority and violations of the constitutional rights of local residents.
“For Border Patrol to be held accountable they have to be transparent. But the agency consistently refuses to share basic information with the American people while rights violations are rampant,” ACLU attorney James Lyall said in a statement.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/29/department-of-homeland-security-ignoring-requests-for-data-complaint-records-aclu/
