FOIA
Council and AILA Submit FOIA Request Seeking Information on Trump Administration Suspension of Green Card Applications
On March 25, 2025, media reports surfaced indicating U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—the agency in charge of approving green card applications—stopped processing green card applications filed by asylees and refugees. The suspension would affect refugees, which the U.S. government has already… Read More
The Council and NIP File FOIA on How USCIS’ Alien Smuggling Determinations Impact Approval of Immigration Benefits
This FOIA request seeks records and data from USCIS about how the agency determines whether a migrant smuggled another person into the United States. Read More
Seeking Records about DHS’s Unprecedent Mass Influx Declaration and Associated Agreements With State and Local Law Enforcement
The Council and Documented NY filed FOIA requests for records undergirding the DHS Secretary’s novel mass influx determination and agreements that involve state and local law enforcement officers in immigration enforcement. Read More
Council and RMIAN File FOIA Seeking Information about Detrimental Transfers of People in ICE Custody
Council and RMIAN seek records to shed light on why people in ICE custody are moved to different detention centers across the country with limited explanation and without notifying their families or attorneys. Read More
Council Lawsuit Changes USCIS Policies for Withholding Information in Refugee Case Files
This FOIA lawsuit seeks to compel U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to end policies of unlawfully withholding application assessments, interview notes, and other records from refugees’ case files. Read More
The Council Received Data on City-Level Refugee Resettlement From the Department of State
A FOIA request provided demographic data on refugees resettled in the U.S. from October 2017 to December 2024, which the Council used to create a state-level visualization tool showing refugee nationality, age, gender, education, and English proficiency, while protecting individual privacy by redacting data in areas with fewer than 50 resettlements. Read More
The Council Sues the Department of State for Data on Where the Agency Resettles Refugees
On April 25, the Council filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the Department of State to obtain locational and demographic data on refugees admitted to the United States. Read More
The Council Seeks Records on How the Government Interdicts Migrants at Sea
The American Immigration Council filed requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to learn about the process migrants go through after they are interdicted by U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Read More
Seeking Records from Immigration Courts about Processing FOIA and Records of Proceedings Requests
The Council seeks records from immigration courts about how they process record requests and comply with proactive disclosure requirements. This information will help advocates ensure that noncitizens in removal proceedings have access to their records and that the courts are complying with record disclosure requirements. Read More
Trump Administration Intentionally Expelled Thousands of Unaccompanied Children to Danger Under Title 42
Report by The Center for Human Rights of the Child of the Loyola School of Law, with Expertise from the American Immigration Council Under the auspices of protecting the public from COVID-19, beginning in 2020, the Trump administration expelled thousands of unaccompanied children pursuant to the Centers for Disease Control… Read More
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