"Race Science" FOIA Litigation

At a Glance

Date Filed: 

September 4, 2024

Current Status 

Complaint filed in SDNY on September 4, 2024.

Co-Counsel 

Florence Project

Client(s) 

Florence Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Individual Client L.B. 

Case Description 

Since at least 1998, U.S. immigration authorities have used dental radiographs in their process for determining the age of migrants even though the technique has been widely discredited. Further, authorities have often used the x-rays as the sole basis for these age determinations in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which requires them to consider multiple forms of evidence, including the statements of the individual in question, birth certificates, school records, baptismal and other religious records, immunization records, and statements from friends and family. As a result, many migrant children have been illegally held in prison-like adult facilities, and a disproportionate number are Black and South Asian. The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Florence Project have filed a FOIA to gain more information and shed more light on this "race science" practice. 

Case Timeline

September 5, 2024
Complaint filed in SDNY
June 10, 2024
FOIA requests filed