CBP "Gathering SItes" Communications and Policies (San Diego County)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Al Otro Lado, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, requests the below records concerning asylum seekers who await processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and U.S. Border Patrol (“BP”) at open air processing sites, referred to by CBP and BP as “gathering sites,” in San Diego County:

1. All communications sent to or received from CBP, BP, and their employees concerning so called migrant “gathering sites” in San Diego. The county may limit its search to communications sent or received between May 11, 2023 and the date that it conducts its search. You should search for emails and text message correspondence with CP and BP employees that contain keywords including but not limited to, “Jacumba”, “gathering site”, “waiting site”, “staging area”, "migrant camp", "whiskey”, “Spooners Mesa”, “91x”, “O'Neill”, “Moon Valley”, “willows”, and “177.” The last eight of those keywords are CBP's names for the sites.

2. All policies, memoranda, or procedures concerning any “gathering site.”

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 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Al Otro Lado