Immigrants seeking government documents to prove their legal status in the United States are encountering increasing difficulties, including refusals and extensive redactions, immigration lawyers say. These obstacles risk undermining immigrants’ ability to secure legal protections and fuel concerns about potential deportation.

Historically, federal agencies have provided immigration records upon request, which have been crucial for various purposes such as international adoptees establishing U.S. citizenship or noncitizens obtaining copies of petitions and interview transcripts tied to amnesty or residency efforts. Requests for such records are made hundreds of thousands of times each year and often represent the only available means for individuals to access their full immigration histories.

However, since early 2025, attorneys report a marked rise in the withholding and redaction of these documents, a shift they attribute to policies implemented during the Trump administration’s second term. According to nearly three dozen immigration lawyers interviewed, government officials sometimes claim documents do not exist even when clients and their representatives know otherwise, while in other cases, critical details are blacked out.

These practices were highlighted in a whistle-blower complaint filed last year by Timothy Turner, a former senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Turner asserted that USCIS directed staff beginning in May 2025 to withhold all documents in languages other than English and to exclude marriage certificates, joint bank statements, tax returns, and portions of immigration court transcripts, citing privacy concerns. Additionally, discrepancies such as variations in hyphenated last names have been used as grounds for denying requests, even when relevant records are located.

Federal law entitles individuals to access their immigration records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), with a 2020 court order mandating agencies respond within 30 business days. Despite these legal frameworks, Turner testified in August that between September 2025 and March 2026, USCIS closed more than 35% of document requests from immigrants facing deportation without providing any records, a significant increase compared to an average 8% closure rate earlier in 2025.

Immigration lawyers contend these denials hamper their clients’ ability to build legal defenses or pursue residency and asylum claims. Many immigrants lacking resources to challenge denials in court may forgo appeals, risking removal despite legitimate claims.

Former immigration judge Andrew R. Arthur, now with the Center for Immigration Studies, defended the agency’s approach, noting the volume of FOIA requests—over 2,000 daily—and the need to verify identities carefully to comply with privacy laws. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) noted efforts to provide records promptly and framed the tougher policies as necessary to protect private information. The Justice Department and White House declined to comment directly on the redaction practices but emphasized immigrants receive due process.

Several individual cases illustrate the impact of the new policies. Cipriano Alarcon-Galvez of Oceanside, California, received documents nearly half of which were fully redacted despite a confirmed petition in his case. Facing deportation with a hearing set for December, his attorney criticized the delays, emphasizing his client’s constitutional right to obtain these records.

Similarly, immigration attorney Zachary A. Kohn recounted suing the government after FOIA requests for a Salvadoran woman’s records were initially denied, despite the existence of a dormant deportation order stemming from the 1990s. After litigation, the government provided the documents, allowing the client to contest the order, though at significant time and financial cost.

International adoptees have also been affected. Gregory Luce, founder of the Adoptee Rights Law Center, noted that over 80% of his clients’ requests since April 2025 resulted in redacted or withheld documents, up from about 10% the year prior. He has filed a lawsuit on behalf of roughly two dozen adoptees to challenge the practice.

Legal experts warn that these barriers effectively “hide the ball” and may contribute to wrongful deportations, especially for immigrants with limited legal representation. Critics argue the policies undermine due process by restricting access to critical evidence required to prove lawful status or eligibility for immigration relief.