Examples of FOIA in Asylum Cases
There are several situations in which FOIA requests are utilized in asylum applications. FOIA requests can assist in retrieving information regarding an individuals’ past immigration proceedings. In the case of Anguimante, an immigration asylum officer conducted an interview with the plaintiff concerning her asylum application. After determining that the plaintiff’s application should be denied, the asylum officer prepared a three-page document, known as an “Assessment to Refer,” summarizing the evidence and explaining the officer’s findings. Based on the Assessment, USCIS denied the plaintiff’s asylum application and referred her to an immigration judge for removal proceedings. The plaintiff submitted a FOIA request to USCIS seeking various documents relating to her asylum application, including the Assessment to Refer. The agency denied her request under Exemption 5 and the district court affirmed the decision.
FOIA requests can also be used to conduct country condition research. In Tarzia v. Clinton, plaintiff Richard Tarzia, an attorney representing immigrants seeking asylum, requested information from the United States Department of State concerning a report that the Department issued pertaining to hardships faced by asylum seekers in China. The report contained information derived from the most recent DOS country reports on human rights practices. Tarzia challenged the withholding of these documents in court. The judge granted some of the documents and denied some of the documents.
FOIA requests can also be used to conduct country condition research. In Tarzia v. Clinton, plaintiff Richard Tarzia, an attorney representing immigrants seeking asylum, requested information from the United States Department of State concerning a report that the Department issued pertaining to hardships faced by asylum seekers in China. The report contained information derived from the most recent DOS country reports on human rights practices. Tarzia challenged the withholding of these documents in court. The judge granted some of the documents and denied some of the documents.