Hinckley Allen attorneys are representing the ACLU of Connecticut in a federal lawsuit, ACLU-CT v. Blanche et al., filed on September 9, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, defending the First Amendment right to access to records from the Hartford Immigration Court, including case numbers, case names, and in absentia removal orders.
The suit, which names U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Angela Munson as defendants, argues that the First Amendment guarantees the public a right of access to these judicial records. Records that are routinely available in state and federal courts but have been withheld by the immigration court without explanation.
The case has significant implications for government transparency and due process, as immigration courts across the country have faced surging caseloads and have issued removal orders without meaningful public oversight.
Hinckley Allen attorneys Alexa T. Millinger and William S. Fish, Jr., of the firm’s Hartford office, are serving as counsel to the ACLU-CT alongside the organization’s in-house legal team.