IRLI Sues USCIS for Refugee “Cultural Orientation” Educational Materials

March 6, 2018

Protecting the rule of law and the integrity of our immigration system

WASHINGTON – Today, on behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), seeking teaching materials used by instructors in cultural orientation classes for refugees arriving to the United States. IRLI filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as USCIS has wrongfully withheld the requested records.

According to the U.S. Department of State, refugee applicants are processed by one of nine resettlement support centers around the world. Among the processes refugees must complete are cultural orientation classes, for which FAIR’s FOIA request seeks the supporting materials. More specifically, the request seeks “any and all teaching materials, including but not limited to, PowerPoint presentations, pamphlets, lesson plans, videos and/or textbooks, used in or by instructors for cultural orientation classes conducted in or by any and all Resettlement Support Centers since Jan. 1, 2014.”

“These cultural orientation classes represent the base knowledge of the United States for those seeking to emigrate here,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “Americans have a right to know what their government is doing to assimilate these refugees and instill in them the proper appreciation for American values and institutions.”

The case is FAIR v. USCIS, No. 18-517 (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia).

For additional information, contact: Brian Lonergan • 202-232-5590 • [email protected]