Immigrant rights groups have filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration's immigration and detention policies.

The immigrant-rights advocates have alleged the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and nine other federal offices, of being "secretive" in its deportation program known as the "Priority Enforcement Program" (PEP). The purpose of the lawsuit would be to have the federal agencies disclose PEP information.

"ICE is, once again, operating in secrecy. It's time for the nation's largest police force to come clean. PEP has failed to meet the bare minimum requirements for transparency and accountability," said Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).

The immigrant-rights groups are utilizing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain PEP details after ICE's "refusal to provide a single document" for more than 10 months after the groups requested information. Despite ICE not handing over documents, the plaintiffs acknowledge that five documents have been submitted from the other agencies in question.

PEP launched on Nov. 20, 2014, the same day as President Barack Obama announced the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) guidelines programs. PEP has been used as the successor of the "Secure Communities" program, following criticism of the campaign. The immigrant rights groups also cited the recent DHS deportation campaigns for further needing information, claiming Central American families were targeted despite not being PEP priorities.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson defended the deportation campaign and said further raids may occur under his discretion. Johnson said the latest deportation campaign focused on families or individuals apprehended for illegally crossing the southern U.S. border after May, 1, 2014, issued final orders of removal by an immigration court, exhausted appropriate legal remedies, and have no outstanding appeal or claim for asylum or other humanitarian relief under U.S. laws.

"This should come as no surprise," said Johnson in early January. "I have said publicly for months that individuals who constitute enforcement priorities, including families and unaccompanied children, will be removed."

"The public has the right to know whether PEP is different from S-COMM in reality or only in name," said Danelly Bello of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Cardozo Law School. "It is imperative that immigrant communities learn about the practical implementation of this massive immigration enforcement program in order to assert their rights and protect their families."

In addition ICE, the immigration groups are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Border and Customs Protection (CBP) and the FBI, among other groups with the DHS and DOJ.

Complaint for Declaratory & Injunctive Relief About PEP-COMM:

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