Immigrants seeking documents to prove legal status are being rebuffed or given heavily redacted paperwork, according to dozens of immigration lawyers. The refusals put clients at risk of deportation. In the past, federal agencies routinely provided records for adoptees, amnesty applicants, and others. Now, the Trump administration is redacting and withholding documents at a strikingly high rate, lawyers say. Sometimes the government claims it cannot find documents that exist, or provides papers with critical information struck out.

"Delays and redactions pile on to the many other intentional ways immigrants are being deprived of due process in immigration court," said Kelly Rojas, a lawyer at Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. The experiences align with claims by Timothy Turner, a former senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In a whistle-blower complaint last year, Turner alleged the agency improperly enacted policies to make it harder for immigrants to get documents they are legally entitled to. For instance, in May 2025, staff were ordered to withhold all documents not in English, as well as marriage certificates, bank statements, and tax forms, citing privacy laws. Discrepancies in names were also used to deny requests.

Federal law entitles people to their immigration paperwork under the Freedom of Information Act. A 2020 court order requires responses within 30 business days. The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House did not respond to specific questions, but spokeswoman Lauren Bis said "all illegal aliens receive full due process." The Department of Homeland Security said its officials provide documents timely and explain no-records responses. USCIS receives over 2,000 FOIA requests daily, mostly for individual immigration files.