Court Orders Attorney General Ashcroft to Disclose Secret Memo On...

[WillyT]

Local Police Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws - ACLU

September 27, 2004

<snip>

“There is no justification for secret lawmaking,” said ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat. “The court has rightly foiled Attorney General Ashcroft’s attempt to use secrecy to shield his radical policies from public scrutiny and debate.”

The ACLU, which had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last year seeking the document, hailed the ruling as yet another blow to government secrecy over post-9/11 policies and practices. The ACLU and other groups that objected to the new immigration policy said that the government’s insistence on keeping its legal rationale secret has made it difficult to evaluate the new policy or advise immigrants about its effects.

In his ruling, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan called the government’s attempts to keep the policy secret “unpersuasive,” saying, “the Department’s view that it may adopt a legal position while shielding from public view the analysis that yielded that position is offensive to FOIA.” Judge Kaplan ordered the DOJ to disclose the memo by October 12.

According to the FOIA lawsuit, filed on behalf of a coalition of eight civil rights and immigrants’ rights groups, in June of 2002 the Attorney General adopted a new policy that allows state and local police to arrest and detain certain immigrants who are believed to be in violation of non-criminal provisions of the federal immigration laws. Despite repeated requests, the Department had refused to release the new policy or its legal basis to the public.

<snip>

Link: http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=16566&c=206

Thank god we've got a few honorable judges left!!!

:bounce:

[Elidor]

1. Crisco John runs afoul of more federal judges than any AG I can recall

Another smackdown for that assclown!
:bounce:
And soon he'll be gone!

[UpInArms]

2. a kick to end the secrecy of this mal-administration

:kick:

[MissMarple]

3. The judge expects a legal basis? From Ashcroft???

Since God is on his side he doesn't need a legal basis. I won't be surprised if he starts striding about in public with a big whip, and smiting randon "sinners". Dismayed but not surprised. And at least he will be out in the light of day and his intentions exposed.

[kayell]

4. "...democracy simply means good government rooted in

responsibility, transparency and accountability." Dubya at the UN last week.

Well, I guess we know what we haven't got.

[WillyT]

5. Kick !!!

:kick: