Immigrant who was detained files records request in Las Vegas

By Madelyn Reese / Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

Advocates hold signs outside a press conference in Las Vegas, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Madelyn Reese/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cecilia Gomez, left, and her lawyer, Laura Barrera at press conference in Las Vegas, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The conference was held to announce the filing of a Freedom of Information Act Request regarding Gomez’s detention by immigration officers in April Madelyn Reese/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Bliss Requa-Trautz, left, and Cecilia Gomez, right, at press conference in Las Vegas, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The conference was held to announce the filing of a Freedom of Information Act Request regarding Gomez’s detention by immigration officers in April. Madelyn Reese/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cecilia Gomez left, and attorney Laura Barrera, right, at press conference in Las Vegas, Thursday, April 26, 2018. The conference was held to announce the filing of a Freedom of Information Act Request regarding Gomez’s detention by immigration officers in April. Madelyn Reese/Las Vegas Review-Journal

A Mexican mother of three and undocumented immigrant who was detained by federal immigration agents in late March filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records relating to her detention.

Cecilia Gomez, represented by attorney Laura Barrera, announced the request Thursday morning on the steps of the Federal Justice Tower in downtown Las Vegas.

Gomez was detained March 27 at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Las Vegas, where she arrived for an interview she thought would be a step toward achieving legal permanent residency.

Barrera said records were requested from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as video tapes or recordings of her detention and any medical records.

Under FOIA law, individuals can request records that government agencies hold, barring several exemptions.

“Because we have a right to it, we’re prepared to go to court to get it,” Barrera said.

Contact Madelyn Reese at mreese@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0497. Follow @MadelynGReese on Twitter.