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New York Attorney General Letitia James led 16 attorney generals in filing an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas against the Biden administration. Texas had sued to stop Biden’s deportation moratorium and a judge put an injunction on the moratorium while the case proceeded. Texas had entered into a last-minute agreement with the Trump administration, which would make it difficult for the Biden administration to implement policies the Republican-held border state disapproves of. James argued this agreement is unlawful and presents issues for federal immigration enforcement in New York and the other states. New York CaribNews
In other local immigration news…
Why I Led a Hunger Strike Against ICE in New Jersey
📍Documented Original Over the past few months, immigrants detained across three county jails in New Jersey led an unprecedented wave of hunger strikes demanding release and better conditions amid the jail’s lack of response to rampant COVID-19 outbreaks. Lautaro – which is not his real name – was one of the strike leaders at Hudson County Jail, where he has been incarcerated for less than a year. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while leaving a meeting with his probation officer for a charge he previously served time for. On Tuesday, Documented published an as-told-to story on his experience. Read more at Documented
NYLAG Wins Appeal in FOIA Lawsuit to Access BIA Decisions
The New York Legal Assistance Group won its lawsuit to compel the Board of Immigration Appeals to make publicly available unpublished decisions on immigration cases under the Freedom of Information Act. BIA decisions are often cited by the BIA and judges when reaching conclusions, but they are not generally made publicly available. NYLAG asked the BIA to make public all of its decisions since November 1996 and going forward. In appeals court in the Second Circuit, judges ruled 2-1 in favor of NYLAG that FOIA gave them the right to access those decisions. A Trump appointee, Judge Michael Park, dissented. PFAW