The Freedom of Information Act marks its 60th anniversary this month amid growing reports that U.S. federal agencies are delaying or denying requests [1].
This trend suggests a decline in government transparency. When agencies block documents or ignore deadlines, it limits the ability of journalists and citizens to hold public institutions accountable for their actions.
Under the law, agencies are expected to respond to requests within 20 business days [2]. However, advocates said that federal agencies are increasingly blocking more documents than ever before, citing growing secrecy and agency backlogs as primary drivers [1, 3].
Some delays have extended into years. In one instance involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a FOIA request submitted in December 2020 did not receive a response until January 2025 [2]. This represents a turnaround time of about four years for a single request [2].
Critics said the government's resistance stems from a reluctance to disclose information that may be unfavorable to agency leadership [3]. While the law was designed to ensure the public's right to know, the gap between the statutory deadline and actual response times has widened significantly over the last several years [1, 2].
Federal agencies continue to cite administrative burdens and the volume of requests as reasons for the delays. Despite these claims, transparency advocates said the current state of the FOIA process has reached a breaking point [1].
“The Freedom of Information Act marks its 60th anniversary this month.”
The disparity between the 20-business-day legal requirement and multi-year actual response times indicates a systemic failure in federal transparency. As agencies like ICE normalize years-long delays, the FOIA effectively ceases to be a tool for timely oversight and instead becomes a mechanism for delaying the release of potentially damaging information until it is no longer news-relevant.
