Published Mar 27, 2026
Syracuse, NY -- March 27, 2026 TRAC Reports, Inc. and Professor Susan B. Long have secured a decisive legal victory against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. Judge David N. Hurd granted TRAC's motion for summary judgment and rejected all of the government's arguments for withholding records, ordering the agencies to begin producing vast quantities of case-by-case immigration enforcement data from the Enforcement Integrated Database (EID).
The lawsuit, filed in December 2023, challenged ICE and CBP's refusal to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for comprehensive data from the EID - a database that captures and maintains information related to the investigation, arrest, booking, detention, and removal of individuals encountered during immigration and law enforcement operations. TRAC sought linked person-by-person data on individuals with removal cases and those apprehended by CBP, along with associated code files and lookup tables necessary to interpret the data. Despite statutory deadlines having elapsed, both agencies failed to produce any responsive records.
In his March 24, 2026 opinion, Judge Hurd flatly rejected the government's defenses, including claims that producing the data would be unduly burdensome and that the EID database was not purpose-built for FOIA disclosure. The court adopted "each and every one of the reasons set forth in plaintiffs' thorough memoranda," finding that ICE and CBP had failed to carry their burden of justifying the complete withholding of information. Judge Hurd emphasized that FOIA's mandate calls for broad disclosure of government records and that "all doubts are resolved in favor of disclosure." The court specifically noted that copying and producing EID data is not only feasible but a routine process for these agencies.
The court's decision marks a significant win for government transparency and accountability. Judge Hurd warned the agencies against engaging in "a war of attrition" through repeated motion practice and emphasized Congress's strong preference for at least partial disclosure when reasonably possible. The parties have been ordered to meet and confer within thirty days to establish a realistic timeline for the production of nonexempt records. TRAC's access to this comprehensive enforcement data will enable the organization to continue its mission of providing the American public, Congress, news organizations, and oversight institutions with critical information about federal immigration enforcement activities.
Professor Susan B. Long is a faculty member at Syracuse University and Co-Founded with David Burnham in 1989 the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). TRAC Reports, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Syracuse, New York, dedicated to providing comprehensive information about federal government staffing, spending, and enforcement activities.
The case, Long et al v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement et al, Case No. 5:23-CV-1564 (DNH/MJK), was litigated by pro bono attorneys Nick Sansone and Michael Kirkpatrick of Public Citizen Litigation Group (PCLG). It was aided by earlier victories in more than ten years of pro bono litigation conducted by PCLG on behalf of TRAC. These legal efforts targeted EID metadata that identifies specifics of the data maintained by immigration enforcement agencies.