Filed Date: June 29, 2017
Closed Date: April 19, 2019
Clearinghouse coding complete
On June 29, 2017, the James Madison Project, Noah Shachtman, and Betsy Woodruff sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The James Madison Project (JMP) is an organization established in 1998 "to promote government accountability and the reduction of secrecy, as well as [to educate] the public on issues relating to intelligence and national security." Noah Schactman is the current Editor-in-Chief (previously the Executive Editor) of The Daily Beast, and Betsy Woodruff was a politics reporter for the publication at the time. Private counsel represented plaintiffs, who filed their complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Plaintiffs sought disclosure of agency records by DHS and its subordinate entities: the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Specifically, plaintiffs sought the disclosure of records clarifying the extent to which U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs) were coerced into surrendering their residency statuses, once DHS began implementing President Trump's Jan. 27 Executive Order 13769 but before DHS stopped enforcing it on Feb. 4. According to plaintiffs, lawyers for some travelers affected by the EO claimed their clients were, during this implementation period, pressured to sign I-407 forms surrendering their LPR status.
The complaint alleged that on Mar. 3, 2017, plaintiffs submitted a FOIA request to the defendant federal agencies seeking copies of records memorializing:
1. Instructions or guidelines – including verbal instructions memorialized in writing – provided to CBP officials with respect to agency practice for presenting I-407 forms to individuals impacted by the EO;
2. Communications between CBP officials – including verbal communications memorialized in writing – mentioning I-407 forms between Jan. 27 and Feb. 5;
3. Any documentation tabulating or calculating the number of individuals who signed I-407 forms between Jan. 27 and Feb. 5;
4. Copies of the actual I-407 forms signed between Jan. 27 and Feb. 5.
The complaint further alleged that, to date, the plaintiffs had not received a substantive response from any of the defendant agencies, and that the plaintiffs had constructively exhausted all required administrative remedies. The plaintiffs sought a disclosure order under FOIA, legal fees, and expedited action.
(Plaintiff James Madison Project also has two similar FOIA cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, summarized in this Clearinghouse: one by the Daily Beast against the Department of Justice and one by Politico against DHS.)
On June 29, the case was assigned to Judge James E. Boasberg.
On Sept. 7, the parties reported that USCIS and CBP were searching for records responsive to plaintiff's request and needed another month to prepare a list. On Oct. 10, the parties reported the following: TSA had located no responsive documents; USCIS had located no responsive records for some requests and had withheld responsive records for other requests due to privacy; and CBP had located a few responsive records.
Judge Boasberg then ordered defendant (USCIS and CBP) to provide its first production of non-exempt portions of responsive records by Nov. 6 and its second production by Dec. 7.
On Nov. 6, the parties reported that defendants were following the schedule ordered by Judge Boasberg.
The following status report, of Jan. 5, 2018, noted that USCIS and CBP had both produced more responsive non-exempt records and informed plaintiff that the search was completed. The parties agreed to meet to confer on next steps.
The Feb. 1 status report stated that the parties needed more time to discuss search declarations, before deciding whether to brief motions. A status report filed on Apr. 13 informed the Court that plaintiffs accepted TSA's productions and the sufficiency of USCIS's and CBP's searches, but would challenge denials and redactions of some of USCIS's and CBP's productions. Status reports filed October through December indicated the production was ongoing.
Though the documents released by the government are not available online, this news article references some of their contents.
On June 15, 2018, the defendants submitted a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the I-407 forms in question were exempt and properly withheld. The plaintiffs responded to the motion on July 16, claiming that the categorical refusal to produce the I-407 forms was improper and that their redactions were unjustified. After a conference call on October 3, the defendant submitted a status report on October 5, with the defendant’s agreement to respond to the plaintiff’s FOIA requests and a proposed schedule. The court, as agreed in the report, ordered the defendant to provide rolling productions every 60 days of the I-407 forms and a joint status report every 45 days.
Production followed the next few months. On December 26, 2018, the defendant moved for a stay of production schedule due to lapse of appropriations, which resulted in a temporary prohibition of DOJ’s work. Two days later, the court granted the motion. According to the February 1, 2019 status report, the funding was restored and the defendants had completed their required production on December 18, 2018. The parties then continued to provide status reports regarding attorney fees.
On April 19, 2019, the plaintiffs submitted a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, and the court ordered dismissal the same day. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Ava Morgenstern (4/21/2018)
Virginia Weeks (12/4/2018)
Averyn Lee (6/6/2020)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6082694/parties/james-madison-project-v-department-of-homeland-security/
Boasberg, James Emanuel (District of Columbia)
Andrapalliyal, Vinita B. (District of Columbia)
Bernie, Andrew Marshall (District of Columbia)
Berns, Matthew Joseph (District of Columbia)
Borson, Joseph Evan (District of Columbia)
Andrapalliyal, Vinita B. (District of Columbia)
Bernie, Andrew Marshall (District of Columbia)
Berns, Matthew Joseph (District of Columbia)
Borson, Joseph Evan (District of Columbia)
Borum, Marian L. (District of Columbia)
Braswell, Marina Utgoff (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Jason Todd (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Bradley Heath (District of Columbia)
Coleman, John R. (District of Columbia)
Crowley, Megan Anne (District of Columbia)
Drezner, Michael Leon (District of Columbia)
Field, Brian J. (District of Columbia)
Fresco, Leon (District of Columbia)
Gavoor, Aram A. (District of Columbia)
Girdharry, Glenn M. (District of Columbia)
Haas, Alexander Kenneth (District of Columbia)
Hammond, Derek S. (District of Columbia)
Harris, Julie Straus (District of Columbia)
Hendry, Melanie Dyani (District of Columbia)
Horn, Daniel Franklin (District of Columbia)
Hunt, Joseph H. (District of Columbia)
Kelly, Wynne Patrick (District of Columbia)
Kidwell, Judith A. (District of Columbia)
Kirschner, Adam D. (District of Columbia)
Konkoly, Antonia Marie (District of Columbia)
Lee, Jason (District of Columbia)
Leidenheimer, Robert E. (District of Columbia)
Levin, Scott Douglas (District of Columbia)
Lopez-Morales, Cesar A. (District of Columbia)
Maier, Peter Rolf (District of Columbia)
McDaniel, Oliver W. (District of Columbia)
Merritt, R. Charlie (District of Columbia)
Moore, Tamra Tyree (District of Columbia)
Nebeker, William Mark (District of Columbia)
Orloff, Serena Maya (District of Columbia)
Parker, Ryan Bradley (District of Columbia)
Patterson, Nicholas J. (District of Columbia)
Peterson, Benton Gregory (District of Columbia)
Pezzi, Stephen M. (District of Columbia)
Powell, Amy E. (District of Columbia)
Press, Joshua Samuel (District of Columbia)
Readler, Chad Andrew (District of Columbia)
Reuveni, Erez (District of Columbia)
RISNER, SCOTT (District of Columbia)
Rogers, Joshua L. (District of Columbia)
Ross, Carl Ezekiel (District of Columbia)
Sandberg, Justin Michael (District of Columbia)
Seabrook, April Denise (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, Elizabeth J. (District of Columbia)
Shoaibi, Alexander Daniel (District of Columbia)
Shy, Dionne S. (District of Columbia)
Simon, Jeremy S. (District of Columbia)
Singer, Sam M. (District of Columbia)
Skurnik, Matthew Charles (District of Columbia)
Snell, Kevin Matthew (District of Columbia)
Sokolower, Heather G. (District of Columbia)
Sowles, Marcia Kay (District of Columbia)
Sroka, Scott Leeson (District of Columbia)
Sus, Nikhel (District of Columbia)
Taaffe, Damon William (District of Columbia)
Tosini, Stephen C. (District of Columbia)
Tulis, Elizabeth Murray (District of Columbia)
Valdez, Darrell C. (District of Columbia)
WALL, SHEETUL S (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6082694/james-madison-project-v-department-of-homeland-security/
Last updated April 18, 2025, 12:42 p.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 1.0 & 2.0 FOIA cases
Trump Administration 1.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 29, 2017
Closing Date: April 19, 2019
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
The James Madison Project (JMP) is an organization established in 1998 "to promote government accountability and the reduction of secrecy, as well as [to educate] the public on issues relating to intelligence and national security." Noah Schactman is the current Executive Editor of The Daily Beast, and Betsy Woodruff is a politics reporter for the publication.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Unknown
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Basis:
National origin discrimination
Affected National Origin/Ethnicity(s):
Immigration/Border: