The New York Civil Liberties Union has sued to compel the Suffolk County Police Department to answer a freedom-of-information request aimed at fleshing out the department’s alleged role in identifying and detaining immigrant students accused of MS-13 gang involvement.

The civil rights group claims it has been stonewalled by the police department since lodging an extensive Freedom of Information Law request last Aug. 1. In a statement issued Tuesday, the NYCLU said it is concerned that cooperation between the police department, the South Country Central School District in the county and federal immigration authorities has led to dozens of children being removed from their families, placed in restrictive detention facilities, and sent into deportation proceedings “based on spurious claims of gang affiliation.”