Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
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The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) is a research institute at Syracuse University that uses Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain, analyze, and publish data from the United States federal government.[1] It publishes research on immigration enforcement, federal criminal and civil courts, and the Internal Revenue Service,[2] and is cited frequently as a source by major news outlets and other research organizations. TRAC is a self-sustaining 501c3 non-profit organization. It also runs the FOIA Project,[upper-alpha 1] a research organization that studies the use of FOIA requests and FOIA litigation.
History
TRAC was established in 1989 under the direction of Dr. Susan Long[3] and New York Times reporter David Burnham as a research center jointly sponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, both at Syracuse University.[4]
Research approach
TRAC uses Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain, analyze, and publish information from the United States federal government. TRAC uses a variety of statistical techniques to verify data received from government agencies. Where possible, TRAC compares new data with prior data, other publicly available data, and data from other agencies to ensure consistency and accuracy. TRAC makes data available to the public through a variety of interactive data tools, user-generated reports, and original research reports. Some of its data tools require a subscription. TRAC works with academic researchers to facilitate more sophisticated research projects.
A 2003 paper in the journal Federal Sentencing Reporter was critical of TRAC, claiming there were discrepancies and inadequacies in its data.[5]
Key areas of research
Immigration enforcement
TRAC is known for its interactive data tools and reports on US immigration enforcement. It maintains frequently-updated data on immigration arrests, immigrant detention, and deportations.[6] TRAC's data comes from FOIA requests submitted to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Its interactive data tools allow users of the website to view the data in graphs and charts. These data are used by major news media outlets for national stories; as two examples from August 2020, the AP's report that "Among more than 220,000 deportees in the 2017 fiscal year, 79,270 had no convictions";[7] and Time's statement that "64% of ICE detainees as of April 2019 had no criminal convictions".[8]
Immigration court system
TRAC maintains regularly updated data on immigration proceedings that take place within the immigration court system. The immigration courts are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which is within the Department of Justice (DOJ). TRAC's data come from FOIA requests submitted to EOIR, and its interactive data tools allow users of the website to view the data in graphs and charts. TRAC has found a growing backlog of cases that by late 2019 exceeded one million, which was reported by journalists at Newsweek[9] and CNN.[10][11]
In late 2019, US News and World Report wrote that TRAC found that immigration court records at the DOJ were disappearing.[12] On June 16, 2020, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent a letter to the DOJ, citing TRAC's repeated complaints to EOIR about "the severe irregularities contained in EOIR's data sets" and requesting "a detailed account of these missing records" and a commitment to accuracy and reliability.[13]
TRAC's immigration court data was also featured on a special segment on the immigration courts on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.[14]
Federal criminal court cases
Through the TRACFED project, TRAC documents prosecutions and convictions in federal courts, and makes the data available in user-generated reports.[1] It also conducts original research on federal criminal cases and publishes original findings. It published a report[upper-alpha 2] that found that by late 2019, white-collar prosecutions had declined to their lowest point in 30 years, which was reported in The New Republic.[15] On October 3, 2019, Newsweek wrote, "The number of federal prosecutions of white-collar crimes has plummeted over the last eight years, according to a new analysis produced by [TRAC]."[16]
The law journal Federal Sentencing Reporter devoted a complete issue to a debate of TRAC's report and criticisms by federal public defenders.[17]
FOIA Project
TRAC created the FOIA Project to track government agencies' responsiveness to public records requests and to document the growing number of FOIA cases litigated in federal court. The Project maintains a public website with information on federal FOIA cases,[18] agency FOIA processing times, a list of the most active FOIA litigators, and research reports written by TRAC researchers. The Project's research on FOIA litigation has been cited by the New York Times[19] and the Washington Free Beacon.[20]
COVID-19 pandemic research
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States of 2020 affected the operations of the US federal government. TRAC found that it had led to the widespread cancellation of immigration court hearings,[21][22] and that large numbers of immigrant detainees were at risk of exposure to COVID-19[23] even though the majority of them were detained without a criminal conviction.[24] TRAC also found that the pandemic led to a dramatic decline in federal criminal prosecutions,[25] but that the pandemic did not appear to significantly affect the number of civil cases in federal courts.[26]
Notes
- ↑ Website of the FOIA Project.
- ↑ "White-Collar Prosecutions Half Level of 8 Years Ago."
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roberge, Linda; Long, Susan; Burnham, David; Hassett, Patricia (2007). "Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse and the TRACFED Data Warehouse". Trends in Law Library Management and Technology. 17: 61–74. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ↑ "TRAC: About Us". TRAC. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ↑ Richardson, Christopher. "Episode 124 - Interview w/ TRAC Co-Founder Dr. Susan Long". Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Morisy, Michael. "Requester's Voice: TRAC and FOIA Project's Sue Long". Muckrock. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Blackwell, Kevin (2003). "The Problem with TRAC". Federal Sentencing Reporter. 16 (1): 31–32. doi:10.1525/fsr.2003.16.1.31. JSTOR 10.1525/fsr.2003.16.1.31. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ↑ HSDL Staff. "TRAC immigration website launched". Homeland Security Digital Library. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ↑ Sedensky, Matt. "Trump's immigrant roundups increasingly net noncriminals". Associated Press. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Aguilera, Jasmine. "'The Objective Is to Save Lives.' Inside the Effort to Get ICE Detainees Released During the Coronavirus Pandemic". Time. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Martin, Jeffery. "Immigration Courts Close 250,000 Cases in 2019, But Backlog of Nearly 1 Million More Still Waits". Newsweek. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Alvarez, Priscilla. "Immigration court backlog exceeds 1 million cases, data group says". CNN. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Hackman, Michelle. "U.S. Immigration Courts' Backlog Exceeds One Million Cases". Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Hanson, Claire. "Research Group Finds Issues With Justice Department Immigration Data Reports". US News & World Report. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ↑ Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "Congressional Hispanic Caucus Demands Trump Administration Explain Incomplete Immigration Court Data". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ↑ "Immigration Courts: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)". Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ↑ Khardori, Ankush. "There's Never Been a Better Time to Be a White-Collar Criminal". The New Republic. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Stockler, Asher. "Prosecutions of White-Collar Crime On Track to Fall to Lowest Levels in Over 30 Years". Newsweek. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Berman, Douglas A.; Chanenson, Steven L. (2012). "New Data and New Questions: TRAC's Contribution to Federal Sentencing". Federal Sentencing Reporter. 25 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1525/fsr.2012.25.1.1. ISSN 1053-9867. JSTOR 10.1525/fsr.2012.25.1.1. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ↑ Frazier, Mya. "A battered FOIA collides with the $2 trillion bailout". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ McCraw, David. "How The Times Uses FOIA to Obtain Information the Public Has a Right to Know". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ↑ Schoffstall, Joe. "FOIA Lawsuits Hit Record High in 2015". The Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Researchers, TRAC. "More Immigrants in Limbo as Government Shutdown Due to COVID-19 Leads to Widespread Immigration Court Hearing Cancellations". TRAC. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Staff, TCR. "Up to 850,000 Immigration Cases in 'Limbo' After Pandemic Shutdown: Study". The Crime Report. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Researchers, TRAC. "Large Numbers at Risk in ICE Detention Facilities for the COVID-19 Virus". TRAC. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Researchers, TRAC. "Decline in ICE Detainees with Criminal Records Could Shape Agency's Response to COVID-19 Pandemic". TRAC. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Researchers, TRAC. "Federal Criminal Prosecutions Plummet in Wake of COVID-19". TRAC. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Researchers, TRAC. "COVID-19 Has Not Stemmed Flow of New Federal Civil Litigation". TRAC. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
External links
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