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San Diego Tribune
October 4, 2010

Agency denies records on immigration enforcement
By Morgan Lee


ICE has denied a request for extensive enforcement data by the Transactional Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University (TRAC) until the nonprofit group can provide half of a $450,000 fee up-front. The nonprofit group says ICE has complied with similar request in the past -- without a six-figure fee. Recent immigration-enforcement data published by TRAC has cast doubt on government efforts to target criminals, said Susan B. Long, a statistician and co-director of TRAC. Her group often provides data andanalysis for the San Diego region."Lots of reforms have been announced, lots of promises have been made" about immigration enforcement,Long said. "You just can’t know what the reality on the ground is" without this information. In their most recent request, Long and colleagues in May sought anonymous person-by-person data about arrests, detentions, charges filed and removals of illegal immigrants. "For example, it’s really a core piece of information where arrests and apprehensions are taking place,” Long told the Union-Tribune. “Communities really want to know what’s happening in their back yards. There’s alot of political debate on this. And (the information) is off limits now.”


Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University
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