The ACLU of Maine, the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic (“RHRC”) at the University of Maine School of Law, and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (“ILAP”) have filed a Freedom of Information (“FOIA”) lawsuit against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), seeking to compel the agency’s Boston Sub-Office and Newark Asylum Office to release information about how they assess asylum requests.
The lawsuit comes after immigration advocates at the RHRC and ILAP witnessed a marked decrease in asylum approvals from the USCIS Boston Sub-Office, especially for asylum seekers from central African countries. According to the initial FOIA request, since 2016, the Boston Sub-Office has increasingly been referring asylum seekers to lengthy immigration court proceedings, delaying work permits and family reunification.
