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July 2024
Greetings. This installment of Immigration Disclosures highlights a lawsuit the Council filed against the Department of State to obtain city-level data on refugee resettlement, and a blog analyzing the impact of 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on local communities. The Transparency Team also celebrated a victory this month as the immigration court published its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) logs on its electronic reading room in response to the Council’s FOIA request in May.
Initial Disclosures:
*
On
July
17,
the
Executive
Office
for
Immigration
Review,
the
agency
in
charge
of
immigration
courts,
updated
its
FOIA
logs
[[link removed]]
on
its
FOIA
electronic
reading
in
response
to
the
Council’s
May
29th
FOIA
request.
The
published
logs
allow
advocates
to
identify
partners
that
may
hold
desired
documents,
lessening
the
public’s
reliance
on
using
FOIA
to
obtain
information.
The
FOIA
logs
also
allow
the
public
to
identify
records
the
agency
may
have
a
proactive
duty
to
disclose.
The
agency
had
not
updated
its
FOIA
logs
since
2020.
Read
the
Council’s
FOIA
request
here
[[link removed]]
.
*
On
July
18,
the
Council’s
Transparency
team
co-authored
a
blog
on
the
effects
of
cooperation
between
ICE
and
local
law
enforcement.
This
cooperation
allows
ICE
to
partner
with
state
and
local
law
enforcement
to
allegedly
“enhance
the
nation’s
safety
and
security.”
However,
the
blog
highlights
the
work
the
Council
did
with
Advocates
for
Basic
Legal
Equality,
which
exposed
the
harms
of
this
cooperation.
Read
more
here
[[link removed]]
.
The Council Files a Lawsuit Against the Department of State for Refugee-Resettlement Data
On April 25, the Council filed a FOIA request with the Department of State to uncover data on the cities where the agency resettles refugees. After no response from the agency, the Council filed a lawsuit on July 12th to compel the agency to release the data.
Individuals seeking admission into the United States as refugees must undergo an extensive vetting process . Before entering the country, they must prove that they have a well-founded fear of persecution based on one of the protected categories outlined in the law. Once the United States establishes that individuals have a fear of returning to their home country, they are admitted as refugees. The Department of State’s Refugee Admissions Program then works to resettle refugees in the country's interior.
Up until 2018, the Department of State proactively published city-level data on refugee resettlement. After this point, data published became limited to the state level. The FOIA request seeks both the individualized, aggregate and locational data of refugees admitted to the U.S.; as well as the Department of State’s data dictionaries to fully understand the locational data.
Why does this matter?
*
City-level
data
acted
as
a
powerful
tool
for
researchers,
advocates,
and
policymakers
to
analyze
the
impact
refugees
have
on
local
communities.
Access
to
this
data
will
allow
advocates
to
better
understand
the
economic
and
cultural
contributions
refugees
make
in
their
local
communities.
*
Access
to
city-level
data
inevitably
aids
communities
better
welcome
refugees
and
develop
policies
to
help
integrate
them
into
their
local
communities
with
more
ease.
Read more: The Council Sues the Department of State for Data on Where the Agency Resettles Refugees [[link removed]]
The American Immigration Council works to hold the
government accountable on immigration issues. We harness freedom of information requests, litigation, and advocacy to expose the wrongdoing and promote transparency within immigration agencies. Make a donation today. [[link removed]]
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