Case: Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
1:18-cv-03097 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Filed Date: May 1, 2018
Closed Date: June 28, 2019
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
On May 1, 2018, the Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago (CAIR-Chicago) filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case was assigned to Judge Robert Gettleman. CAIR-Chicago sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within DHS, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Represented by private counsel, CAIR-Chicago sought declaratory and injunctive relief.
On August 1, 2017, CAIR-Chicago filed a FOIA request for records containing demographics and processing times of naturalization, change of status, and asylum since the 2008 institution of the Controlled Application Review & Resolution Program, a policy that imposes rules to delay or deny immigration benefits. CAIR-Chicago sought expedited processing of its FOIA request because it suspected religious discrimination against Muslim applicants, but defendants denied this request. The defendants did not respond to the FOIA request within the statutory time period and still had yet to respond. The plaintiff alleged that this conduct was a wrongful delay of release of records in violation of FOIA.
A status report filed on August 21, 2018 indicated the parties were attempting to avoid litigation and that the government would conduct the necessary searches for responsive records.
On June 28, 2019, CAIR-Chicago voluntarily dismissed the suit without explanation. Presumably, the parties resolved the disputes related to the records and the defendants provided the records to CAIR-Chicago. This case is closed.
Summary Authors
Rebecca Strauss (6/22/2018)
Virginia Weeks (8/26/2018)
Gregory Marsh (8/27/2020)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7390824/parties/council-on-american-islamic-relations-chicago-v-united-states-citizenship/
Gettleman, Robert William (Illinois)
Badlani, Chirag (Illinois)
Lederer, Caryn Cecelia (Illinois)
Chicago, AUSA - (Illinois)
Hartzler, Alex Harms (Illinois)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Resources
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7390824/council-on-american-islamic-relations-chicago-v-united-states-citizenship/
Last updated July 20, 2026, 5:01 a.m.
Case Details
State / Territory:
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: May 1, 2018
Closing Date: June 28, 2019
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Federal
United States of America
United States of America
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552
Other Dockets:
Northern District of Illinois 1:18-cv-03097
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Unknown
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Immigration/Border:
Case Summary of Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/16584/ (last updated 8/27/2020).