On Feb. 20, 2018, the Democracy Forward Foundation filed this lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Represented by its own counsel, the plaintiff filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is a nonprofit organization that "works to promote transparency and accountability in government, in part, by educating the public on government actions and policies." The plaintiff stated that the Trump administration sought to expand the detention of undocumented immigrants with
Executive Order 13767 -- a practice which would increase reliance on private detention facilities. However, these facilities had long faced criticism for health and safety hazards resulting in deaths, sexual abuse, and other injuries. Further, the private detention industry significantly supported Trump's campaign and business enterprises, raising questions as to the extent of these contributions in the administration's use of private detention. The plaintiff thus sought information on DHS's relationship with private detention corporations.
The plaintiff stated that it had submitted a FOIA request to DHS on May 18, 2017, seeking the following records created since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017:
1. Records relating to the procurement of services for the planning, construction, operation, or maintenance of private detention or immigration-detention centers and/or facilities, or by private detention center and/or facility companies;
2. New contracts or new amendments to contracts related to services rendered for private detention centers and/or facilities, or by private detention center and/or facility companies; and
3. Records containing certain relevant keywords, that were sent or received by specific DHS employees.
The complaint further alleged that, to date, the plaintiff had not received a substantive response from DHS, and that the plaintiff had constructively exhausted all required administrative remedies. The plaintiff sought a disclosure order under FOIA, legal fees, and expedited action.
On Feb. 20, this case was assigned to Judge Rudolph Contreras. Per a joint status report filed on May 15, 2018, the government completed the requested searches and was to process 500 pages per month. Beginning in June, the government was to produce any responsive records on a monthly basis. Subsequent status reports indicated the production was ongoing.
The joint status report dated March 21, 2019 indicated that the defendants had completed their response to the plaintiff’s request, but that the plaintiffs had asked the defendant for “additional information regarding the searches that each agency component performed, as well as a Vaughn index for Defendant’s withholdings under FOIA Exemption 5, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5)."
According to a status report dated May 17, 2019, the defendant provided the plaintiff with descriptions of its searches performed by DHS Headquarters, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on May 3. ICE also completed a supplemental search, as reported on July 15. A year of status reports followed, during which ICE reported that it had reviewed non-exempt responsive records on a monthly basis, at a rate of 500 pages per month, with some pages redacted as per FOIA exemptions.
The case remains ongoing with the next status report due June 16, 2020.
Ava Morgenstern - 05/05/2018
Virginia Weeks - 10/24/2018
Averyn Lee - 06/03/2020
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