The Lens v. Mahfouz

Case Number: 782-658

Court: 19th Judicial District Court for East Baton Rouge Parish

Clients: The Lens, Delaney Nolan

Background: In May 2026, reporter Delaney Nolan of the nonprofit news outlet The Lens submitted a public records request to the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness seeking an unredacted copy of an agreement it reached with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement related to a state prison that houses immigrants detained by ICE. 

Nolan’s request was filed the same day she obtained a contract between the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office and ICE, which included the amount of money the agency received in exchange for housing ICE detainees, also known as the “daily bed rate.” Nolan later reported on the contract as part of an investigation into the lengthy ICE detention times in Louisiana. 

In response to her request, GOHSEP declined to turn over an unredacted copy of the contract. An attorney for the office said a redacted copy of the contract, which is posted on ICE’s website, protected information that is not subject to disclosure under Louisiana’s Public Records Law. 

On behalf of Nolan and The Lens, the Reporters Committee’s Louisiana-based attorney, Virginia Hamrick, filed this lawsuit asking the court to order GOHSEP to produce the unredacted contract. The lawsuit argues, among other things, that nothing in the state’s public records law exempts the disclosure of basic contract terms between two public agencies.

Quote: “The press has a crucial role in securing public records to investigate and report on issues of public concern,” the lawsuit argues. “The release of unredacted contracts, detailing the amount of money the federal government is paying the state, is essential to evaluate the relationship between the federal government and different local and state agencies and to inform the public as to how the government is using taxpayer money.”

Filings:

2026-08-07: Petition