The overdue FOIA requests of the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense—the three most popular agencies for FOIA requesters—all increased in fiscal year 2022, according to quarterly data reported by DOJ’s website FOIA.gov.
The Department of Homeland Security, which in FY 2021 received the most FOIA requests governmentwide (442,650 requests, or 53 percent), saw its backlog climb from 25,102 in FY 2021 to 60,688 in FY 2022—a 141 percent increase. DHS received 471,513 requests in FY 2022, the greatest number of requests DHS has ever received and a 6.5 percent increase from FY 2021. The Department processed 530,180 requests in FY 2022, the largest number of requests it has ever processed and a 13.4 percent increase from FY 2021.
The Department of Justice, which in FY 2021 received the second most FOIA requests governmentwide (97,490 requests or 12 percent), allowed its backlog to rise from 49,959 in FY 2021 to 63,728 requests in FY 2022—a 27.5 percent increase. DOJ received 93,407 requests in FY 2022, while it processed 84,099 requests—an 11.4 percent increase from FY 2021.
The backlog of the Department of Defense, which in FY 2021 received the third most FOIA requests governmentwide (52,805 or 6 percent), rose from 17,597 in FY 2021 to 18,708 in FY 2022—a 6.3 percent increase. DOD received 57,237 requests in FY 2022, an 8.4 percent increase from FY 2021; it processed 54,560 requests in FY 2022 versus 50,703 requests in FY 2022.