DHS-OIG BP Closed, Substantiated
| Submitted | July 10, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Andrew Free
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. All Case Summary Reports, Reports of Investigation, and Memoranda of Activity reflecting any closed, substantiated investigation of allegations involving any Border Patrol agent, set of agents, sector, or facility that where the allegation was received by DHS-OIG on or after January 1, 2018.
2. Any agency record (including a database record) in existence on the date DHS-OIG acknowledges this request reflecting the total number of DHS-OIG investigations relating to allegations of misconduct or findings of policy or law violations against Border Patrol or its agents committed or alleged from January 1, 2018 through the present.
I respectfully seek expedited processing of this request. MuckRock News is primarily engaged in the dissemination of information, and this information pertains to recent allegations and representations made regarding supervision of the Border Patrol by, inter alia, OIG. For instance, Acting USCIS Director Cuccinnelli represented on air July 10, 2019 that Border Patrol stations are subject to multiple levels of oversight aimed at preventing misconduct, in response to questions regarding the documented unlawful conditions at Border Patrol Stations.
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 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Andrew Free
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Submitted on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - 22:48
Submitted by user: Anonymous
Submitted values are:
Select the DHS component you wish to submit your request to: : Office of
Inspector General (OIG)
Title:
First Name: Andrew
Middle Initial:
Last Name: Free
Suffix:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Country: United States
Address 1: MuckRock News, DEPT MR 76959
Address 2: 411A Highland Ave
City: Somerville
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02144
Telephone Number: 6172991832
Fax Number:
Are you requesting records on yourself? No
If yes, you must check the perjury statement:
By initialing here you are providing your electronic signature.:
Please describe the records you are seeking as clearly and precisely as
possible:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
1. All Case Summary Reports, Reports of Investigation, and Memoranda of
Activity reflecting any closed, substantiated investigation of allegations
involving any Border Patrol agent, set of agents, sector, or facility that
where the allegation was received by DHS-OIG on or after January 1, 2018.
2. Any agency record (including a database record) in existence on the date
DHS-OIG acknowledges this request reflecting the total number of DHS-OIG
investigations relating to allegations of misconduct or findings of policy or
law violations against Border Patrol or its agents committed or alleged from
January 1, 2018 through the present.
I respectfully seek expedited processing of this request. MuckRock News is
primarily engaged in the dissemination of information, and this information
pertains to recent allegations and representations made regarding supervision
of the Border Patrol by, inter alia, OIG. For instance, Acting USCIS Director
Cuccinnelli represented on air July 10, 2019 that Border Patrol stations are
subject to multiple levels of oversight aimed at preventing misconduct, in
response to questions regarding the documented unlawful conditions at Border
Patrol Stations.
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 20 business days,
as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Andrew Free
Upload documents directly:
https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
I am willing to pay fees for this request up to the amount of: $: 25
Select from the list below: An individual seeking information for personal
use and not for commercial use.
I request a waiver of all fees for this request.:
Please provide an explanation for your request for a fee waiver:
Please select and describe in detail if you believe your request warrants
expeditious handling:
Please provide information to support your selection:
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Mr. Free:
Thank you for your interest in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG). Attached please find DHS-OIG's final response of the above-referenced FOIA request.
Also, because there was so many complaints I had to break down the documents in to 8 emails.
Sincerely,
FOIA/DHS-OIG
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Email 2
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Email 3
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Email 4
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Email 5
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Email 7
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Email 6
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Final Email 8
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
**THIS EMAIL BOX IS NOT MONITORED, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.** Mr. Free: Attached is the response to your subject Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, 5 U.S.C. § 552 . If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact our FOIA Requester Service Center or FOIA Public Liaison at FOIAstatus@state.gov or 202-261-8484. **THIS EMAIL BOX IS NOT MONITORED, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.**
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R-2020-00164 - Review Log
From: Andrew Free
We hereby appeal all redactions applied in this set of responsive records.
1. There are no legitimate b3 / 1202(f) redactions because none of these records pertains to the issuance of visas. Please remove the b3 redactions.
2. Because the allegations of misconduct against this official were substantiated by the DHS-OIG, and because the official against whom these allegations were substantiated is identified in the records, there is no legitimate privacy interest represented by the Exemption 6 withholdings to the employee’s time card records. We do not challenge the Exemption 6 redactions of other officials’ names who were not charged or found culpable in misconduct. There is also no legitimate claim to foreseeable harm encompassed by the release of records that are the subject of a substantiated finding of wrongdoing by the official. Please remove the b6 redactions to the named official’s employment records.
3. There is no open investigation, as demonstrated by the records themselves, so no 7A claim is valid. Please remove the 7A redactions.
4. For the reasons set forth in our Exemption 6 challenge, the public interest in having complete access to the named senior executive service official’s time records — which DHS-OIG confirmed were not fully truthful, but elected not to pursue based on the relatively small amount of fraud on the government - outweighs the named official’s privacy interests. Please remove the 7C redactions as to the named official.
For reference, the State Dept. Cover letter is available here:
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23902380/r-2020-00164-draft-response-letterar.pdf
The records are available here:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23902982-r-2020-00164-review-log
We respectfully seek expedited processing of this appeal, and state under penalty perjury pursuant to 28 USC 1746 that the following statements are true and correct to the best of our knowledge and understanding:
1. The records we received from State today are responsive to a 2020 referral by DHS-OIG in response to a 2019 FOIA request to that agency for closed, substantiated investigations.
2. These records reveal a former DHS Official who was detailed to State while also working as a reservist with Top Secret and Secret classification access engaging in the apparently substantiated violations of DHS, DoD, DOS rules.
3. These records also reveal this former official - a self-described former CIA agent, Senior Executive Service DHS-CBP official, Chief Counsel to the US Council on Transnational Organized Crime, and Lt. Col. In the Army Reserve whose law firm publicly touts his “Rolodex” for the purpose of professional gain - engaged in substantiated violations of personnel rules that triggered a referral to the US Department of Justice, which DOJ declined due to the low loss amount.
https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2022/02/01/hughes-hubbard-lands-former-cia-case-officer/
4. These records contain substantiated findings of wrongdoing by a senior officials. Their release to the public in a timely manner has been delayed for over 4 years, in violation of the plain language of the Freedom of Information Act, which requires agency FOIA offices to make records “promptly available.”
5. Requestors should not, under any circumstances, have to wait 4 years for responsive records in a transparent and accountable democracy, according to Congress.
Thank you for granting this appeal an expedited processing determination within 10 calendar days, acknowledging it with an individualized tracking number if it will take longer than that to remove the redactions, and removing those that do not compl with the Act.
R. Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
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