Overview
- The Oversight Project filed two Freedom of Information Act lawsuits Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking internal records from DHS, ICE and CBP that it says the agencies have not produced.
- The group first submitted eight narrowly targeted FOIA requests in May that asked for the raw counts and methodology behind public tallies, including the administration’s January claim that more than 3 million people had left the country.
- DHS has pointed to published toplines instead of the requested files, citing a FY2025 budget submission that reported 442,637 'removed and returned' and a spokesman’s June 24 figures while also noting it handled over one million FOIA requests and ended FY2025 with about 168,000 backlogged requests.
- The Oversight Project says DHS has not published its FY2025 enforcement report and that relying on press statements and shifting toplines prevents outside verification, which is why it created the 'Two Commas Compliance Tracker' and moved to litigation.
- If the court compels disclosure, the records could reveal how DHS counts removals, arrests and so‑called self‑deportations, shape public trust in enforcement claims, and affect congressional oversight and public debate over mass‑deportation policy.