New York
ACLU v. DOJ – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About the Use of JTTFs and Fusion Centers to Target Protesters and Communities of Color
Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) and fusion centers are joint federal-state law enforcement intelligence hubs with a long history of investigating, collecting, and disseminating information on protesters and communities of color, but the public has little information about how these entities work and their impact on our rights. In May 2024, the ACLU filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking the release of records on the use of JTTFs and fusion centers to target protesters and communities of color and the adequacy of the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties policies that apply to them. When the government failed to release records, we filed suit in July 2024 to compel public disclosure of these documents. After the government produced records, the ACLU dismissed the case in July 2025.
Status: Closed (Voluntarily Dismissed)
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New York
May 2026
Immigrants' Rights
Barco Mercado v. Mullin
An individual detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sued the Trump administration over lack of access to legal counsel and unsafe conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, a federal building in New York where more than 100 people have been confined, sometimes for weeks, to a temporary holding facility operated by ICE. The holding facility is only meant to temporarily hold people who are immigrants for a matter of hours as they are processed before release or transported to a longer-term detention facility. It has no beds, showers, or adequate medical support. However, as ICE has increased its arrests of immigrants, it has packed people into the holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza, where they are detained for extended periods of time, often for a week or more. Detained individuals have estimated that ICE has packed between 70 to 90 people into a room of approximately 215 square feet.
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New York
May 2026
Reproductive Freedom
Immigrants' Rights
ACLU et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to demand transparency from the Trump administration regarding its treatment of pregnant unaccompanied immigrant youth in federal immigration custody. The lawsuit seeks to enforce the ACLU and NCYL’s February 2025 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records and correspondence from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which oversees the care and custody of unaccompanied immigrant youth until they are placed with a sponsor, usually a family member in the United States. The release of this information is important to monitor whether the Trump administration is ensuring that these marginalized young people have access to the full range of pregnancy-related care while in government custody, as is required by law.