IRAP’s U.S. Government Document Collections
Since 2009, IRAP has filed over a hundred Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and has also litigated cases in federal court in order to obtain U.S. government documents about policies that affect refugees and immigrants. Through these efforts, IRAP has received thousands of pages of U.S. government documents, including policies, training, and guidance, that were made public for the first time.
Curated Collections
You can access, search and download any document from IRAP’s U.S government document collection on the DocumentCloud website. If you know what topic you are interested in, we recommend using our curated collections, which let you search all of the documents we received about the Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visas, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and Afghan pathways.
All IRAP-Collected Documents
IRAP’s document collection is hosted on the DocumentCloud platform and is part of the non-profit DocumentCloud’s searchable archive that contains millions of government documents uploaded by other non-profits, media organizations, and individuals and promotes transparency.
When we receive important documents, IRAP sometimes analyzes the documents and publishes resources explaining why they are significant. Recent resources are available below:
Recent Resources
Because IRAP’s document collections contain thousands of pages of government documents collected over many years, the documents may contain policies or guidance that are out-of-date. If you are looking for legal information about immigration processes, we instead recommend that you access IRAP’s legal information guides on our legal information website and our legal practitioner resources, that incorporate insights from these government documents and contain information about when they were last updated.
If you would like to learn more about specific FOIA requests that IRAP has filed and the documents that we received, you can use the tabs below which organize our requests by topic and provide access to our FOIA requests; documents that the U.S. government produced to IRAP; and information on our website about the FOIA request and related litigation.
FOIA Requests Related to Special Immigrant Visas
Summary: This collection consolidates records related to SIVs from all FOIA requests and litigation discovery. We update it regularly.
Summary: This FOIA request to the Department of Defense (DoD) requested records about Project Rabbit, a joint Defense Department and State Department program that was intended to review the employment qualifications of Afghan SIV applicants. DOD produced over a hundred relevant documents.
Summary: This FOIA request to the Department of State (DOS) requested records of about Afghan refugee, SIV, and parole pathways that were created after January 1, 2021. DOS has produced hundreds of relevant records.
Summary: IRAP requested contracts between the U.S. Army and Valiant Government Services LLC related to interpretation services in Iraq. The government responded with over 600 pages of contract documents.
Summary: With this FOIA request to DOS, IRAP requested records related to the procedures for the Chief of Mission process and received approximately 2500 pages of records.
Summary: With this FOIA request to DOS, IRAP and RAICES requested records related to the inspection, admission, detention, and deportation of SIV holders at United States airports, as well as other SIV-related records.
Summary: With this FOIA request to DOS, IRAP requested records related to casualties of SIV applicants and recipients.
FOIA Requests Related to Refugee Resettlement
Summary: This collection consolidates records related to USRAP from all FOIA requests and litigation discovery. We update it regularly.
IRAP requested guidance documents and statistics related to the implementation of the Executive Order provision ordering review of policies allowing individuals in committed life partnerships who cannot marry due to restrictions in law or practice to be considered spouses for the purpose of refugee and asylee processing.
- FOIA Request (DOS-1) (DOS-2) (USCIS -1) (USCIS – 2)
- Records Produced to IRAP
Summary: This FOIA request to the Department of State (DOS) requested records of about Afghan refugee, SIV, and parole pathways that were created after January 1, 2021. DOS has produced hundreds of relevant records.
Summary: IRAP filed a lawsuit seeking information about USCIS’s processing of applications under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) Iraqi Direct Access Program (Iraqi DAP).
Summary: This FOIA request to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requested records of about Afghan refugee, asylum, and parole pathways that were created after January 1, 2021. USCIS has produced hundreds of relevant records.
Summary: This FOIA request to USCIS and DOS requested records of refugee adjudication policies and procedures. USCIS has produced hundreds of relevant records, totaling thousands of pages, including many training and policy documents.
Summary: IRAP requested records from DOS and USCIS relating to the Iraq refugee resettlement, including documents setting up the Priority 2 Direct Access Program for Iraqis, procedures relating to security reviews, and other statistics. The government sent back over 3,500 pages of documents. The documents include policy guidance, statistics, and emails regarding Iraqi refugee processing, security checks procedures, refugee application assessment standards, USCIS interviewing trainings and exercises, and more.
- FOIA Request (DOS, USCIS)
- Records Produced to IRAP
Summary: IRAP filed this FOIA request in 2019 with the U.S. Department of State to request records related to the closure of refugee resettlement agencies, state and local officials’ authority to bar refugee resettlement in their jurisdictions, and assimilation Requirements.
Summary: IRAP filed this FOIA request in 2018 with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and USCIS to request records related to guidance issued by USCIS’ Office of Chief Counsel relating to documentation requirements for refugees’ camp-based (informal) marriages.
Summary: This FOIA request to U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security requested records related to the implementation of the October 23, 2017 Memorandum in follow-to-join refugee processing.
Summary: This FOIA request to U.S Dept. of Homeland Security requested records related to the termination of the Central American Minors “CAM” Program.
Summary: This FOIA request to USCIS requested records related to the processing of Central American Minors “CAM” Program applications.
Summary: IRAP filed this FOIA request in 2018 with the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security to request records related to the Vienna-Based Lautenberg-Specter program.
Summary: This FOIA request to U.S. Dept of Homeland Security requested records related to denials of Iranian religious minority applicants to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Summary: This FOIA request to DHS requested records relating to the presidential determination of the number of refugees who may be admitted in fiscal year 2018 and related refugee processing records.
Summary: This FOIA to DHS requests records related to the reports mandated in Section 4(b) and (c) from the March 6, 2017, “Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Summary: This FOIA request to U.S. Dept of State sought records concerning current guidance relating to the confidentiality and/or privacy of refugee case records.
Summary: This FOIA request to USCIS requested records related to refugee processing data stored in the CAMINO database.
These FOIA requests to U.S. Dept. of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) requested records related to statistics on “circuit rides” and overseas adjudications and Requests for Review/Reconsideration (“RFRs”), all records discussing or analyzing such statistics, all post-2001 data regarding approval and rejection rates for initial refugee applications and RFRs and regarding overseas adjudications, and the USCIS quality assurance program review.
- FOIA Request (DOS) (USCIS -1) (USCIS – 2)
- Records Produced to IRAP
Other FOIA Requests
Summary: This FOIA request to DOS and USCIS, filed in 2021, requested and obtained records explaining how DOS and USCIS process FOIA requests.
Summary: This collection consolidates records related to pathways for displaced Afghans from all FOIA requests and litigation discovery. We update it regularly.
Summary: This project contains FOIA productions from IRAP’s 2021 FOIA to CBP seeking policies, procedures, guidance, memoranda and other similar documents regarding the re-implementation of Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) starting in December 2021, including documents describing exemptions from MPP.
Summary: This FOIA request to CPB, filed in 2020, requested records related to CPB’s implementation of the CDC Order dated March 20, 2020 suspending the introduction of certain persons from countries where COVID-19 exists.
Summary: This FOIA request to U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security requested records related to the implementation plan ordered in Section 2(g) of National Security Presidential Memoranda (NSPM) 9.
Summary: This FOIA request to U.S. Dept. of State requested records related to the implementation of Presidential Proclamation 9645.
Summary: These FOIA requests to U.S. Dept of Homeland Security and U.S. Dept. of State requested records related to guidance issued after the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order on Dec. 4, 2017 staying preliminary injunctions of portions of Proclamation 9645, issued on September 24, 2017, entitled “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats.”
Summary: This FOIA request by IRAP and Cardozo School of Law to DHS and DOD requested records related to Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (“MAVNI”) policies, practices, and enlistees.