BOSA dissemination by El Paso JOIC

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act , I hereby request the following records:

Any and all records referring to the dissemination of Border Operations Sector Assessments, also known as Border Star Weekly Assessments, by the El Paso Joint Operations and Intelligence Center. For example, an email from the address JOIC.ELPASO@dps.texas.gov on December 10, 2011 with such an assessment attached to it would fit under the scope of this request. The time frame for this request is from January 1, 2011 to the date the search is conducted.

I also request that fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. Provided copies of the information will primarily benefit the general public because I am a journalist, published by Salon.com, Vice, The Daily Dot, and other venues, who is reporting on the Texas Department of Public Safety, and who intends to make provided copies of the information available to the general public. My recent article involving the Texas DPS, which may be found here - http://whowhatwhy.com/2014/07/16/exclusive-the-counterinsurgency-war-on-and-inside-our-borders/ - titled "Exclusive: The Counterinsurgency War On--And Inside--Our Borders" - was shared more than 2000 times on Facebook, indicating a large public interest in my reporting on the Texas DPS.

MuckRock.com is a public information service through which I, a representative of the news media/press, am processing my FOIA requests; I ultimately intend to make the provided information publicly available at MuckRock.com not for commercial purpose.

All of this is being done in the service of news-gathering

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Douglas Lucas

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 31, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

Dear TX DPS,

In a September 16th letter for this request, PIR# 14-3705, you asked three questions about my request.

1. You asked if I am seeking infomation about the dissemination of both the Border Operations Sector Assessments and the Border Star Weekly reports. I am seeking both.

2. You asked if I am only seeking information about dissemination of these reports from the El Paso Joint Operations and Intelligence Center (JOIC). I am.

3 You asked If I am only seeking emails or other types of correspondence that are used to distribute the Assessments with the Assessments attached, or are you seeking other records regarding the dissemination of these reports? I am seeking any all records regarding the dissemination of the reports, including but not limited to emails or other types of correspondence used to distribute the Assessments with the Assessments attached or included.

Sincerely,

Douglas Lucas