FOIA Results: The EOIR's "Guidance and Publications" Intranet

What We Got from Our FOIA Request About EOIR’s Intranet Site

In January 2019, we submitted a FOIA request for the contents of the EOIR‘s “Guidance and Publications” intranet site. This site is only accessible to EOIR employees and appeared to contain internal guidance for immigration judges on various topics.

First Production: July 2019

In July 2019, EOIR responded by releasing roughly 94 heavily-redacted files. These files include:

Charts showing which state crimes trigger removability
Guidance for immigration judges on relief applications
Documents on competency evaluations and procedures

You can download this batch here: First Production ZIP File

Appeal and Second Production: 2021–2022

We appealed the agency’s redactions and withholding of documents. Our appeal was granted in August 2021.

Since then, EOIR has started releasing additional documents, which we’ve labeled the “Second Production Zip File.” These materials focus on how EOIR handles mental competency issues, especially for detained respondents and those covered by the Franco-Gonzalez settlement.

Topics include:

Internal PowerPoints on the Franco-Gonzalez injunction
EOIR’s nationwide competency evaluation policy
Flowcharts, checklists, and procedural memos for judges
Orders for forensic evaluations and qualified representatives

We expect additional records to follow and will post them here as we receive them.

Finally, we have a third set of documents that have come after fighting appeals. That’s here: Third Production Zip File

It includes:

And for individual document downloads from our first and second sets of documents, here you go:

FOIA Results: The EOIR’s “Guidance and Publications” Intranet

First Production: July 2019

Appeal and Second Production: 2021–2022

Second Production Documents:

First Production Documents

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