Greetings. This installment of Immigration Disclosures includes a wrap-up of the Transparency Team’s efforts in 2024. This year, the Transparency Team published a fact sheet on birthright citizenship, and two web reports - one on U.S. Border Patrol agents’ problematic practices while detaining individuals, and one on placement trends into Torrance County Detention Facility. We are litigating our FOIA request for more information on the Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) Program. We also filed three new FOIA requests: on the Department of State’s refugee resettlement practices, Executive Office for Immigration Reviews (EOIR)’s FOIA and Records of Proceeding (ROP) processing practices, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s migrant interdiction policies.
|
|
|
Web Reports and Fact Sheets |
• On March 19, the Council and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) published a report highlighting problematic practices used by U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents from the Sandusky Bay station. The report analyzed narratives and data that USBP provided to the Council and ABLE as a result of a FOIA lawsuit. The data suggests that USBP agents, with the help of local law enforcement, target Latin American men with darker skin colors between the ages of 23 and 40. Read more here.
• On October 16, the Council published a fact sheet on birthright citizenship in the United States. Over the years, anti-immigrant political factions have tried restricting birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. The Council’s factsheet explores the origins of birthright citizenship, breaks down the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, and highlights the decades-long Supreme Court precedent affirming birthright citizenship in the United States. Read our blog here and our fact sheet here.
• On October 24, the Council published a report analyzing data it received from ICE after FOIA litigation regarding detention stays at Torrance County Detention Facility between 2021-2022. The report found that ICE did not adequately keep data on race and ethnicity, presenting an obstacle for researchers in discerning whether racial disparities existed at the facility. The report also noted careless placement patterns into the facility: despite warning signs indicating Torrance was not equipped to house migrants, ICE continued to place vulnerable populations into the facility. Read more here.
|
FOIA Requests and Lawsuits
|
• On April 5, the Council filed a lawsuit under FOIA to compel immigration agencies to disclose information about the implementation of the Families Expedited Removal Management (FERM) program. The FERM program is an Alternative to Detention (ATD) that allows ICE officers to place the head-of-households of certain asylum-seeking families detained near the U.S.-Mexico border under surveillance. After no response from ICE or CBP, the Council filed a lawsuit to compel disclosure. Read about our FOIA here and read about our lawsuit here.
• On April 25, in collaboration with our research team, the transparency team filed a FOIA request with the U.S. Department of State to acquire data on refugee resettlement practices in U.S. cities over the past four years. This information is crucial to municipalities looking to implement policies that welcome refugees into their communities. After no response from the agency, the Council filed a lawsuit on July 12 to compel the agency to release the data. Read the FOIA here and read about our lawsuit here.
• On May 29, the Council filed a FOIA request to obtain records from EOIR about its policies for processing FOIA and Record of Proceedings (ROP) requests. EOIR provides two avenues for noncitizens and their lawyers to obtain records of proceedings: submitting a request under FOIA or requesting the ROP through EOIR’s dedicated email addresses. But little information exists about how EOIR processes requests for ROP or under FOIA. The Council filed a FOIA request to learn how the agency processes requests for immigration records and how it decides to provide the public with information in its FOIA library. Read more here.
On June 28, the Council filed a FOIA request to obtain records on the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) procedures and agency training materials for interdicting migrants found in vessels at sea. Migrant interdictions began in the 1980s, but almost 43 years after its initial implementation, there is still a dearth of information about USCG’s policies regarding the processing and treatment of migrants interdicted on vessels. Read more here.
|
We could not have done this work without your continuous support. The years to come will bring unique challenges to the immigrant rights’ landscape, but with your help, we are ready to meet this moment. |
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
