US Department of Homeland Security officials have claimed they have "no documents" related to a series of Freedom of Information Act requests made by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. This is not the first time the department has invoked this response, with four instances in just 48 hours. The requests were for records likely to exist and included emails sent or received by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
The agency's responses have raised questions about its record-keeping practices and compliance with FOIA regulations. One explanation is that the search was not as thorough as claimed, while another possibility is that discussions took place over third-party applications like Signal, which are exempt from forwarding to official accounts within 20 days.
DHS has also refused to provide records of body camera footage from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) captured during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. ICE claimed the premise of the story was false and overly simplistic, arguing that the court's order did not mandate agents without cameras to obtain them.
The department's lack of transparency is part of a broader trend of recalcitrant agencies ignoring presidential directives on declassification and facing no meaningful consequences. FOIA offices are also underfunded and understaffed, making it difficult for agencies to meet their mandate.
This pattern of behavior by the Trump administration has serious implications for accountability and governance. If DHS really has no records of any of these requests, then the problem isn't just FOIA compliance, but rather a lack of transparency and accountability within the government.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation's FOIA requests are part of a broader effort to shed light on government activities and hold those in power accountable. The Intercept has covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world, and understands the challenge we face in Trump and the importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
To continue this work, The Intercept needs your support. We're independent of corporate interests and rely on donations from members like you to fund our reporting. Join us today and help us expand our reporting capacity to hit the ground running in 2026.
The agency's responses have raised questions about its record-keeping practices and compliance with FOIA regulations. One explanation is that the search was not as thorough as claimed, while another possibility is that discussions took place over third-party applications like Signal, which are exempt from forwarding to official accounts within 20 days.
DHS has also refused to provide records of body camera footage from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) captured during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. ICE claimed the premise of the story was false and overly simplistic, arguing that the court's order did not mandate agents without cameras to obtain them.
The department's lack of transparency is part of a broader trend of recalcitrant agencies ignoring presidential directives on declassification and facing no meaningful consequences. FOIA offices are also underfunded and understaffed, making it difficult for agencies to meet their mandate.
This pattern of behavior by the Trump administration has serious implications for accountability and governance. If DHS really has no records of any of these requests, then the problem isn't just FOIA compliance, but rather a lack of transparency and accountability within the government.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation's FOIA requests are part of a broader effort to shed light on government activities and hold those in power accountable. The Intercept has covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world, and understands the challenge we face in Trump and the importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
To continue this work, The Intercept needs your support. We're independent of corporate interests and rely on donations from members like you to fund our reporting. Join us today and help us expand our reporting capacity to hit the ground running in 2026.
. I mean, come on, they can't even be bothered to search for some basic records that are supposed to exist? It's like they're trying to cover something up or something 
. And what's with all these excuses about Signal apps and stuff? Can't they just be honest with us? 
It's like they're trying to hide something from us. And what about all these FOIA requests that are just being ignored? That's a major problem right there 
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. So yeah, let's support them and keep pushing for the truth 
.
I'm really concerned about the lack of transparency from the DHS department right now 
. Like, what's going on? They're claiming they have no documents related to FOIA requests and it's just not adding up 
. If they're being truthful, then why are there four instances in 48 hours where they've used this same response 
? It's like they're trying to avoid something, but what?
, then that's still a problem 
. It's like they're hiding something and that's not cool 
. If we want to hold those in power accountable, we need to be able to get our hands on information 
. The Freedom of the Press Foundation is doing some amazing work 
.
The more I see these agencies dodging transparency, the more I feel like we're losing democracy piece by piece 
It's like they think they can just ignore the law and get away with it 
Newsflash: transparency is key to accountability, folks! We need to hold our government officials accountable for their actions, not sweep them under the rug 
FOIA requests are supposed to be a safeguard against corruption, but when agencies like DHS start making up excuses, it's clear we've got some serious work to do 
Don't @ me, I'm all in on supporting The Intercept's reporting efforts – if you're not already, join the team ASAP 
. 
especially with DHS making excuses about their search methods being thorough but really they're just not looking hard enough 
. I mean, we need more accountability and less "oh, we didn't do it" 
so if you wanna support 'em and get some juicy reporting on government shenanigans, go ahead and throw 'em a bone 
.
. What's even more disturbing is that DHS (and other agencies) think they can get away with this because of Trump admin directives 
I'm all about press freedom & holding those in power accountable. We can't just sit back & let them do whatever they want 
. Let's keep pushing for truth & accountability, and we'll get there together 
️. This isn't gonna fix itself! 
we need more accountability from these agencies not less 
like is it that hard to just find some emails or something? 
and whats up with these third-party apps like signal? cant we just get our records straight like normal 
.
!
Transparency matters, especially when it comes to government agencies. This lack of openness is startin' to look like a pattern...and we need press freedom to hold 'em in check 
. If they really didn't find any records, that's suspicious. I mean, can you imagine if a private company said that? They'd be shut down in an hour 
. The media needs to keep pushing for transparency, or else we'll never know what's really going on behind closed doors 
. As someone who's seen their fair share of bureaucracy, I know how easy it is to get caught up in the system and lose sight of what's truly important 
. But this kind of behavior from DHS and other agencies? It's not just about FOIA compliance - it's about accountability and good governance