U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, must release more documents in response to a FOIA request from the American Immigration Council, a federal judge has ruled.
USCIS took almost a year to release a portion of the data requested by the watchdog group, and the documents they produced were “riddled with errors,” U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said, according to Courthouse News Service.
From CNS:
Judge Boasberg ruled that the agency must submit a new affidavit to demonstrate the adequacy of its search, and it must release two-thirds of the records that it withheld.
The judge allowed the rest of the records to be withheld under FOIA exemptions that protect agencies from releasing internal memoranda and information relating to personal files.
“After in camera review, the court concludes that two-thirds of the withheld records contested by the Council should have been largely or wholly released,” concluded Judge Boasberg. “FOIA cases count on agencies to do their jobs with reasonable diligence. USCIS must do better.
Courthouse News has more, including associated court docs.