ICE access to databases
| Submitted | Oct. 24, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Freddy Martinez
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
In a statement made to the Chicago SunTimes, Lori Lightfoot is quoted as "Lightfoot noted that it’s not just one database. It’s more like “eight different databases.” Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/7/12/20692156/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-immigration-raids-executive-order-ice-homeland-security-gang-database
Therefore, I am requesting documents sufficient to show the number of known database(s) that ICE has access to as understood by the Mayor's office.
Documents sufficient to show how the Mayor's Office came to learn the number was eight databases.
Documents sufficient to show communications about how the Mayor's office plans to wind down ICE access to the databases.
Documents sufficient to show any other external agencies with access to the same databases.
Please be aware that this request is being made by Open the Government, a nonprofit organization. You may contact me at (202) 332-6736 with any questions about the scope of this request.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Freddy Martinez
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Illinois Freedom of Information Act. request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 24, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mayor's Office
Please see response attached.
Sincerely,
Anjali Julka
FOIA Officer - Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-3844 w
312-502-0702 m
anjali.julka@cityofchicago.org
________________________________
This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail (or the person responsible for delivering this document to the intended recipient), you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, printing or copying of this e-mail, and any attachment thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please respond to the individual sending the message, and permanently delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and printout thereof.
From: Freddy Martinez
Anjali,
I attempted to reach your office to discuss but I was unable to reach you.
First, I would like to point out that our original request did not request emails explicitly. I asked for documents (which might include emails but I don't know that). Therefore, I am not clear why your office is claiming this burden is unduly burdensome.
Secondly, I described at least one location where records would be reasonably located, namely with the Mayor. You can at minimum search for records between Mayor Lightfoot and her communication team that describe "ICE" "databases" "cooperation" and "access" between October 24th 2019 and April 2, 2019 (the date of the run off election). However, I do not have access to your offices record management system and I should not have to divine where else records are reasonably located.
Third, the request relates to ICE's access to numerous city databases in your sanctuary city. I strenuously disagree that the "burden on the public body outweighs the public interest in the information".
Finally, if your offices disagrees please call me at (202) 332-6736 to confer one final time about narrowing the request. Absent that, we will consider this a final rejection within five business days, per the statue.
From: Mayor's Office
Dear requestor:
On behalf of the City of Chicago Mayor's Office, I am responding to your Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request received in our offices on November 4, 2019 (please note that city offices were closed on Monday, November 11, 2019 in observance of Veterans Day). At this time, I am seeking an extension of five additional working days to respond to the request for one or more of the following reasons identified in 5 ILCS 140/3(e) of FOIA:
( X ) the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
( ) the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;
( ) the request is couched in categorical terms and requires an extensive search for the records responsive to it;
( ) the requested records have not been located in the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
( ) the requested records require examination and evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of the FOIA or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;
( ) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by 5 ILCS 140/3(d) without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;
( X ) there is need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request.
Thank you.
Anjali Julka
FOIA Officer - Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-3844 w
312-502-0702 m
________________________________
This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail (or the person responsible for delivering this document to the intended recipient), you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, printing or copying of this e-mail, and any attachment thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please respond to the individual sending the message, and permanently delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and printout thereof.
From: Mayor's Office
Please see response attached.
Anjali Julka
FOIA Officer - Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-3844 w
312-502-0702 m
anjali.julka@cityofchicago.org
________________________________
This e-mail, and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail (or the person responsible for delivering this document to the intended recipient), you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, printing or copying of this e-mail, and any attachment thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please respond to the individual sending the message, and permanently delete the original and any copy of any e-mail and printout thereof.
From: Freddy Martinez
FOIA officer,
You can further narrow the request for records between the date of the run off-election, April 2, 2019 to Jul 12, 2019 when she made those comments.
Freddy Martinez
From: Mayor's Office
Hello:
Kindly clarify if this office should reference the request that you submitted on October 24, 2019, to determine the rest of your current request. Once you confirm, we will process your request accordingly.
Sincerely,
Anjali Julka
FOIA Officer – Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-3844 w
anjali.julka@cityofchicago.org
From: Freddy Martinez
Anjali,
Yes the Mayor's Office should reference the request from October 24th. As you are aware, an agency can not declare a request as unduly burdensome before conferring with me and offering me the opportunity to narrow. (5 ILCS 140/3) (g) "Before invoking this exemption, the public body shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity to confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions." I have done so in writing on November 4th and attempted to do so in phone calls to your office and further on December 11th.
Please continue to process my request.
Freddy Martinez
From: Mayor's Office
Hello, Freddy:
I appreciate your clarification below and will gladly process your request based on this and the revised timeframe. Please note that I did not receive a phone message from you, however. Regardless, we'll move ahead with processing your request and continue to assist you.
Best,
Anjali Julka
FOIA Officer – Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-3844 w
anjali.julka@cityofchicago.org
From: Mayor's Office
Freddy,
The purpose of this e-mail is to memorialize the conversation that we just had. You agreed to hold your FOIA request (ICE access to databases) in abeyance pending a call in early January. The purpose of the call would be to discuss in some detail the efforts that this administration has made to prohibit ICE access to CPD records, including the ways in which CPD previously maintained gang information. I told you that we were very happy to share some of this information with you. I asked you to send me and Mac Lebuhn a calendar invite for a date in early January, and we can discuss how to proceed.
Thanks very much, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.
Mike Frisch
--
Michael Frisch
Senior Advisor and Legal Counsel
Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago
City Hall | 121 N. LaSalle St., Fifth Floor | Chicago, IL 60602
Office 312.744.6699 | Cell 312.833.2241
www.chicago.gov<http://www.chicago.gov/> | michael.frisch@cityofchicago.org
From:
Hi Michael,
Thanks again for meeting with me. I do agree we can withhold the processing of this request until we talk further in January. I’ll send a calendar invite for us all to get on a call together.
All the best,
Freddy
Freddy Martinez
Policy Analyst, Open The Government<http://www.openthegovernment.org/>
202-332-6736
[LargeLogo-Blue]<http://www.openthegovernment.org/>
Twitter<https://twitter.com/OpenTheGov> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OpenTheGov/>
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image001
From: Mayor's Office
Hi Michael,
Would you be able to do a phone call with Emily and I next week on Monday at 12:00-12:30 (CST), 1pm our time? Another option is Tuesday. We have 9am (CST) to about 11:30 CST open (10am – 12:30 our time).
Feel free to send us a calendar invitation if either of those times days.
Best,
Freddy Martinez
Freddy Martinez
Policy Analyst, Open The Government<http://www.openthegovernment.org/>
202-332-6736
[LargeLogo-Blue]<http://www.openthegovernment.org/>
Twitter<https://twitter.com/OpenTheGov> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OpenTheGov/>
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image001
From: Mayor's Office
I can’t do noon, but 12:15pm CST on Monday should work for me. Will you send a calendar invite with a dial in?
Thanks,
Mike
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image001
From: Freddy Martinez
FOIA officers,
Please consider this FOIA fully withdrawn based on our conversation yesterday with members of the Mayor's Office. We will follow up with other FOIAs as needed with the appropriate offices.
Freddy
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Illinois Freedom of Information Act. request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 24, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mayor's Office
See below. This FOIA was withdrawn voluntarily by you.
Michael Frisch
Office: 312-744-6699
Cell: 312-833-2241
From: Freddy Martinez
Michael,
I apologize there was a bug on my end. The FOIA was withdrawn.
Freddy
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