On January 5, 2026, Investigative Post reporter J. Dale Shoemaker submitted a Freedom of Information Law request to the Orchard Park Police Department (OPPD), seeking electronic copies of “all incident or arrest reports that make mention of or entail Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol or a subject’s immigration status,” as well as “reports where Orchard Park Police contacted, collaborated with or was otherwise on scene with ICE, CBP or Border Patrol as those agencies conducted an arrest,” since January 1, 2024. iPost has covered the ongoing collaboration between these federal agencies and local law enforcement in western New York, including police departments in Cheektowaga, Lewiston, North Tonawanda, and Amherst, and sheriff’s offices in Erie and Niagara.

On February 13, 2026, OPPD denied iPost’s request, “as releasing any of these records to you may interfere with present or future judicial proceedings.” When iPost appealed with assistance from the First Amendment Clinic, the Town of Orchard Park denied their request again, but this time cited a rare exemption intended to guard against electronic attack on information technology assets. On July 30, 2026, the First Amendment Clinic filed suit against the Town of Orchard Park and OPPD to challenge their blanket withholding of arrest and incident records, which are subject to FOIL and routinely disclosed to the press and the public. 

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