Advocating for Government Transparency Regarding Immigration and Voting Policies (Campaign Legal Center v. U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

In 2025, the federal government quietly expanded two policies: A program that changes visa status based on social media posts the government disagrees with and a new policy that limits who can conduct voter registration at naturalization ceremonies.  

CLC and AO filed a lawsuit on behalf of CLC challenging the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) failure to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents on these programs. CLC filed these FOIA requests in October 2025.

Despite legal deadlines, the agencies that received these FOIA requests have failed to produce the requested records or provide final determinations, forcing the groups to file suit.  

In June 2025, the federal government announced that it would begin reviewing the social media accounts of foreign citizens who apply for certain visas to enter the United States, for the purpose of altering — and in some cases revoking — the relevant visas if the individual had made a statement that could be perceived as expressing “hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.”

In December 2025, the federal government expanded this social media vetting program to include additional types of visas.

USCIS also implemented a new rule prohibiting anyone other than state or local election officials from registering new voters at administrative naturalization ceremonies. Campaign Legal Center has already sued to block this policy.

The State Department and USCIS have not provided any documents in response to CLC’s FOIA requests, despite laws and deadlines that require them to do so.

Transparency is at the heart of a healthy democracy: CLC’s lawsuit seeks to compel the U.S. Department of State and USCIS to produce records that could shed light on how these policies are being implemented and the dangers they pose to fundamental rights and democratic participation.

The requested records could reveal how federal officials are evaluating individuals’ speech, what standards are being applied, whether there are safeguards to prevent abuse, and how the administration is limiting access to voter registration at the very moment many new citizens become eligible to participate in the democratic process.