The cIty of Decatur has filed two lawsuits against the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board, claiming the voluntary panel is violating the state's open records and open meetings laws.

Decatur is among 15 municipalities, universities and school systems with pending complaints before the board, which was set up by the General Assembly in 2011 to enforce legislation cracking down on illegal immigration.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican candidate for governor, filed a complaint with the board in November accusing Decatur of being a “sanctuary city” after its commissioners formally adopted a policy announcing its police officers “will not prolong the detention of an immigrant per request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a judicially issued warrant.”

Two of the board's seven members were appointed by Cagle.

The complaints were filed Wednesday by Bryan Downs and Stephen Quinn of Wilson, Morton & Downs. Downs serves as Decatur's city attorney.

The open records complaint said the IERB, which operates under the aegis of the state Department of Audits and Accounting, has refused to provide any records or documents concerning “initial decisions, final decisions or recommendations of sanction issued by the IERB since July 1, 2011.”

The Open Meeting Act complaint said the IERB, which is required to meet a minimum of every three months, “does not have a regular schedule for its meetings and has not made such information available to the public.”

The IERB has had 23 meetings, of which at least 19 were “specially called meetings” at a variety of times and with little advance notice to the public since December 2012, according to the complaint.

“The lack of regularity with respect to IERB meetings makes it difficult if not impossible for an interested citizen or party to an IERB proceeding or their attorney to plan their schedule ahead of IERB meetings,” the complaint said.

Downs said the board—established to ensure compliance with state immigration law—is “not following Georgia's open government laws. This state board refuses to produce records of interest to the public and makes a habit of violating state requirements for open meetings.”

“The veiled manner in which the IERB is conducting its proceedings is not just detrimental to the City of Decatur, but also to the public as a whole,” Downs added.

In an emailed statement, IERB Chairman Shawn Hanley accused Decatur of resisting its investigation.

“It was the hope of the Immigration Enforcement Review Board that Decatur would be cooperative, accountable and transparent after a complaint was filed against the city,” said Hanley. “An active investigation into the complaint accusations has been ongoing for two months and during this time the city has refused to cooperate with investigators and used delaying tactics to stall this process.”

“The IERB takes all of its obligations seriously and we look forward to defending ourselves in court against these frivolous allegations by Decatur,” said Hanley.

In addition to Decatur, other pending complaints before the board target the city of Atlanta, Georgia Southern University, Marietta City Schools and the schools systems in Bibb, Bulloch, Cobb DeKalb, Glynn, Gwinnett, Hall and Whitfield counties.

A March report by the Southern Poverty Law Center said all but one of the complaints received since its inception were filed by Marietta-based anti-illegal immigration activist D.A. King

Attorney General Chris Carr's office is advising the board, according to the complaints. Carr's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.