A conservative watchdog filed a lawsuit this week against the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to force the agency to provide any communications between Vice President Kamala Harris’ executive office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding to the southwest border and illegal immigration.
In September, the Oversight Project – a good government group under the umbrella of the conservative Heritage Foundation – filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the communications. But the group felt that the DHS response did not comply with federal law and therefore filed a lawsuit in federal court.
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Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (center) visits the U.S.-Mexico border with U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin (right) in Douglas, Arizona, Sept. 27, 2024. (REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images)
The lawsuit demands that DHS be forced to release its communications with Harris by October 22.
“Here we are looking for communications between CBP and Vice President Harris’ office. She was appointed ‘border czar,’ and the administration means it was to analyze the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle. One might assume, given “The “The importance of that portfolio and the fact that 10 million illegal aliens have entered the country under his supervision means there is a lot of communication between CBP and his office.”
Brosnan said the Oct. 22 deadline aligns with the public interest in understanding a major party candidate’s record on an important issue in time for them to cast their vote:
“We are pursuing our rights through the FOIA to obtain those records. And, with immigration being such an important issue in the election, the use and importance of the prominence of the documents would be greatly diminished in terms of educating the public if get them after the elections.
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Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on December 7, 2023 in Lukeville, Arizona. A Department of Homeland Security Threat Assessment warned of migrants with ties to terrorism exploiting the border crisis. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
That, he said, is the reason for the motion for precautionary measures, which if approved, would force the government to accelerate the release of documents.
According to the document, obtained by Fox News Digital, CBP acknowledged receipt of the FOIA request on September 18, citing email correspondence between CBP and Brosnan’s colleague Mike Howell.
Subsequently, CBP’s FOIA office allegedly administratively closed the request without informing the complainants, claiming that “no documents were submitted” on the FOIA portal.
The Oversight Project followed up with CBP demanding that the request be reopened, and the agency informed it that its request was insufficient and lacked details about which emails from particular CBP employees they should examine, as well as the email domains. related to the Harris executive. office to include in the search.
In the filing, Brosnan’s team pointed out “inconsistencies” between CBP’s response to the FOIA and a similarly structured request from the House Oversight Committee.
In September, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to acting CBP chief Troy Miller, repeating a request for documents related to Harris’ handling of the border crisis:
“It is important that the committee and the American people understand Vice President Harris’ role as border czar in the current border crisis,” Comer said in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
In an interview last week, Brosnan said the public should be aware of what Harris’ team was communicating with CBP in terms of border security if it was indeed tasked with overseeing such operations.
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He also cited what he called recent media attempts to “rewrite” Harris’ record on the border as the reason communications should come to light and paint the true picture, positive or negative.
“The public should be informed about what their office was working on and communicating with CBP in real time during the height of the crisis.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Comer and Harris’ offices for comment but did not receive a response as of press time.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
