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Freedom of Information Act: President Obama Declares “All agencies should adopt a presumption of disclosure.”

In a Presidential Memo dated Jan. 21, 2009, the Obama administration has declared that:

“All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in [Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)], and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.”

The Freedom of Information Act has led to many important immigration disclosures. The TRAC immigration project — which has provided a wealth of immigration data over the years — is the result of a FOIA lawsuit filed during the Clinton administration.  And FOIA has lead to many other stories (here, here, here), for example.

KJ