Schaumburg Immigration Court Records

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

The records in the EOIR's Office of Administration related to the placement of an immigration court in Schaumburg, Illinois.

It is our understanding that the EOIR has begun efforts to open an immigration court in Schaumburg, Illinois by 2021 with as many as 25 new Immigration Judges located there. Given that the Chicago Immigration Court currently handles all cases arising in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin and has not been at even 1/3 of that level, this would be a substantial, confusing development. The stated rationale does not square with the current reality in the Chicago area. We are concerned this development portends a substantial increase in cases in the Chicago area. Also, since the ICE Office of Chief Counsel does not have an office in Schaumburg, Illinois, this development raises the concern that the ICE attorneys would have to appear via phone, as occurred with the recent opening of the Varrick Immigration Court in New York.

Records responsive to this request might include the following:

1. The records (including e-mail messages, skype instant messages, internal memoranda, and other internal correspondence, etc.) related to the Office of Administration seeking input from local immigration courts about where the court should be located in Schaumburg. One custodian to search is likely to be Lisa Ward. However, if any of her assistants or deputies were involved in this search, their records would be responsive as well.

2. Records related to any effort by the EOIR to locate the immigration court in Schaumburg specifically because it is a conservative or GOP leaning suburb. This might include e-mail messages or skype instant messages mentioning "protest" "protests" "Duckworth" "conservative" or "suburb" "Suburban" "GOP" or "republican" or "rocket docket." The custodians would include Lisa Ward. However, if any of her assistants or deputies were involved in this search, their records would be responsive as well.

It is unclear when this search began. However, because time is of the essence in this search, I would limit the search to records dating back to January 1, 2018.

I am a member of the news media and this request should be processed as such. Also, given recent developments reflecting potential efforts to politicize the EOIR, the public has an interest in the records responsive to this request, and their revelation in a timely manner is extremely important. Accordingly, I'm requesting the processing of this request be expedited. Also, since this request is made by a nonprofit entity (MuckRock) and myself as a representative of a Kansas nonprofit (DocuFreedom Inc.) the processing fees for this request should be waived.

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,

Matthew Hoppock