We were co-counsel with the ACLU of Southern California in a lawsuit filed in D.C. challenging the denial of a FOIA request to the Citizenship and Immigration Services agency for records regarding the “Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program”—a program under which lawful immigrants from Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian nations appear to have great problems obtaining citizenship and other important immigration benefits. The lawsuit was filed in June 2013. Hundreds of documents were disclosed during settlement negotiations, but some disagreements were intractable and in late 2014 the parties cross-moved for summary judgment as to the records remaining in dispute.
In September 2015, the district court sustained some of the agency’s withholdings under exemption 7(E), which covers records compiled for law enforcement purposes that “would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.” With respect to about 80% of the withheld documents, however, the court denied the agency’s motion for summary judgment, ordering it to provide additional explanation justifying its invocation of the exemption.
After further negotiations, the government produced additional documents, and we ultimately withdrew our demand for others. The case was settled in July 2016.