Civil and Human Rights Groups Sue ICE for Access to Public Records About Immigrant Detention in Georgia 

ADDITIONAL MEDIA CONTACTS: James Woo, [email protected]; Desiree Evans, [email protected]

ATLANTA – On Friday, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta, the ACLU of Georgia, and Project South filed a federal lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuit seeks records regarding the agency’s potential plans to expand immigration detention in Georgia and its use of the Atlanta ICE Field Office to detain immigrants. ICE has failed to provide these records despite its legal obligation to do so.

Advancing Justice - Atlanta requested records in February and May to obtain critical information that the public deserves to know about the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics. The FOIA requests sought records related to ICE’s plans to convert large warehouses into mass detention centers in order to detain thousands more immigrants, including warehouses in Social Circle and Oakwood.

After months of community pressure, ICE has cancelled its plans to convert the warehouse in Social Circle into an immigrant detention center; but it has not yet confirmed its plans for the Oakwood warehouse.

Advancing Justice - Atlanta also sought records related to ICE’s use of its Atlanta Field Office Hold Room as a detention facility and the conditions there. In June 2025, ICE waived its long-standing policy limiting detention in field office hold rooms to 12 hours, allowing the agency to detain immigrants there for up to 72 hours. An investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that ICE routinely held people for extended periods of time in the Atlanta Field Office Hold Room, even beyond 72 hours, and that immigrants lacked access to beds, showers, adequate medical care, or attorneys.

In March, our organizations sent a letter to ICE demanding that it stop holding immigrants in inhumane conditions at the Atlanta Field Office. ICE claimed it made meaningful improvements in response, but refused to provide proof of that. In an attempt to uncover the truth and hold ICE accountable, Advancing Justice – Atlanta requested detailed records about conditions inside the Atlanta ICE Hold Room.

ICE has failed to respond to these FOIA requests, so Advancing Justice – Atlanta, the ACLU of Georgia, and Project South have now filed this lawsuit to compel their release and to enforce ICE’s clear legal obligations to provide records to the public.

“ICE has acted with secrecy by keeping information from the public about the people it detains in the basement of the Atlanta ICE Field Office, as well as with its development of the warehouse detention centers. ICE can no longer cloak itself in darkness to insulate its unconscionable conduct from public scrutiny. We look forward to unearthing the truth about these important records,” said Samantha C. Hamilton, Senior Staff Attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta.

“It is appalling that ICE is going to such lengths to hide the truth. The public deserves to know about the inhumane conditions inside the Atlanta ICE Field Office holding cells where reports indicate individuals are held for days without proper food, beds, medical care, or access to counsel. ICE must be held accountable for all its destructive and deadly policies. We hope that this FOIA lawsuit will be the first step toward transparency and eventual accountability,” said Priyanka Bhatt, Senior Staff Attorney with Project South.

“The public has a right to know how its tax dollars are being used to carry out the Trump administration’s draconian immigration policies, which sow fear and confusion in our communities. With this lawsuit, we are demanding the transparency the public deserves while protecting the rights and freedoms of everyone in this country,” said Raneem Ashrawi, staff attorney, ACLU of Georgia.