Legal Resources and Litigation

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

Challenging Trump’s Unlawful Registration Rule
This lawsuit, filed on behalf of nonprofit organizations, challenges a DHS rule requiring noncitizens to register and carry proof or face prosecution. 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 Litigation Seeks Refugee Processing Data
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeks to compel the U.S. Department of State to release data about the demographics, processing, and adjudication of refugees’ applications for admission into the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The United States has long played a leading role in resettling… Read More

Council Lawsuit Challenges 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

Council Litigation Seeks Refugee Processing Data
FOIA lawsuit seeks to compel the U.S. Department of State to release data about the demographics, processing, and adjudication of refugees’ applications for admission into the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Read More

Challenging Iowa’s State Deportation Law
We’re suing Iowa for a new law that criminalizes anyone who has reentered the state after being deported — including children — even if that person is now authorized to be in the U.S. This is the most extreme anti-immigrant law in the state’s history. Read More

Council Sues to Get Records about CBP’s Treatment of Migrants without CBP One Appointments
This Freedom of Information Act suit seeks to compel CBP to release records about how the agency treats asylum seekers who have not obtained CBP One appointments. Read More
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