SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Feb. 7 that his office has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice and its Office of Justice Programs (OJP) over allegations of violating the Freedom of Information Act.
According to Becerra’s office, the Trump administration has filed to produce legally mandated documents requested by Becerra. Becerra says he submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Sept. 8, 2017, looking for information regarding possible administration changes to federal immigration enforcement practices, as well as the administration’s administering of law enforcement grants.
"As citizens of this country, we have the right to examine public documents of our government by submitting a FOIA request," Becerra said in a statement. "That's a hallmark and indispensable tenet of an open and transparent democracy. The federal government doesn't get to choose which laws it will obey, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his Justice Department should be in the business of enforcing, not violating, the law. Federal authorities have a clear legal obligation to respond to our FOIA request, and California will stand its ground until we have answers.”
