ACLU sues for ICE records ahead of Trump mass deportation plans

The American Civil Liberties Union has launched a suit seeking information about the country’s airline used for deportation flights — information it says will be key for pricing together a “roadmap” for how the incoming Trump administration will carry out promised mass deportations. 

The public records lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeks details about ICE Air, which was used to remove some 140,000 people last year. 

A statement from the group expresses “concerns that ICE’s infrastructure, including its air operations network, could be expanded to assist the Trump administration in its efforts to deport more than 11 million people from the United States.”

“For months, the ACLU has been preparing for the possibility of a mass detention and deportation program, and FOIA litigation has been a central part of our roadmap,” Kyle Virgien, an attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project, said in a statement. 

 “A second Trump administration underscores the urgency of our litigation.”  

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would carry out the largest mass deportation in American history, targeting the estimated 12 million undocumented people living in U.S.

While past efforts have targeted more recent arrivals, Trump has said he would go after those who have been living and working in the U.S. for years.

Trump confirmed Monday that he would declare an immigration national emergency and use military assets to carry out mass deportations, simply writing “TRUE!!!” to the claim on his own social media site.

“President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.