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 61–70 of 341
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USCIS Chart: USCIS TRIG Statistics
Chart tallying exemptions granted under various Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds provisions, exemptions denied, and cases on hold.
5/30/2018
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USCIS Chart: USCIS TRIG Statistics
Chart summarizing exemptions granted and denied under various Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds authorities.
6/29/2018
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USCIS Presentation re: Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds
Presentation used in the USCIS Academy's basic course overviewing Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds set out in the INA.
5/30/2018
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USCIS Presentation re: Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds
Presentation used in the USCIS Academy's basic course overviewing Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds set out in the INA.
6/29/2018
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Email with Attachment: Order Granting Mot. for T.R.O., Trump v. Hawaii, No. 17-cv-00050 DKW-KSC (D. Haw. Mar. 15, 2017)
Email chain discussing a broadcast message to ICE field offices regarding the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii's injunction in Trump v. Hawaii. The email also circulates a copy of the district court's order.
3/7/2018
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USCIS Charts: Overview of TRIG Exercises of Exemption Authority
Charts summarizing situational and group-based exemptions to Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds.
5/30/2018
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USCIS Memos re: Elimination of USCIS Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds Hold Policy
Memorandum recommending to rescind a USCIS policy that delayed final inadmissibility decisions in cases where the individual was inadmissible on the basis of 1) association with an undesignated terrorist organization, 2) association with a designated terrorist organization while under duress, or 3) status as the spouse of child of an individual inadmissible under Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds. An attached memorandum includes a draft rescission of the policy.
5/30/2018
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Email with Attachment: Emergency Mot. for Admin. Stay and Mot. for Stay Pending Appeal, Washington v. Trump, No. 17-35105 (9th Cir. Feb. 4, 2017)
Email chain discussing and circulating the DOJ's emergency motion for a stay of the District Court for the Western District of Washington's injunction in Washington v. Trump.
3/7/2018
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ICE Memo: ICE Implementation Plan for Executive Orders
Draft memorandum setting out ICE's implementation plan for the Executive Orders titled "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements" and "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States." The memorandum is almost entirely withheld.
3/7/2018
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White House Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States
Executive Order 13769 lowering the number of refugees to be admitted into the United States, suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days, suspending the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, and suspending entry of those whose countries do not meet adjudication standards under U.S. immigration law for 90 days.
6/29/2018