A California judge orders the government to hand over their case files to immigrants

A federal judge in San Francisco, California, on Thursday ordered the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and two of its agencies to deliver the information they have about their files to immigrants in a timely manner, since can be decisive for them to win their cases.

Magistrate William H. Orrick of a district court for Northern California determined that the practice of the Immigration and Citizenship Service (USCIS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) failure to deliver immigration case files within the deadline established by Congress under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) “is a systemic problem and requires a comprehensive remedy and permanent”.

Under this argument, the judge ordered these two agencies to respond within 60 days to pending requests from more than 40,000 immigrants who are awaiting information on their cases, and Orrick ordered ICE and USCIS to comply with the legal timeline for respond to requests for future case files, and submit quarterly reports to the court and plaintiffs’ attorneys to verify compliance with the statutory deadline.

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The judge’s decision came in response to two class action lawsuits filed by the American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Litigation Alliance (NILA) and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) in June. of 2019.

The plaintiffs caution that according to FOIA, individuals must receive a determination on requests for information within 30 days.. However, immigrants and lawyers routinely face waiting times of more than 30 days; in some cases the wait can be months, or even more than a year.

Immigrants who are submitting their applications to USCIS or who are fighting their deportations with ICE often request their personal files from these agencies, in which they can find information about previous petitions, arrests, or even deportation orders in absentia.

“Compliance with FOIA deadlines is especially important in the immigration context: it provides essential protection for claimants who require a copy of their records to obtain immigration benefits or to defend themselves or their clients against deportation.” the court wrote.

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“The lack of timely response to FOIA requests creates an information asymmetry that prevents claimants from successfully applying for immigration benefits, challenging deportation orders, or seeking release from detention,” it adds.

Trina Realmuto, executive director of NILA, who defended the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that “DHS can no longer force non-citizens and their attorneys to face deportation proceedings, bond hearings and applications for benefits with one hand tied behind their back”.

In this sense, Matt Adams legal director of NWIRP, warned that “this is a great day for immigrants from all over the country.”

With information from EFE.

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