American Immigration Council et al v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection et al and 15 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 107 documents from 16 FOIA cases filed between October 15, 2023 and October 21, 2023. Note that there can be delays between the date a case is filed and when it shows up on PACER. If there are filings from this period that have yet to be posted on PACER, this FOIA Project list may not be complete.

Click on a case title below to view details for that case, including links to the associated docket and complaint documents.

1. American Immigration Council et al v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection et al (filed Oct 16, 2023)
   American Immigration Council and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning CBP policies to manage the flow of migrants within CBP’s One Appointments. AIC also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, AIC filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. Nicolette Glazer v. United States Department of State (filed Oct 20, 2023)
   Nicolette Glazer, an attorney, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning the number of diversity visas issued each month. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Glazer filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
3. SHORELIGHT, LLC v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Oct 17, 2023)
   Shorelight, a company that works with universities to grow their body of international students, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning non-immigrant visa refusal statistics by post and nationality for FY 22 and FY 23. Shorelight also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and granted Shorelight expedited processing. Because Shorelight had heard nothing further from the agency concerning the grant of expedited processing, Shorelight filed an administrative appeal. The agency indicated there was nothing to appeal. Shorelight then filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Expedited processing, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al (filed Oct 19, 2023)
   Federation for American Immigration Reform submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for records concerning the agency’s initiative, announced July 2, 2021, that identifies and returns previously deported non-citizen veterans. FAIR also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, FAIR filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. Louise Trauma Center LLC v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (filed Oct 20, 2023)
   Louise Trauma Center submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning the Asylum Office Basic Training Course from January 2020 to the present. LTC also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, LTC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. Walsh v. Department of the Navy (filed Oct 17, 2023)
   Rory Walsh submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Navy for records concerning letters censuring murderers Humble and Hagee. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Walsh filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit
7. Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. National Archives and Records Administration et al (filed Oct 19, 2023)
   Americans for Prosperity Foundation submitted a FOIA request to National Archives and Records Administration and the Department of Justice for records concerning the disposition of the Office of Legal Counsel opinions. AFPF also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from either agency, AFPF filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
8. SANTA FE FOREST COALITION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE (filed Oct 16, 2023)
   The Santa Fe Forest Coalition submitted two FOIA requests to U.S. Forest Service concerning the Santa Fe Mountain Landscape Resiliency Project, among other projects. SFFC also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests. The agency denied SFFC’s request for expedited processing. SFFC filed an administrative appeal of the denial. After hearing nothing further from the agency, SFFC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. PUBLIC JOURNAL v. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE (filed Oct 16, 2023)
   Public Journal submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Forest Service for records concerning incendiary devices dropped from unmanned aircraft along the perimeter of the Black Fire. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency told Public Journal that the request would take a year to fulfill and suggested it try to narrow the scope of the request. Public Journal narrowed the scope to a single day. The agency then told Public Journal that there were 21 requests ahead of theirs. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Public Journal filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
10. Michael Graybill v. National Security Agency et al (filed Oct 17, 2023)
    Michael Graybill submitted FOIA requests to the National Security Agency and the CIA for records concerning himself. The agencies acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, Graybill filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
11. Ecological Rights Foundation v. United States Army Corps of Engineers et al (filed Oct 17, 2023)
    Ecological Rights Foundation submitted FOIA requests to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Marine Fisheries Service for records concerning correspondence between the Corps and NMFS concerning Daguerre Point Dam, the Brophy Diversion, and the Cordua Diversion of the Yuba River. The agency acknowledged receipt of the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agencies, Ecological Rights foundation filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
12. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (filed Oct 17, 2023)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Defense for records concerning computer/Internet services supplied to Joe Biden when he was Vice President. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
13. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Oct 17, 2023)
    Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records from Special Counsel Jack Smith indicating that the Fulton County, GA district attorney had been given federal funds to pursue her prosecution of Donald Trump. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency invoked a 10-day extension for responding. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
14. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (filed Oct 19, 2023)
    Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility submitted a FOIA request to the EPA for records concerning Administrator Regan’s review of former Administrator Wheeler, and his review of Oak Ridge. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency asked PEER to clarify its request. PEER clarified its request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, PEER filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
15. NGUYEN v. U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (filed Oct 19, 2023)
    Huy Dang Nguyen submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for records concerning the incident at which Nguyen was stopped at the Seattle Airport when trying to enter the U.S. on a B1/B2 visitor’s visa. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Nguyen filed suit.
    Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
16. The Cincinnati Enquirer v. United States Department of Justice (filed Oct 20, 2023)
    The Cincinnati Enquirer submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice for records concerning Cincinnati Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard’s prosecution for accepting a bribe for her vote on the Council. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys denied the request in its entirely based on Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy) and Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records). The Enquirer filed an administrative appeal. The agency upheld the denial. The Enquirer then filed suit.
    Issues: Adequacy – Search, Litigation – Vaughn index, Litigation – Attorney’s fees