Patterson Belknap and The Center for Constitutional Rights Challenge State Attorney General Subpoenas on Behalf of Louisiana Immigrant Rights Organizations
March, 2023 - New York, New York
On March 20, Patterson Belknap and The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a motion to quash three subpoenas issued by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to three small, local non-profits providing aid to detained immigrants, immigrants who have been recently released from detention, and individuals facing immigration removal proceedings. The organization are Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention, Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy, and Home is Here NOLA.
On behalf of these organizations, Patterson Belknap and the Center for Constitutional rights argue in their filing that the subpoenas are “overbroad,” seek information that is “irrelevant,” “impose an undue burden,” and “undermine the guarantees enshrined in the First Amendment.”
The subpoenas were issued in Arizona v. Garland, a case in which Louisiana and 18 other states claim that the Biden Administration’s asylum rules will increase immigration levels, which will cause the states to incur “increased costs.”
But the information Mr. Landry seeks, the organizations’ filing says, "lies in the State's (or the federal government's) custody, care, and control.” The motion argues that the Attorney General’s decision to subpoena the organizations is one "of convenience, not necessity." “There is no reason,” the motion argues, “why the burden of identifying who attends Louisiana schools or who receives Louisiana benefits should fall" on the organizations "rather than the State of Louisiana or U.S. Government agencies that readily have access to that data."
Additionally, the organizations object on the ground that the information sought is “highly sensitive.” Disclosing immigrants’ personal information would "harm immigrant communities by instilling fear and deterring them from seeking assistance" from the organizations,” according to the motion. Moreover, forcing the organizations to disclose that information would offend their First Amendment rights to free association and free exercise of religion.
To read the press release from The Center for Constitutional Rights, click here.
