Nightingale Lawsuit Regarding FOIA Requests

Borderless Magazine has published an article about the long delay in processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. This delay has been a problem for noncitizens for many years. Individuals need access to the information in their A-files, which are a critical resource in immigration courts and can help them defend themselves against removal from the United States. The article discusses the Nightingale class action lawsuit, Nightingale v. USCIS, which was filed in 2019 to prevent future delays in FOIA request responses. Van Der Hout Partner Zachary Nightingale is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. In December 2020, a district court judge, William Orrick III ruled that “DHS, USCIS and ICE must adhere to the FOIA deadline; make determinations on all A-File FOIA requests in the departments’ backlog within 60 days; and provide quarterly compliance reports, with the first report due 90 days from the judge’s ruling.” In February 2021, USCIS and ICE appealed this decision and the litigation remains pending.

Read full article here.