The American Immigration Council and the federal government notified a federal judge in the District of Columbia on May 5, 2026, that they have reached a settlement resolving a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit the Council filed nearly eight years ago seeking records about family separation enforcement policies at the southern border [1]. The parties agreed the matter can be dismissed, closing litigation that began in June 2018 [1].
The Council's original complaint, filed in June 2018, named the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection as defendants [1]. The suit demanded records concerning the policies federal agencies used to prosecute immigrants and separate families at the southern border during the first Trump administration, a period in which thousands of children were separated from parents or guardians as a result of the administration's "zero tolerance" prosecution directive. FOIA requires federal agencies to disclose requested records unless a statutory exemption applies, and litigation is the standard enforcement mechanism when agencies withhold or delay production.
The settlement arrives as immigration enforcement and border policy have returned to the center of federal policy debates under the current administration. The resolution of a transparency dispute of this duration and subject matter carries procedural weight beyond the individual case: settlements in FOIA litigation typically involve negotiated production agreements, fee arrangements, or both, though the specific terms of this settlement were not publicly detailed in available reporting [1]. The case's eight-year arc also reflects the broader pattern of protracted FOIA litigation against DHS components, which have faced persistent backlogs and withholding disputes across administrations.
With the notice of settlement filed, the court is expected to enter a dismissal order. No further briefing schedule or hearing date has been reported, and the negotiated terms governing any agreed records production or fees remain undisclosed as of publication [1].