Case: Freedom of the Press Foundation v. United States Department of Homeland Security

1:25-cv-03387 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: Sept. 24, 2025

Closed Date: July 10, 2026

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Case Summary

(This summary is temporary while we research the case).

On September 24, 2025, a press freedom nonprofit and an technology publication filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Freedom of Information Act. The plaintiffs had each submitted requests to both agencies on July 17, 2025 seeking the agreement under which CMS agreed to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) identity and location information for nearly 80 million Medicaid recipients in connection with immigration enforcement. Over the course of litigation, the plaintiffs subsequently obtained the agreement; parties stipulated to dismiss the action in July 2026.

Summary Authors

Haylee Thomas (9/2/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71444462/parties/freedom-of-the-press-foundation-v-united-states-department-of-homeland/

Judge(s)

Nichols, Carl John (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Cate, Matthew Stephen (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Jones, Sian (District of Columbia)

Judge(s)

Nichols, Carl John (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Cate, Matthew Stephen (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Jones, Sian (District of Columbia)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

1 1:25-cv-03387	Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Freedom of the Press Foundation et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al.	Sept. 24, 2025	Sept. 24, 2025 Complaint

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71444462/freedom-of-the-press-foundation-v-united-states-department-of-homeland/

Last updated Sept. 9, 2026, 3:10 a.m.

Docket for: FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

ECF Number	Date	Description	Link
1	Sept. 24, 2025	COMPLAINT against UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-11980710) filed by FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION, DARK MODE LLC d/b/a 404 MEDIA. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - FPF request to CMS, # 2 Exhibit 2 - FPF request to DHS, # 3 Exhibit 3 - 404 Media request to CMS, # 4 Exhibit 4 - 404 Media request to DHS, # 5 Civil Cover Sheet, # 6 Summons DHS, # 7 Summons CMS, # 8 Summons Attorney General, # 9 Summons USAO)(Cate, Matthew) (Entered: 09/24/2025) 1 Exhibit 1 - FPF request to CMS View on RECAP 2 Exhibit 2 - FPF request to DHS View on RECAP 3 Exhibit 3 - 404 Media request to CMS View on RECAP 4 Exhibit 4 - 404 Media request to DHS View on RECAP 5 Civil Cover Sheet View on RECAP 6 Summons DHS View on RECAP 7 Summons CMS View on RECAP 8 Summons Attorney General View on RECAP 9 Summons USAO View on RECAP	Clearinghouse
2	Sept. 24, 2025	LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION (Cate, Matthew) (Entered: 09/24/2025)	RECAP
3	Sept. 24, 2025	LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by DARK MODE LLC d/b/a 404 MEDIA (Cate, Matthew) (Entered: 09/24/2025)	RECAP
4	Sept. 24, 2025	SUMMONS (4)Issued Electronically as to All Defendants, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmtm) (Entered: 09/24/2025)	RECAP
	Sept. 24, 2025	Case Assigned/Reassigned
	Sept. 24, 2025	Case Assigned to Judge Carl J. Nichols. (zmtm)
5	Sept. 29, 2025	STANDING ORDER. Signed by Judge Carl J. Nichols on 09/29/2025. (lccjn3) (Entered: 09/29/2025)	RECAP
6	Oct. 2, 2025	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 9/24/2025. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 10/24/2025. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - US Attorney's Confirmation of Receipt of Service)(Cate, Matthew) (Entered: 10/02/2025) 1 Exhibit 1 - US Attorney's Confirmation of Receipt of Service View on PACER	RECAP
7	Oct. 2, 2025	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 10/01/2025. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - USPS Tracking Confirmation of Delivery)(Cate, Matthew) (Entered: 10/02/2025) 1 Exhibit 1 - USPS Tracking Confirmation of Delivery View on PACER	RECAP
8	Oct. 2, 2025	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES served on 9/30/2025; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY served on 10/1/2025 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - USPS Tracking Confirmation of Delivery (DHS), # 2 Exhibit 2 - USPS Tracking Confirmation of Delivery (CMS))(Cate, Matthew) (Entered: 10/02/2025) 1 Exhibit 1 - USPS Tracking Confirmation of Delivery (DHS) View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2 - USPS Tracking Confirmation of Delivery (CMS) View on PACER	RECAP
	Dec. 15, 2025	MINUTE ORDER. The Government's 10 Motion for Extension of Time to File is GRANTED. Defendant shall file its answer or otherwise respond to Plaintiff's 1 Complaint on or before January 15, 2026. So ORDERED by Judge Carl J. Nichols on 12/15/2025. (lccjn3)
11	Jan. 13, 2026	Consent MOTION to Stay by UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Attachments: (1) Text of Proposed Order)(Jones, Sian) 1 Text of Proposed Order View on RECAP	RECAP
	Jan. 16, 2026	MINUTE ORDER. Defendants' 11 Consent Motion to Stay is GRANTED. It is ORDERED that the case is stayed pending further order. It is further ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report every sixty days to update the Court on the status of their efforts to resolve this matter. So ORDERED by Judge Carl J. Nichols on 01/16/2026. (lccjn3)
12	March 17, 2026	Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Jones, Sian)	RECAP
13	May 18, 2026	Joint STATUS REPORT by UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Jones, Sian)	RECAP
14	July 10, 2026	STIPULATION of Dismissal by UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. (Jones, Sian)	Clearinghouse

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Case Details

State / Territory:

District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Immigration and/or the Border

Healthcare Access and Reproductive Issues

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

Key Dates

Filing Date: Sept. 24, 2025

Closing Date: July 10, 2026

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

press-freedom and journalism organizations

Plaintiff Type(s):

Non-profit NON-religious organization

Private Plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Federal

Department of Homeland Security

Defendant Type(s):

Jurisdiction-wide

Case Details

Causes of Action:

FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552

Other Dockets:

District of District of Columbia 1:25-cv-03387

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed

Relief Sought:

Relief Granted:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Private Settlement Agreement

Voluntary Dismissal

Issues

Benefits (Source):

Medicaid

Medicare

Immigration/Border:

ICE/DHS/INS raid

Presidential/Gubernatorial Authority:

Access to information systems

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of Freedom of the Press Foundation v. United States Department of Homeland Security, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48350/ (last updated 9/2/2026).