For the last four years, we've been using the Freedom of Information Act to request records describing the policies and procedures that govern the processing of appeals and motions to reopen at the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration...
FOIA
In Lieu of Administrative Closure – the Status Docket
We should have seen it coming. In 2018 the Attorney General ended the ability of immigration judges to administratively close cases, concluding they had in fact never had such authority. As shocking as that was at the time, we're now seeing pieces of that puzzle were...
Internal BIA Documents on Processing of Appeals and Motions
I'm writing to share more FOIA records we've received from the BIA. For the last year we've been working on obtaining records through FOIA to better understand how the Board of Immigration Appeals works from top to bottom. The thought is that with more information...
New DOJ Public Records Research Guides Released via FOIA
Today we received several internal research guides from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in response to a DOJ FOIA request we submitted in May 2018. These documents come from the DOJ Libraries and outline how agency staff conduct public records research. đź“‚ Download the...
FOIA Reveals EOIR’s Morning Briefings Packed With Propaganda and Worse.
September 2018, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) began circulating a publication called the EOIR Morning Briefing. Although not quite daily, these reports summarize selected news stories under the guise of a routine agency update. But a closer look...
The 2018 EOIR Conference Materials Released via FOIA
Every summer, Immigration Judges from across the country gather near Washington, D.C. for a multi-day training hosted by EOIR. These training materials are valuable because they shed light on how judges are being instructed to approach certain legal issues. The 2018...
Immigration Litigation Bulletin – July, 2016 to November, 2017
Without any explanation, the Department of Justice stopped posting its "Immigration Litigation Bulletin" online in mid-2016. The older versions are online here. The Immigration Litigation Bulletin is a publication by the Department of Justice's "Office of Immigration...
Five Tools For Researching Background Documents When FOIA Isn’t Enough
Much of our work as Immigration Attorneys involves researching our clients' pasts. Often to figure out how I can help a client in the future, I need to know what their history looks like. That research might include criminal records. It might include old divorce...
DOJ Litigation Field Guides Received in Response to FOIA Request
Here's something fun. Today I received in the mail a response to several FOIA requests I had made. The package contained two previously secret litigation "field guides" for Department of Justice attorneys. I'll be receiving more and will post them here when I do. The...
FOIA Litigation: 7th Circuit Orders Government to Produce H-1B Documents
In litigation over whether the Department of Homeland Security complied with its obligations under the FOIA, the Seventh Circuit this week found that the agency had fallen short in David Rubman v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services et al. The effect of this...