Democracy Needs Openness, Not Secrecy

As the Trump administration continues to use its power to punish its perceived enemies — strengthening its hold on the nation's capitol and federal agencies, exploiting individuals’ personal information to advance its anti-trans and anti-immigrant agenda, and slashing government budgets for causes and research it doesn’t support, to name just a few examples — it is also actively working to limit the public’s ability to access information about its actions.

This week, we issued a demand letter to the Department of Justice and published resources to fight back against the Executive Office of Immigration Review’s “proof-of-identity” requirement for all FOIA requests. EOIR’s online public records portal requires all requesters to submit proof identification, but FOIA only requires identification in limited circumstances involving Privacy Act-protected records. This illegal and burdensome hurdle to public records that risks exposing requesters’ personal identifying information for no valid reason.

Our letter to EOIR leadership explained that the identification requirement violates both FOIA and the Paperwork Reduction Act. It also creates a chilling effect that could discourage journalists, researchers, nonprofits, and other organizations from seeking records about the agency’s operations, which they are legally entitled to.
“The law is clear: demanding personal details in exchange for government records violates both the letter and spirit of FOIA,” said our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “By forcing requesters to hand over sensitive information, EOIR is not only erecting an illegal hurdle that chills public access to records — it is eroding the very transparency FOIA was designed to protect. We will not let this unlawful barrier stand.”

We urged EOIR to remove or correct the unlawful language by September 4. We also published resources on our website so organizations that share our concerns can also challenge the proof-of-identity requirement. If you want to support our collective advocacy, these resources can be uploaded in EOIR’s portal as the “Proof of Identity” required attachment:

Opposing the Government’s Attempt to Delay DOGE Accountability

As EOIR makes it harder to submit public records requests, the Department of Government Efficiency is refusing to turn over documents in response to such requests. In our ongoing lawsuit for DOGE records, the government has asked the court to pause our case as other litigation over DOGE’s legal obligation to federal transparency and records laws progresses.

This week, we opposed the government’s request and warned that such an indefinite delay would block transparency and risk the continued destruction of federal records.

DOGE has operated in secrecy since its January creation, while carrying out sweeping changes across the federal government, dismantling entire agencies, directing the termination of tens of thousands of federal employees, and shaping policy through private messaging apps with auto-delete features.
We’ve filed more than 40 FOIA requests to shed light on DOGE’s actions since January, five of which are at issue in this case. Instead of producing the requested records, as required by law, the government petitioned the court to pause the proceedings.
“Every day that DOGE operates in the shadows is another day the public, media, Congress, and the courts lose access to records of historic importance that are essential for oversight and accountability,” Chukwu said. “The government’s request to stall this case is nothing more than an attempt to give DOGE a free pass to keep destroying records and evading oversight — and the American people deserve far better.”
Read our new explainer to learn more about how DOGE was seemingly designed to avoid transparency.

On the Records

Texts Show Even More Immigrant Detention Space Coordination Between Texas and Trump Administration Officials

In the days before Texas officials met with top Trump administration immigration authorities to prop up additional detention space in the state this February, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott texted Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan about the efforts.

“FYI, we have about 4000 prison beds that could be made available for detention facilities in Texas,” Abbott texted Homan on February 5. “I am sending the information to Sec. Noem with the details.”
“Ok. Thank you. Do you know the pricing?” Homan texted back.
Abbott replied, “I don’t. I’ll have my team call you later today. I’m about to meet with Trump. We will discuss it and see where it goes.”   
“Great. Looking forward to great things with you soon,” Homan answered. “Colony Ridge, beds, border infrastructure and going after the NGOs that used Texas as a trafficking mode.”

We previously obtained emails about a February 13 immigrant detention space coordination meeting between Abbott’s staff, the director of the state’s prison system, and high-ranking officials at DHS, ICE, and the NSC.

“We sincerely appreciate your support for the administration’s agenda of expanding our detention portfolio nationwide,” an NSC official emailed Abbott’s chief of staff after the meeting.
The private coordination between Texas officials and Trump allies over detention expansion, conducted without federal oversight, raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and the use of state resources in politically-driven federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Those emails, and the additional texts outlined above, illustrate certain Texas officials’ unflinching support for President Trump’s extreme goals of mass arresting, detaining, and deporting immigrants, without regard for such policies’ immense human tolls or the wills of their constituents.
We’ve been investigating the Trump administration’s weaponization of anti-immigrant rhetoric to advance its political goals, including mass detention and deportation. Read more here about how Trump’s and his supporters’ repeated invocation of racist anti-immigrant rhetoric works to fuel their election denial claims.

Newly-Appointed FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey’s Anti-Abortion Contacts as Missouri AG

Trump made the surprise announcement this week that he had appointed Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey as co-deputy director of the FBI. Bailey stepped down as attorney general (effective September 9) following the appointment, putting an end to a brief tenure that was marked by federal lawsuits, claims of corruption, and repeated attempts by Bailey to block access to both abortion and gender-affirming care in the state.

Records we previously obtained shed light on Bailey’s interactions as attorney general with far-right anti-abortion rights groups like Missouri Right to Life, Project Veritas, and the Heritage Foundation.

One document outlined ways Bailey could strategically target medication abortion in Missouri by citing consumer protection laws — a strategy that Bailey later employed in letters to state abortion providers.
Bailey’s actions indicate the lengths he is willing to go to reject voters’ support for abortion rights, including by exploiting misinformation about safe methods of pregnancy termination.
Read more here about our ongoing investigation into efforts by public officials and conservative interest groups to undermine democracy by sabotaging abortion access ballot measures.

On the Records

Other Stories We’re Following