The ACLU-NC is concerned that the questioning by FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF's) of immigrants and U.S. citizens may violate their First Amendment rights and have a chilling effect on the exercise of constitutional rights. The JTTF's are made up of state and local officers working with agents of the FBI and officers of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ACLU's lawsuit charges the federal government with stalling the release of public records that would reveal the scope, purpose and policies behind controversial tactics currently being pursued throughout Northern California by the FBI's JTTFs.

The documents sought by the FOIA request would (among other things) reveal the scope of JTTF operations in Northern California and whether the FBI's JTTFs have any written policies that -

• Control the maintenance, storage, use and destruction of the sensitive religious, political and personal information gathered in these interviews;
  
  
• Ensure that state and local officers do not violate stronger California constitutional rights and local policies while operating under Attorney General John Ashcroft's drastically loosened intelligence guidelines for the FBI; and,
  
  
• Ensure the rights to lawfully practice one's religion or to express dissent from government policies are not, by themselves, appropriate subjects for law enforcement inquiry.

"It's time for the FBI to come clean about this unprecedented campaign and the activities of their JTTF's in our state," said John Crew, an attorney for the ACLU of Northern California. "If they want the public to believe these interviews are truly voluntary, why won't they publicly release policies requiring officers to respect the constitutional right of individuals to refuse answer these chilling questions? If the right to have an attorney present during the questioning will be respected, why do they resist quickly releasing policies that say that?"

The ACLU-NC based its lawsuit on regulations that require expedited treatment of FOIA requests when substantial due process rights are at stake or when the request concerns a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there are possible questions about the government's integrity which affect public confidence.

The FBI refused to expedite the processing of the FOIA request, saying there was "no particular urgency" to inform the public about its activities. In 2003, the typical time for the FBI to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests without expedited treatment was 370 to 558 days, according to the Department of Justice.

"The ACLU-NC filed the lawsuit today because the government has given us no other alternative," said Amitai Schwartz, ACLU-NC cooperating attorney. "We hope that this lawsuit will lead to the release of government documents that will shed light on the FBI's activities in Northern California."

The ACLU and other legal, community and religious organizations in Northern California have received multiple reports in recent weeks of members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces showing up by surprise at the homes, workplaces and mosques of local Muslims.

Sometimes working in teams of three -- an FBI agent, a so-called "special federal officer" (actually local law enforcement), and an ICE agent - JTTF officers have, according to reports, pressured subjects to immediately answer prying questions about religious beliefs, practices and associations as well as political views. Individuals politely asserting their right to have an attorney present have nonetheless faced pressure to immediately comply with the FBI JTTF's requests for this sensitive, personal information.

"No one should have to answer questions about the places they worship at or their views on the conflict in Iraq," said Shirin Sinnar, President of the Bay Area Association of Muslim Lawyers. "It is simply not the job of government to be probing into First Amendment activity."

The ACLU encourages individuals who are contacted by the FBI to seek legal advice before agreeing to respond to questions. The National Lawyers Guild has made available a free legal hotline at 415-285-1041.