Read a PDF of our statement here
Statement of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. on Recent Deportation Raids
FOIA Request Filed Seeking Information on Training of ICE Officers
Recent raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency raise grave civil and human rights concerns. In as many as ten states, federal agents have reportedly targeted and rounded up suspected immigrants for deportation without evidence of prior criminal convictions and, in some instances, without evidence of undocumented status. The nature and manner of these raids suggest that federal agents may be engaged in racial profiling, and violating the constitutional rights of law-abiding immigrants.
“The human rights implications of these raids are profound,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. “Parents have been taken away from their minor children without warning and without efforts to secure appropriate caretakers. Agents are reportedly using roadway checkpoints and going door-to-door in majority Latino neighborhoods in Texas and elsewhere. This conduct has caused panic and confusion within immigrant communities throughout the United States.”
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund calls on the Trump Administration to publicly clarify the precise contours of this deportation effort, including whether and to what extent law-abiding immigrants are subject to this operation. LDF also calls on the Administration to ensure that all ICE officers are (1) aware of the legal prohibitions on racial profiling, and (2) directed to avoid any and all intimidating conduct towards children and non-criminal immigrants.
In order to ensure that all ICE raids are conducted appropriately, LDF filed a FOIA request today seeking information on the training of ICE officers.
“Any deportation program undertaken by the federal government must operate within the confines of law, and within the bounds of human dignity,” said Ifill. “Fomenting panic and fear within immigrant communities encourages community members to fear and distrust law enforcement, to keep children out of school, and to live in the shadows. As a result, the current conduct of the ICE agents is likely to increase, not decrease, criminal activity,” said Sherrilyn Ifill. LDF stands shoulder-to-shoulder with organizations such as United We Dream, the National Council of La Raza and other civil rights groups in condemning these raids. We call on President Trump to provide clarity on the precise contours of these raids and to direct that all deportation programs are conducted legally and humanely.
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
