January 31, 2018
Protecting the rule of law and the integrity of our immigration system
WASHINGTON – On behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) today filed an action against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), seeking the communications of former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates related to her handling of the Trump administration’s executive order to restrict travel from select terror-risk nations.
IRLI filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, as DOJ has wrongfully withheld the requested records. In addition to Yates’ communications in general, the lawsuit also seeks records regarding Yates’ coordination with open borders groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center.
Yates served as acting attorney general for ten days in January of last year following the inauguration of President Trump. An appointee of former President Obama, she was dismissed from the position after she wrongfully instructed DOJ not to defend the administration’s executive order.
After her dismissal, the White House issued a statement declaring that Yates “is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.” It also stated that Yates “has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States.”
“The American people deserve a Justice Department that implements the laws as defined by the Constitution,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “They also have the right to know if their acting attorney general was coordinating DOJ activities with groups seeking defiance of our immigration laws. Those communications are public property and should be produced.”
For additional information, contact: Brian Lonergan • 202-232-5590 • [email protected]
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