Hawzah News Agency - Trump officials have in the past told border officials to surveil Muslim refugees on a 'long-term basis'.

A group of civil rights organisations have filed a lawsuit to force the United States government to release documents related to the surveillance and investigation of refugees, according to documents filed in a US court.

The organisations, which included the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Muslim Advocates (MA) and the American Civil Liberties Union of California (ACLU) filed the lawsuit in a court in northern California, citing the “virulent anti-refugee rhetoric” of the administration of US President Donald Trump, which claims asylum seekers are “national security threats”, the suit, filed on October 21, alleges.

“The Trump Administration’s xenophobic rhetoric and policies, including monitoring of refugees and immigrants living in this country has sown fear in the community,” said Melissa Keaney, Senior Litigation Staff Attorney for IRAP, said in a statement delivered to TRT World.

“Through this litigation we hope to shed light on government surveillance of refugee communities and demonstrate the pernicious effect these policies are having.”

The lawsuit uses regulations from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which aims to “promote government accountability through transparency”.

Its been over six months since the defendants, including the FBI, the Departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security, received the FOIA request, without a single disclosure, the lawsuit alleges.