FOIA Letters and Plain Writing

This is an excerpt from an actual FOIA appeal response letter: Dear [name redacted], Reference is made to your letter to the [agency]…regarding the above referenced file. Through your letter you appeal the determination made…that certain records responsive to your request (or portions thereof) are exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). … Continue reading FOIA Letters and Plain Writing

Upcoming Requester Roundtable Discussion: FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs)

FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs) have some things in common -- for instance, both provide access to information -- but in practical terms they are very different. If you would like to learn more about both, please join OGIS, the Information Security Oversight Office and the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy for the next FOIA … Continue reading Upcoming Requester Roundtable Discussion: FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs)

Immigration Records, Part 4: Customs & Border Protection Records

An OGIS-sponsored forum on immigration records on May 23 brought FOIA professionals from agencies which maintain immigration records together with immigration attorneys and others interested in such records. The FOIA Ombudsman is spot-lighting each agency and the types of immigration records each holds. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) … Continue reading Immigration Records, Part 4: Customs & Border Protection Records

Strike up the Band – It’s FOIA’s Birthday!

FOIA has the most patriotic of birthdays -- July 4, 1966. Last year we commemorated FOIA’s birthday by looking back at the unusual circumstances of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the law and noted that despite a shaky start, FOIA has become part of the foundation of our democracy. We toast FOIA’s 46th birthday … Continue reading Strike up the Band – It’s FOIA’s Birthday!