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THE LATEST FILINGS
- Seeking Further Records of Immigration Courts’ Treatment of Haitian Immigrants
A little over one year ago, horrific scenes surfaced showing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers violently arresting Haitian migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Soon thereafter, reports highlighted the issues these Haitian immigrants faced while detained at the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico. However, less is known about how the immigration courts beyond Torrance treated those Haitian nationals who recently entered the country.
Accordingly, the Council, in cooperation with the Main Street Legal Services at CUNY School of Law, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out more about the practices that recent Haitian immigrants encountered in immigration courts. The FOIA request asks the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for records related to how the courts adjudicate cases of recent Haitian immigrants, including information about barriers to release on bond, language access, and access to counsel. This request builds upon the Council’s previously filed FOIA requests with EOIR and ICE to shed light on the issues faced by Haitian immigrants who were detained at Torrance.
The requested records should help the public better understand whether the discriminatory treatment faced by Haitian immigrants permeated beyond Torrance and the border.
Read more: Seeking Records About Possible Due Process Violations of Detainees at the Torrance Detention Facility
NOTEWORTHY
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Government Asks Court to Lift Requirement That It Process A-file FOIA Requests Within Statutory Time Period
On September 15, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested that a district court set aside a December 2020 court order in Nightingale—a class action lawsuit brought under FOIA. The order requires the agencies to process A-file FOIA requests within 30 days (the time period mandated under the FOIA statute). Defendants argue the court should set aside the order for all Track 1 (“simple” requests or requests for discrete documents within the A-file) and Track 2 (“complex” requests or requests for the entire A-file) A-file FOIA requests for 6 months because Defendants are overwhelmed by the increasing number of A-file requests and need to train staff to process the requests. USCIS admitted that its backlog has increased to 5,361 requests.
In its opposition to the government’s request, Plaintiffs state that what Defendants call a “dramatic and unprecedented number of requests for A-Files” is a predictable increase in FOIA requests and that USCIS has seen similar percentage increases in the past. Plaintiffs point out USCIS has more staff and funding than it did when the lawsuit was filed; Defendant USCIS has failed to properly staff A-file FOIA processing; and Defendants have mismanaged their FOIA programs, including failing to identify 13,500 requests that were sent to ICE where they languished before they were rerouted to USCIS for processing. If Defendants did not have to comply with the Court’s order, Plaintiffs and tens of thousands of class members who depend on timely receipt of their Track 1 or Track 2 requests would be harmed. A hearing on Defendants’ motion will take place on October 25, 2022.
The plaintiffs in Nightingale v. USCIS, three immigration attorneys and two noncitizens, are represented by the American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Litgation Alliance, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and the Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin.
Read more: Lawsuit Challenges Systemic USCIS and ICE FOIA Delays
The American Immigration Council works to hold the government accountable on immigration issues. We harness freedom of information requests, litigation, and advocacy to expose wrongdoing and promote transparency within immigration agencies.
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