The American Immigration Council is highlighting the need for accountability as part of Sunshine Week, a national celebration of access to public information.  

Transparency work within the immigration system involves investigations into both new problems and longstanding issues.  

This week, we filed a request to learn more about the U.S. response to the current situation in Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghans are fleeing a horrific humanitarian crisis. Despite the Biden administration’s public commitment to helping Afghans seek safety in the United States, a key method for providing this protection—humanitarian parole—is not working. 

DHS has seemingly processed only a fraction of the applications for humanitarian parole. Afghans continue to face significant delays in humanitarian parole and refugee processing.  

We also filed a request to learn more about the longstanding, but little understood, role of Assistant Chief Immigration Judges (ACIJ). Approximately 40 ACIJs wield significant influence over immigration courts throughout the country and in some cases play a hands-on role in deciding individual cases.

Read more about these FOIA requests

 

Just recently we have seen the impact of our transparency work and celebrated:  

• Advocacy efforts that prevented CBP from destroying government records about its abusive enforcement practices. 

• A victory in federal court that helped uncover information about a program where CBP officers posed as asylum officers when interviewing individuals seeking asylum. 

• Success in a state case where we filed an amicus brief challenging a regulation that blocked access to records about individuals held in detention facilities. 

This vital transparency work wouldn’t be possible without your support. Please consider making a gift today.  

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Sincerely, 

Emily Creighton

Legal Director of Transparency