• On February 26, 2025, the Council and Documented, a New York-based immigration news organization, filed a FOIA request on the DHS Secretary’s recent “Finding of Mass Influx of Aliens” Declaration. In this declaration—the first ever of its kind--the Secretary determined “the existence of an imminent mass influx of aliens arriving at the southern border,” which presents “urgent circumstances requiring an immediate federal response.”
In 1996, Congress passed a law permitting the federal government to declare a “mass influx” of migrants to unlock certain powers for the period of this influx. Under the law, the federal government both distributes funding to states and localities managing the “influx” and may delegate certain aspects of immigration enforcement to local law enforcement agents who agree to assume these responsibilities. While no past administration had ever used this provision, on January 23, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary declared a “mass influx,” invoking the law for the first time in history.
However, the current claims of “mass influx” are dubious. Border crossings are decreasing. Border Patrol encountered only 96,048 people at the southern border in December 2024—20,000 fewer than in October 2024, 84,000 fewer than in May 2024, and 205,000 fewer than in December 2023. Encounters are also less than they were in February 2003 when the Department of Justice declared that a “mass influx” declaration “will rarely be necessary.”
As such, the Council and Documented submitted FOIA requests to DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) for records the DHS Secretary considered when making a “mass influx” declaration. The FOIA request also asked for any agreements between ICE, CBP and DHS with state and local law enforcement offices pursuant to this declaration and any agreements between these agencies and Nassau County officials.
