The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit Wednesday against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) demanding they release records tied to the Trump administration’s alleged purchase of cell phone data to track the locations of immigrants. The action is being brought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The FIOA request was made by the ACLU after reports that the agencies had purchased app data that told them where cell phones were located. This purchase of app data instead of getting a warrant through the proper judicial process could be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The ACLU brought the suit because they have been waiting nine months to receive a response to their FIOA request.

They requested access to all records between Venntel, Inc., and the agencies. They also requested access to the legal analysis done by the agencies in regards to Carpenter v. United States, in which the Supreme Court said the expectation of privacy covered the expectation by users that their phone location data would not be shared. Finally, they requested information on every time the agencies actually used the data to arrest or track immigrants. The request was received by the agencies in February of 2020 but there has still been no release of records.

The ACLU is requesting the immediate release of the records and for the waiver of request and limitations fees as outlined in FOIA.