OIG: DHS FOIA Response Times are ‘Better Than Average’ but Delays Over Complex Requests Must Improve

By Kylie Bielby, Homeland Security Today, July 29, 2020

In response to a request from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has conducted a review of DHS’ handling of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and congressional requests directed to the DHS Office of the Secretary — specifically, the DHS Secretary and Deputy Secretary. 

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Regarding FOIA requests, OIG found that while DHS generally met deadlines for responding to simple FOIA requests, it did not do so for most complex requests. A significant increase in requests received, coupled with resource constraints, limited DHS’ ability to meet production timelines under FOIA, creating a litigation risk for the Department. However, despite the limitations, DHS FOIA response times are better than the averages across the federal government. 

Read more here.