SELC files suits against DOJ and HHS to obtain public records  

The complaints were filed after requests for records related to attempts to roll back civil rights protections were not answered. 

WASHINGTON — Today the Southern Environmental Law Center filed two complaints against federal agencies pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain records related to the Trump administration’s attempts to undo civil rights protections, making it harder to fight and eliminate environmental injustice.  

As a result of the administration’s focus on dismantling civil rights protections, several federal agencies have begun rulemakings to rescind regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

The complaints, filed separately against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, call the agencies out for their unlawful delay and failure to comply with the FOIA.  

The details:  

• Complaint against the Department of Justice. In July 2025, SELC requested records from DOJ related to two executive order directives requiring the agency to report, to the President, all state and federal laws burdening use of domestic energy resources or imposing disparate impact liability. SELC filed two FOIA requests to gather reports, communications, and records related to these directives on July 17, 2025, and July 18, 2025, and the agency has yet to communicate whether they will produce the records provide any substantive information. 

• Complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services. In August 2025, SELC submitted a request under FOIA seeking records related to the agency’s enforcement of Title VI and to date the agency has failed to meet its statutory obligation to respond to the request within 20 working days of receiving it. 

“Federal agencies have an obligation to comply with FOIA and not doing so seems to be the trend now. Mired in executive orders and bare bones staff thanks to cuts from the administration, good governance has gone out the window at the expense of communities,” said SELC Staff Attorney Jasmine Washington. 

The agencies have until May 29^th to reply to the complaints filed today.