The American Civil Liberties Union claims that Homeland Security is stonewalling their request for statistics about the border patrol’s practice of deporting people without due process. The ACLU filed a request in February on the numbers throw out of the country under an expedited “removal policy.” The ACLU also claimed that Homeland Security blocks reporters from obtaining the information in other ways by barring them from border areas and subjecting border agents to criminal charges if they speak to reporters. (Courthouse News Service, August 26, 2014, by Matt Reynolds)
In a related action, the ACLU and immigration rights groups are suing the Obama administration over its expedited deportation of recent immigrants. The fast-track program is a response to the recent flood of immigrants including children, some with no parent, fleeing from gang violence in their home countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The complaint asserts that women and children held in detention are not even allowed to discuss their cases with attorneys for more than three minutes. (ABA Journal, August 22, 2014, by Lorelei Laird)