On November 8, 2011, an immigrant rights advocacy organization filed this lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S. ...
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On November 8, 2011, an immigrant rights advocacy organization filed this lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706. The plaintiff, represented by the American Immigration Council and private counsel, sought declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming that DHS had failed to make a reasonable search for and disclosure of requested documents concerning individuals' access to legal counsel during their interactions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (The same day, AIC filed a similar lawsuit relating to a similar records request made to a different DHS component, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. For information on that one, see
IM-DC-0018 in this Clearinghouse.)
On May 31, 2012, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss and for summary judgment, claiming that it had provided the plaintiff with "all non-exempt, responsive records in accordance with the FOIA."
On November 27, 2012, the district court (Judge James E. Boasberg) granted the motion to dismiss in part as to the second cause of action and denied it in part. Am. Immigration Council v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 905 F.Supp.2d 206 (D.D.C. Nov. 27, 2012).
Th parties then negotiated a settlement, and the plaintiff filed a stipulation of settlement agreement and dismissal on March 15, 2013. The settlement agreement required the defendant to provide INS GC’s 1986 memo regarding a refugee applicant’s right to counsel, written training documents USCIS developed to implement a pertinent memo in 2011 (the December 21, 2011 interim memo) and in 2012 (the May 23, 2012 final memo). The agreement also required the defendant to conduct a search for records responsive to the plaintiff's FOIA request and produce to AIC all responsive, non-exempt documents. The defendant agreed to pay the plaintiff $45,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.
The court dismissed this case with prejudice.
Christopher Schad - 06/01/2012
Susie Choi - 03/16/2017
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