FOIA
Access to Counsel Before USCIS FOIA
The Council filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compel the release of records relating to noncitizens’ access to counsel before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In response to the suit against USCIS, the agency determined that it had over 2000 pages of responsive… Read More
Access to Counsel Before CBP FOIA
The Council filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compel the release of records relating to noncitizens’ access to counsel before Customs and Border Protection. Read More
Access to Counsel Before ICE FOIA
The Council filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compel the release of records relating to noncitizens’ access to counsel before Immigration and Customs Enforement (ICE). The Council initially pursued disclosure of these records through FOIA requests filed in March 2011. Subsequently, ICE produced several thousand… Read More
Photo and Video Evidence of Unconstitutional Immigration Detention Conditions from Doe v. Wolf
Photo and Video Evidence Unsealed in 2020 The following images show that inhumane conditions at Customs and Border Protection short-term detention facilities in Tucson, Arizona persist— despite an earlier court order in Doe v. Wolf. These images from early 2019 show: Overcrowding so severe that a person must crawl over… Read More
Video Hearings in Immigration Court FOIA
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) began using video hearing equipment in immigration courts across the country. As a result, frequently a noncitizen facing removal is deprived of the opportunity to appear in person before an immigration judge. Video hearings are more common where a noncitizen is detained, though many non-detained individuals are subjected to video hearings as well. EOIR uses video hearings for both preliminary hearings (“master calendar hearings”) and merits hearings (“individual hearings”). In February 2012, the American Immigration Council submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to EOIR asking for records related to video teleconferencing (VTC). EOIR produced two sets of records. Read More
Artesia FOIA
On August 22, 2014, the American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the National Immigration Law Center, Van Der Hout Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP, and Jenner & Block, filed this lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia. The case was a systemic challenge to the policies denying a fair deportation process to mothers and children detained in the Artesia Family Residential Center who had fled extreme violence, death threats, rape, and persecution in Central America and come to the United States seeking safety. Read More
Border Patrol Involvement in Translation and 911 Dispatch Activities FOIA
Advocates in states along the northern border of the United States have reported that Border Patrol agents frequently “assist” other law enforcement agencies by serving as Spanish-English interpreters and participating in 911 dispatch activities. Capitalizing on their access to noncitizens, Border Patrol agents often use these opportunities to… Read More
“Voluntary” Returns FOIA
Based on reports from immigration advocates, CBP officers do not always provide noncitizens with information regarding the consequences of accepting voluntary return and in some cases even compel them to “agree” to “voluntarily” depart. Consequently, individuals who accept voluntary departure may be forced to relinquish claims for legal… Read More
L-1B Adjudications FOIA
In May 2012, the American Immigration Council filed a FOIA request seeking records issued by USCIS and/or DHS, or used by USCIS and/or DHS, from January 2008 to the present, to instruct, train and/or guide (1) Immigration Service Officers or (2) employees of the Department of State, including… Read More
H-1B Fraud Investigations FOIA
On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with counsel at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, filed a FOIA lawsuit in July 2010 against DHS and USCIS seeking the public release of records concerning agency policies and procedures related to fraud investigations in the… Read More
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