IRLI Sues Border Agencies for Infectious Disease Records

March 30, 2022

Agencies have refused to release records showing extent of illegal alien health threat

WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has sued U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, seeking records related to these agencies’ policies and practices regarding illegal-alien border-crossers with infectious diseases, including COVID-19, the number of such aliens, and their location and immigration status. The suit was filed on behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington, DC, federal district court. In an attempt to hide information from the public, the agencies have refused to produce these public records pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Neither the records request nor the lawsuit seeks any information that personally identifies any alien. Rather, IRLI is suing to find out how many illegal aliens with infectious diseases have entered the country, where they came from, what, if anything, was done to treat them, and where they went after any such treatment.

“It is unfortunate that we have to sue to find out what health risks our government may have subjected the nation to because of its policies and practices,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “It is also worrisome; it is hard to imagine why the government would want this information kept secret if there was no problem. In this age of pandemic, when entire economies have been cast down, and freedoms curtailed, the public has an urgent need to know the magnitude of the health threat from porous borders, and what, if anything, has been done about it.”

The case is FAIR v. CBP, DHS, No. 1:22-cv-00709 (D.D.C.).