Florida sues feds over immigration records

Attorney General Ashley Moody of Florida filed a complaint on Tuesday, claiming that requests for records about specific immigration processes handled by federal agencies have violated the Freedom of Information Act. The Federal Bureau of Prisons and Immigration & Customs Enforcement were sued by Moody’s office in U.S. district court in Fort Myers. According to the lawsuit, Florida requested documents from the agencies in March under the Freedom of Information Act concerning what Moody’s office called “federal government policies permitting the release of dangerous criminals into the United States.” It stated that the agencies had not fulfilled their obligations to Florida, including alerting the state of their decisions to cooperate with the requests, or produced the data that were sought. According to the complaint, Florida is looking for information on regulations pertaining to the admission of individuals into the country for the purpose of federal prosecution, and subsequently the potential for their release following the completion of their terms.