Ideological Screening at the Border
Documents released in our FOIA lawsuit for records on the "extreme vetting" program
This Reading Room contains all of the documents produced to date in Knight Institute v. DHS, a FOIA lawsuit the Knight Institute filed on October 4, 2017, seeking records on how the Trump administration is implementing the president’s call for an “extreme vetting program."
Our FOIA lawsuit sought records from the agencies charged with developing the program: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of State (DOS). We requested documents concerning the program and the government’s asserted power to exclude individuals on the basis of their speech, beliefs, or associations.
In response, the agencies released over 300 documents, many heavily redacted, and hardly any referencing the extreme vetting program itself.
How to use this Reading Room: The collection below can be searched by keyword, or filtered using the criteria in the left-hand column. In addition, any search can be filtered for “Key Documents,” which are the documents that Knight Institute staff have flagged as the most significant disclosed.
Showing 121–130 of 341
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USCIS Chart: USCIS TRIG NGO Meeting
Chart summarizing exemptions granted and denied under various Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds authorities.
6/29/2018
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DOS Memo: Imposing Visa Restrictions on Yemen
Memorandum discussing the implementation of visa restrictions against individuals designated for the UN Yemen travel ban, noting the need to rely on the INA's foreign policy provision
2/26/2019
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DOS Memo: Imposing Visa Restrictions on Yemen
Memorandum discussing the implementation of visa restrictions against individuals designated for the UN Yemen travel ban, noting the need to rely on the INA's foreign policy provision
6/28/2018
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USCIS Chart: USCIS TRIG NGO Meeting
Chart summarizing exemptions granted and denied under various Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds authorities.
6/29/2018
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USCIS Chart: Statutory (CAA & NDAA) Group Exemptions Matrix
Chart listing groups and activities that may be eligible for Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds exemptions.
5/30/2018
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USCIS Report re: Secretary's Application of the Discretionary Authority Contained in Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the INA
Congressional report providing aggregate statistics on Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds exemptions granted.
6/29/2018
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DOS Memo: Candidates for Visa Restrictions – December 2014 Additional Human Rights Abusers
Memorandum listing individuals subject to visa restrictions, which is almost entirely withheld.
6/28/2018
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DOS Memo: Visa Restrictions on Additional Venezuelans
Memorandum discussing imposing visa restrictions on Venezuelan officials involved in human rights abuses and corruption, noting the need to rely on the INA's foreign policy provision in denying visas to immediate family members on the basis of association alone.
6/28/2018
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Foreign Affairs Manual Vol. 9 § 40.32: Notes
Manual which appears to be a precursor to what is currently FAM Vol.9 § 302.6. It includes a brief note on applying an earlier iteration of the endorse-or-espouse provision, which it describes as “directed at irresponsible expressions of opinion by aliens who are able to influence the actions of others. An example might be a community leader who publicly praised Al-Qaida in the wake of a terrorist activity for which it claimed responsibility, and who urged the community not to cooperate with efforts by law enforcement officials to bring those responsible to justice.”
6/28/2018
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DOS Memo: Removing Fiji Coup-Related Visa Ineligibilities
Memorandum proposing lifting visa restrictions on Fijian officials who supported the 2006 coup.
6/28/2018