Replication data for: My Great FOIA Adventure and Discoveries of Deferred Action Cases at ICE

This Article describes my adventures in FOIA litigation and analyzes deferred action data collected informally by 24 ICE field offices between October 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. This Article also offers recommendations for the agency on data collection, recordkeeping, and transparency in deferred action cases. Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion that can be granted at any stage of the immigration enforcement process and historically has been applied both to people who meet group characteristics and on an individual basis in compelling humanitarian circumstances. The theory behind deferred action and prosecutorial discretion more generally is to enable an agency to prioritize its limited resources and also protect the most sympathetic cases from removal. The benefits associated with deferred action are not merely conjectural, as a grant can enable the noncitizen to apply for work authorization if she can show economic necessity and, in some cases, receive a state driver’s license and limited benefits from a state. While scholarship is rife with details about the history and evolution of deferred action in immigration law, the data regarding individuals who are processed for deferred action and transparency about the deferred action program by the agency has been lacking. Moreover, the enhanced tools the USCIS has created for sharing information about DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and steps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track deferred action cases offers a new paradigm through which to discuss why transparency matters.本文详述了本人在《信息自由法》（Freedom of Information Act, FOIA）诉讼中的相关经历，并分析了2011年10月1日至2012年6月30日期间，24家美国移民与海关执法局（Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE）外勤办公室非正式收集的暂缓遣返（deferred action）相关数据。本文还就该机构在暂缓遣返案件中的数据收集、档案管理与透明度建设提出了相关建议。暂缓遣返是一种检察裁量权形式，可在移民执法程序的任一阶段授予；从历史实践来看，该措施既适用于符合群体特征的人群，也可针对具备迫不得已人道主义情形的个体单独适用。暂缓遣返以及检察裁量权的总体理论逻辑，在于帮助执法机构优先调配有限资源，同时将最值得同情的案件从遣返程序中予以保护。暂缓遣返带来的益处并非仅为理论推测：若外籍人士能证明其经济必要性，获得暂缓遣返即可申请工作许可；在部分情形下，还可申领州级驾照并享受州政府提供的有限福利。尽管现有学术成果中包含大量关于移民法领域暂缓遣返制度历史与演变的详尽细节，但针对申请暂缓遣返的个体相关数据，以及该机构关于暂缓遣返项目的透明度信息，仍存在显著缺失。此外，美国公民及移民服务局（United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS）推出的用于共享童年入境暂缓遣返（Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA）相关信息的强化型工具，以及美国移民与海关执法局（Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE）追踪暂缓遣返案件的相关举措，为探讨透明度的重要性提供了全新的分析范式。