Extracting Info From ICE

Rahaim is an analyst for the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC), a nonprofit organization offering a free legal hotline service for ethnic media journalists. http://www.cfac.org. IMMIGRATION MATTERS regularly features the views of the nation's leading immigrant rights advocates

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the past months have not only incited fear in immigrant communities across the country, but have caused confusion in media, public agencies, and community groups that have sought, mostly without success, details about individuals swept up in the raids.

The initial information void brings to mind disappearances reminiscent of the troubled political pasts of police states from which many immigrants have fled. To be fair, no one is being “disappeared,” but only with significant digging, persistence, and use of the Freedom of Information Act, can reporters gain access to relevant records.

In dealing with ICE, one needs information to gain information. Following raids or arrests, ICE’s public relations office will respond to questions based on the information the questioner already has. If a journalist, knowing only that arrests have been made, asks ICE for details---she is unlikely to get very far. But if she asks about a specific, named individual, ICE will at least disclose whether that person is in custody; if the person asking for information is a family member, he will receive information on where his arrested relative is being held.

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