FOIA Case Seeking the Trump Administration’s Legal Justification for Deadly Boat Strikes

On September 2, 2025, the Trump administration conducted its first of numerous lethal military strikes on civilians in boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing dozens of people.

These strikes are illegal. The U.S. military may not, under any circumstances, execute civilians who are merely suspected of smuggling drugs. Rather, the U.S. government must first pursue non-lethal measures like arrest and demonstrate that lethal force is an absolute last resort to protect against a concrete, specific, and imminent threat of death or serious physical injury. Despite bipartisan outrage over these plainly unlawful attacks, the Trump administration has said they will continue.

On October 15, 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking immediate disclosure of a legal opinion authored by OLC — a part of the Justice Department whose opinions are generally treated as binding within the executive branch — that apparently blesses the ongoing strikes as lawful acts in an alleged “armed conflict” with unspecified “drug cartels.” The memo also reportedly purports to immunize personnel who authorized or took part in these unlawful strikes from future criminal prosecution.

The Trump administration has repeatedly acknowledged the existence of the memo and continues to assert that their strikes are on “firm legal ground,” yet they are still refusing to publicly release the OLC opinion that details their reasoning. In mid-November, the Trump administration allowed members of Congress and their staffs to read the opinion. Many found its analysis deeply troubling. Indeed, one senator remarked that the opinion “would not constrain any use of force anywhere in the world. I mean, it is broad enough to authorize just about anything.”

Despite urgent public interest in the OLC opinion, the government has not released any records in response to the ACLU’s request, necessitating this lawsuit.