FOIA and Transparency Initiative

FOIA and Transparency Initiative

Overview of CRCL

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) supports the Department's mission to secure the nation while preserving individual liberty, fairness, and equality under the law. CRCL works to integrate civil rights and civil liberties considerations into the Department's programs. Additionally, CRCL leads the Department's equal employment opportunity programs and promotes workforce diversity and merit system principles. 

Overall, CRCL works to build in civil rights, civil liberties, and equity practices into all of the Department's activities. A part of that is oversight work, including investigations into allegations that often result in CRCL making recommendations to DHS agencies and offices. CRCL generates a variety of documents (records) in the course of its oversight work and other activities. 

Overview of CRCL's FOIA Office

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 U.S.C. § 552, allows members of the public to request records from various Federal Government agencies. The FOIA was established to make the Federal Government accountable to the public for its actions and prevents agencies from having secret policies. 

CRCL has a relatively small FOIA Office led by CRCL's FOIA Officer who is supported by several Government Information Specialists and Contractors. CRCL's FOIA Office seeks to promote transparency with the public by releasing information concerning CRCL activities to the public, consistent with the Department's need to protect sensitive, proprietary, and deliberative information. Some records created or stored by CRCL are provided by FOIA exemptions or six exemptions provided by the Privacy Act. 

CRCL's FOIA Reading Room

CRCL has launched a FOIA Reading Room for the public to access. FOIA amendments signed into law in 1994 added a requirement that agencies must establish an Electronic FOIA Reading Room that contains documents like records previously released through FOIA requests. Subsection (a)(2) of the FOIA requires federal agencies to make four types of records affirmatively for "public inspection and copying."

• "Final opinions [and]...orders" made in the adjudication of cases;
• Specific agency policy statements;
• Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public; and
• Records disclosed in response to a FOIA request that "the agency determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records."

Under the DHS FOIA regulations, when a DHS agency or office locates records in its custody responsive to a FOIA request that originated with another federal agency or DHS agency or office, it may refer the records to the other federal agency or DHS agency or office for processing and a direct response to the requester. Most often, CRCL's FOIA Office will presume the federal agency or DHS agency or office that created or initially acquired a non-CRCL record to be best able to make the disclosure determination. 6 C.F.R. 5.4 (d)(3). Also, when a DHS agency or office locates records in its custody that are responsive to a FOIA request in which another federal agency or DHS agency or office has significant equities, it may consult with the other agency or office prior to processing a FOIA request and responding to the requester. 

Because CRCL's work often involves reviewing other DHS agencies' and offices' programs and activities, processing FOIA requests related to CRCL activities often involves referrals or consultations. When responding to FOIA and Privacy Act requests, CRCL sometimes will refer records in CRCL files to other DHS agencies and offices for FOIA processing and a direct response to the requester. When other federal agencies or DHS agencies and offices have significant equities in documents responsive to FOIA requests submitted to CRCL, CRCL will likely consult with them during CRCL's processing of documents for production under the FOIA.

How to Submit a FOIA Request to CRCL 

You may submit a FOIA request to CRCL by mail, email, or via the DHS FOIA Public Access Portal. 

• DHS FOIA Public Access Portal
• CRCL FOIA Reading Room
• Learn more about FOIA, including how to make a request and check on the status of an existing request. 
• FOIA contact information for other DHS FOIA Offices

CRCL's Transparency Initiative

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties strives to maintain transparency in its civil rights investigations processes, which includes:

• an electronic complaint database system
• an easy-to-use online complaint submission form
• access to comprehensive language services
• enhanced transparency for complainants
• improved coordination with components to track response to and implementation of recommendation
• a collection of redacted memos and other documents related to CRCL investigations that are available to the public
  • CRCL Recommendation and Investigation Memos

Contact Us

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Compliance Branch, Mail Stop # 0190
2707 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20528-0190