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FOIA Project’s Brief Bank Adds Detailed Court Documents for 27 FOIA Lawsuits

by FOIA Project Staff on August 20th, 2021

TRAC has seen significant growth in its FOIA Brief Bank by building relationships with FOIA attorneys across the country and ensuring these attorneys have a trusted outlet for their work. Since June of 2021, TRAC’s summer legal interns have uploaded 984 documents to the FOIA Project’s Brief Bank, contributed by 19 litigators across 27 different cases.  These documents include substantive briefs, motions, and testimony related to FOIA cases that allow FOIA requesters and FOIA litigators to better understand the FOIA process and prepare for litigation when necessary. These documents are also valuable for journalists, researchers, and members of the public who are concerned about government transparency and accountability.

Immigration Agencies Face Legal Challenges When Attempting to Withhold Public Records

After reviewing the substance of each of the 27 cases, the FOIA Project identified 22 cases that focus specifically on public records related to immigration enforcement. Given ongoing debates about the policies and practices of America’s immigration enforcement agencies, there is considerable public interest in obtaining and understanding government records that provide insight into how federal immigration agencies function. The Brief Bank documents obtained by the FOIA Project point to the types of records that immigration agencies are attempting to withhold from the public. They also provide valuable insight into the uphill battle that FOIA requesters face when they seek those records.

Due to the TRAC interns’ primary focus on soliciting documents for immigration cases, a large number of FOIA cases added to the Brief Bank are immigration-related. The prioritization of immigration cases emerged, in part, from the fact that immigration-related FOIA requests dominate the number of FOIA requests nationally. For instance, in FY 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees immigration enforcement, received a total of 397,671 FOIA requests, more than all other federal agencies combined (393,017) according to data obtained from FOIA.gov.

The 22 immigration-related FOIA lawsuits added to the Brief Bank include a total of 11 distinct federal agencies. Each lawsuit may contain more than one agency named as a defendant, so the total number of instances of named defendants exceeds the total number of cases. The most frequently named defendant, in 11 out of 22 cases, was Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for interior immigration enforcement, immigrant detention, and the deportation process. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was named in 9 lawsuits. DHS is the cabinet-level department that oversees the various immigration control agencies. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the agency responsible for border enforcement, was named in 8 lawsuits.

Figure 1 and Table 1 below show each agency named in FOIA lawsuits in this batch of Brief Bank documents and the number of times each agency was named in a lawsuit.

Figure 1. Number of Times Agency Named in Updated Brief Bank FOIA Cases.
Table 1. Federal Agencies Named in Immigration-Related FOIA Lawsuits Out of 22 Recently-Updated Cases in Brief Bank
Rank FOIA Defendant Total Cases
1 Immigration and Customs Enforcement 11
2 Department of Homeland Security 9
3 Customs and Border Protection 8
4 Citizenship and Immigration Services 5
5 Department of Justice 3
6 Department of State 1
6 Department of Health and Human Services 1
6 Executive Office for Immigration Review 1
6 National Security Agency 1
6 Central Intelligence Agency 1
6 Office of the Director of National Intelligence 1

Top Immigration Brief Bank Contributors

Of the documents contributed this summer, about 800 are from cases regarding matters of immigration. This subset, which constitutes over 80% of the total document cache, was contributed by just 15 litigators. The single largest contributor to the Brief Bank was also the first: Claudia Valenzuela of Immigrant Legal Defense, who shared 423 documents from three different cases. American Immigration Lawyers Association v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al, which also happens to be the oldest immigration case, includes the most documents of the three––and of any single case this summer: 207 joint status reports, motions, orders, and exhibits, presenting the most complete picture of FOIA litigation to date. 

The FOIA Project extends its appreciation to the many top contributors of immigration case documents. Carrie DeCell of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University sent one of the largest batch of FOIA documents—a total of 140—related to the Knight Institute’s lawsuit against multiple immigration agencies. Other significant contributors include Brett Max Kaufman of the ACLU who sent 147 documents, Christopher C. Morley of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP who sent 51, and Dan McFadden of the ACLU of Massachusetts who sent nearly 50 documents.

The American Civil Liberties Union has both the longest- and the shortest-running cases contributed this summer: S.D.N.Y. 1:2015cv01954, filed in March 2015 and still open as of publication—77 months in August 2021—and D. Mass. 1:2019cv10291, open and shut in just three months in 2019. An ACLU affiliate was the plaintiff in seven of the uploaded cases, representing a cache of 197 of the uploaded documents. Overall, 12 of the 28 total cases remain open.

List of Immigration FOIA Cases Now Updated in the Brief Bank

Table 2 provides a list of immigration-related FOIA lawsuits updated in the Brief Bank, including the start and end dates, case name, plaintiffs, agencies named in the suit, and a case number that links to the case in the FOIA Project’s Brief Bank where users can find case documents.

Table 2. List of Immigration-Related FOIA Lawsuits Updated in Brief Bank
Date Filed-Closed Case Name & Parties Case Number

12/29/2016 9/2/2020

AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Immigration Lawyers Association

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
D.D.C. 1:2016cv02470

5/9/2017 (open)

Long et al v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Plaintiffs:

  • Susan Long
  • David Burnham

Agencies:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
N.D.N.Y. 5:2017cv00506

10/4/2017

(open)

Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v. Department of Homeland Security et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Department of State (DOS)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
D.D.C. 1:2017cv07572

5/4/2018

(open)

Mora-Villalpando v. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Maria Mora-Villalpando

Agencies:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
W.D. Wash. 2:2018cv00655

7/9/2018 – 2/4/2021

AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL v. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOM ENFORCEMENT et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Immigration Council

Agencies:

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
D.D.C. 1:2018cv01614

8/3/2018 – 5/28/2021

The Human Rights Defense Center et al v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al

Plaintiffs:

  • The Human Rights Defense Center
  • Michelle Dillon

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 
W.D. Wash. 2:2018cv01141

12/21/2018

(open)

American Civil Liberties Union et al v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

Agencies:

  • Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
  • National Security Agency (NSA)
  • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
D.D.C. 1:2018cv12131

2/15/2019 – 5/17/2019

American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
D.Mass. 1:2019cv10291

2/27/2019 – 4/3/2020

American Immigration Council et al v. Executive Office For Immigration Review et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Immigration Council
  • Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Agencies:

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
S.D.N.Y 1:2019cv01835

3/6/2019

(open)

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP v. United States Customs and Border Protection

Plaintiffs:

  • Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Agencies:

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
W.D. Wash. 2:2019cv00334

3/19/2019

(open)

MANATT et al v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Daniel Manatt
  • Garen Meguerian

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
E.D. Pa. 2:2019cv01163

4/10/2019 – 11/3/2020

ACLU of Massachusetts v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Agencies:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
D. Mass. 1:2019cv10690

4/23/2019 – 12/13/2019

American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts et al v. Department of Homeland Security

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
  • American Oversight

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
D. Mass. 1:2019cv10916

6/19/2019

(open)

Nightingale et al v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Zachary Nightingale 
  • Courtney McDermed
  • Cheryl David
  • Pao Lopa
  • Maribel Carandang

Agencies:

  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
N.D. Cal. 3:2019cv03512

7/18/2019 – 8/26/2020

New York Immigration Coalition et al v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Plaintiffs:

  • New York Immigration Coalition
  • Immigrant Justice Corps

Agencies:

  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 
S.D.N.Y.  1:2019cv06693

7/29/2019 – 3/10/2021

American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project v. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project

Agencies:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
D.D.C. 1:2019cv07058

8/21/2019

(open)

Francis et al v. US Department of Justice

Plaintiffs:

  • Megan Francis
  • Matthew Connelly
  • Mary Dudziak
  • Matthew Jones
  • Hiroshi Motomura
  • Campaign for Accountability
  • Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia

Agencies:

  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
W.D. Wash. 2:2019cv01317

8/22/2019 – 10/19/2020

Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, Inc. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Plaintiffs:

  • Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, Inc.

Agencies:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
W.D. Tex. 3:2019cv00236

10/1/2019

(open)

Moore v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, et al.

Plaintiffs:

  • Robert Moore

Agencies:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 
W.D. Tex. 3:2019cv00279

12/11/2019 – 8/31/2020

American Civil Liberties Union v. United States Customs and Border Protection et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union

Agencies:

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

S.D.N.Y. 1:2019cv11311

2/12/2020 – 5/4/2021

Council on American Islamic Relations – Washington v. United States Customs and Border Protection et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Council on American Islamic Relations – Washington

Agencies:

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
W.D. Wash. 2:2020cv00217
5/6/2020 (open)

AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL v. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Immigration Council

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 
D.D.C. 1:2020cv01196

List of Additional FOIA Cases Now Updated in the Brief Bank

Several cases updated in the Brief Bank were not directly related to immigration. Table 3 provides a list of non-immigration-related FOIA lawsuits updated in the Brief Bank, including the start and end dates, case name, plaintiffs, agencies named in the suit, and a case number that links to the case in the FOIA Project’s Brief Bank where users can find contributed documents.

Table 3. List of non-Immigration FOIA Lawsuits Updated in Brief Bank
Date Filed-Closed Case Name & Parties Case Number

3/16/2015 (open)

American Civil Liberties Union et al v. Department of Justice et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

Agencies:

  • Department of Justice (DOJ) including its components the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and Office of Information Policy (OIP)
  • Department of Defense (DOD)
  • Department of State (DOS)
  • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
S.D.N.Y. 
1:2015cv01954

4/4/2016 – 2/23/2021

GELLMAN v. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Barton Gellman

Agencies:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
D.D.C. 1:2016cv00635

8/21/2017 – 12/21/2020

Brennan Center for Justice et al v. U.S. Department of Justice et al

Plaintiffs:

  • Brennan Center for Justice
  • The Protect Democracy Project, Inc.

Agencies:

  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
  • General Services Administration (GSA)
  • Social Security Administration (SSA)
S.D.N.Y. 1:2017cv06335

11/1/2017 – 5/5/2020

WHITE COAT WASTE PROJECT v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Plaintiffs:

  • White Coat Waste Project

Agencies:

  • Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
D.D.C. 1:2017cv02264

12/21/2017

(open)

American Civil Liberties Union et al v. Department of Defense et al

Plaintiffs:

  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

Agencies:

  • Department of Defense (DOD)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • Department of State (DOS)
S.D.N.Y. 1:2017cv09972

‘Thank you’ to All of the Generous Brief Bank Contributors

The FOIA Project and the summer intern team would like to extend our appreciation to generous members of the FOIA community who contributed documents to all 27 cases updated in the brief bank this summer. The list below includes their names and affiliations.

  • Brett Max Kaufman, ACLU
  • Dan McFadden, ACLU
  • Patrick Christopher Toomey, ACLU
  • Kyle A. Dandelet, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
  • Christopher C. Morley, Davis Wright Tremaine
  • Eric M. Stahl, Davis Wright Tremaine
  • Garen Meguerian, Garen Meguerian, Attorney at Law
  • Claudia Valenzuela, Immigrant Legal Defense
  • Carl Nicholas Wedoff, Jenner & Block LLP (NYC)
  • Alex Abdo, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
  • Carrie DeCell, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
  • Christopher Benoit, Law Office of Lynn Coyle, PLLC
  • Bradley Moss, Law Offices of Mark S. Zaid, P.C.
  • Matthew D. Strugar, Law Office of Matthew Strugar
  • Aaron Korthuis, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
  • Adam Alexander Marshall, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • Trina Ann Realmuto, National Immigration Litigation Alliance
  • Devin T. Theriot-Orr, Open Sky Law PLLC
  • George A. Zimmerman, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP

What is the Brief Bank Initiative? 

Although the FOIA Project keeps diligent track of federal FOIA-related lawsuits by downloading docket sheets, complaints, and opinions from PACER and annotating and classifying each case on legal issues and other characteristics, the project does not download briefs due to the prohibitively high cost of doing so at $0.10 per page. Yet briefs are of inestimable value to FOIA requesters and litigators both in terms of preparing FOIA requests and lawsuits, but also enabling more systematic research on the veracity and consistency of government claims across various court cases. Therefore, we are now seeking organizations, FOIA requesters, and attorneys to contribute their briefs (including government supporting declarations) so that these can be added to our collection.

How does the Brief Bank Initiative Work?

Because TRAC has considerable experience with large-scale data management, we developed document and data management programs specific to the FOIA Project that not only allow us to upload user-contributed documents to the website, but also enables us to link each brief to its proper court case. This means that when users search FOIAProject.org, they will not only receive links to documents and opinions that we download automatically, but users also receive links to any contributed briefs and declarations, as well. Existing search tools automatically include in the response to queries links to not only documents and opinions, but also to any contributed briefs and declarations.

How can you get involved?

To contribute or inquire about the Brief Bank, email us at FOIABriefs@foiaproject.org. Learn more about the Brief Bank here.

This report was co-authored by TRAC’s summer legal interns, Lee Tremblay of Georgetown University Law Center (‘23) and Angelica Judge of Syracuse University College of Law (‘23), with the support of Sarah Cossman of American University Washington College of Law (‘24) who designed and created the graphics. The report was edited and validated by TRAC Faculty.

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