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Moore v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Facts

Robert Moore, a local reporter, submitted five FOIA requests to three federal agencies, including CBP, from June 2018 to March 2019, seeking records related to border enforcement and immigration detention facilities. After more than fifteen months without receiving any documents, Moore filed a lawsuit on October 1, 2019. The court had previously established a finite production schedule for the agencies to follow, but CBP requested a new stay and extension of the deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on workload.

Robert Moore, a local reporter, submitted five FOIA requests to three federal agencies, including CBP, from June 2018 to March 2019, seeking records related to border enforcement and immigration detention facilities.

Issue

Did CBP meet the statutory requirements for an Open America stay and demonstrate exceptional circumstances and due diligence in processing the FOIA requests?

Did CBP meet the statutory requirements for an Open America stay and demonstrate exceptional circumstances and due diligence in processing the FOIA requests?

Rule

Under FOIA, an agency must comply with statutory deadlines unless it can show exceptional circumstances and that it is exercising due diligence in processing requests. The court may grant an Open America stay if the agency is deluged with requests and demonstrates reasonable progress in reducing its backlog.

Under FOIA, an agency must comply with statutory deadlines unless it can show exceptional circumstances and that it is exercising due diligence in processing requests.

Analysis

The court acknowledged that exceptional circumstances existed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted CBP's ability to process FOIA requests. However, it found that CBP's workload was predictable and that the agency failed to show it was exercising due diligence in processing Moore's requests. The court noted that CBP had not provided sufficient details about its progress and had not requested additional funding to address its backlog prior to the pandemic.

The court acknowledged that exceptional circumstances existed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted CBP's ability to process FOIA requests.

Conclusion

The court granted in part and denied in part CBP's motion for an Open America stay, concluding that while exceptional circumstances existed, CBP did not demonstrate due diligence in processing the FOIA requests.

The court granted in part and denied in part CBP's motion for an Open America stay, concluding that while exceptional circumstances existed, CBP did not demonstrate due diligence in processing the FOIA requests.

Who won?

Robert Moore prevailed in part because the court found that CBP failed to demonstrate due diligence in processing his FOIA requests, despite the existence of exceptional circumstances due to the pandemic.

Robert Moore prevailed in part because the court found that CBP failed to demonstrate due diligence in processing his FOIA requests, despite the existence of exceptional circumstances due to the pandemic.

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