BIA fee increase emails
| Tracking # |
2022-28285 |
| Submitted | Oct. 17, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Matthew Hoppock
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
The emails since 7/1/19 containing the any of the phrases “fee increase,” “fee increases,” “increase the filing fee” or “higher fee” to or from the EOIR director, deputy director, the former bia chair David Neal, or the current acting chair Charles Adkins-Blanch. This request is intended to include the attachments to any email messages that are responsive to this request.
I am requesting these records as a member of the press with the intention of writing about the recent revelation that the BIA will be increasing its docketing fee.
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
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 17, 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 17, 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 17, 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 17, 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:
Good evening, Ms. O'Hara,
Thank you for your message. Please note the following:
1. *Your message is misdirected*. The FOIA request you reference was
submitted through MuckRock, and the appropriate email address for that
request as described in the request is requests@muckrock.com.
The mailing address is MuckRock News, DEPT MR 81839, 411A Highland Ave,
Somerville, MA 02144-2516. The request itself and the agency's responses to
date can be located here:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/bia-fee-increase-emails-81839/
The email address you are using is my email address for my law firm.
However, although it is true that I am an attorney, I did not submit the
FOIA request in my capacity as an attorney for Hoppock Law Firm, and this
email address isn't found anywhere in the FOIA request itself. You should
note that corresponding with me at this address does not create an
attorney-client relationship or any expectation of attorney-client
privilege or privacy. Further correspondence should be sent to
requests@muckrock.com.
I submitted the FOIA request in my role as representative for DocuFreedom,
Inc., a Kansas non-profit open records organization. On behalf of
DocuFreedom I have both submitted hundreds of FOIA requests for and have
litigated FOIA requests on behalf of DocuFreedom in federal district
court. *See
e.g. DocuFreedom Inc. v. United States Dep't of Justice*, No.
17-2706-DDC-TJJ, 2019 WL 3858166, at *1 (D. Kan. Aug. 16, 2019). My email
address, should you need to contact me for any matter other than this
specific FOIA request, is docufreedomproject@gmail.com.
2. *Responding to request for information re news media status*. You have
requested more information regarding my news media status so that you may
determine whether to waive the fees. As I have mentioned in our previous
correspondence on this subject in prior requests, I have regularly been
granted media requestor status by EOIR, other components of the DOJ, and
other federal agencies. I have written and researched immigration court
practice and procedures, including specifically developments in docketing
procedures since the change in administration, and I request that all
search and production fees be waived due to my news media status. See e.g.
https://www.law360.com/articles/1050952/foia-documents-shed-light-on-eoir-case-management
(referencing my writing and research on docketing procedure changes);
https://www.aila.org/infonet/eoir-foia-response-no-dark-courtrooms-policy
(same);
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/scanning-immigrants-old-fingerprints-us-threatens-to-strip-thousands-of-citizenship/2018/06/13/2230d8a2-6f2e-11e8-afd5-778aca903bbe_story.html?utm_term=.c59c400f0ef7
(referencing my research and writing on denaturalization procedures);
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-may-strip-citizenship-cheats-of-their-passports-lwt7kddq0
(same);
http://www.recorder.com/US-goes-after-naturalized-immigrants-with-criminal-records-18780878
(same). I am quoted in a number of the articles listed above and intend to
use the documents and information received in response to this request to
share with the public and to write related news articles about immigration
enforcement efforts.
Although you indicate in your email that to obtain news media status I must
prove "the organization of which you believe constitutes a news media
organization," that is not required by statute or regulation. I am a
freelance journalist and will use the information in these records for my
writing for either a news publication or blog. Indeed, your agency's fee
status determination guidance describes the breadth of this classification
and does not require employment by a news corporation:
"This subcategory includes “any person or entity that gathers information
From: Matthew Hoppock
Good afternoon, Ms. O'Hara.
I have again received correspondence about this request addressed to "Hoppock Law Firm" a copy of which is attached. As I outlined in my previous e-mail, all correspondence about this request should be sent to MuckRock. You have both the e-mail address and mailing address associated with this request. Your letter acknowledges this request was not made by my law firm. I can only conclude, after discussing this issue at length in my last e-mail, that you are misdirecting the correspondence about this request intentionally.
Your correspondence does not address several of the issues outlined in my e-mail. It also does not attempt to comply with 28 CFR 16.10(d)(2)(ii). Thus, I am unable to address the requested review fee amounts, because the necessary steps the regulations require have not been taken.
Further, you fundamentally misstate what records are requested. You indicate the records I've requested as already available on the agency's website, but that is false. None of the e-mail messages I've requested as located at the link you sent me.
I will file an administrative appeal. Of course, if you decide to comply with the agency's regulations in the interim to prevent the waste of unnecessary administrative costs, I remain open to that. Thank you.
Matthew Hoppock
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 17, 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: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Hoppock:
Thank you for your inquiry. The agency issued a response to your request on April 15, 2020 and this request is currently closed.
Sincerely,
Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
(703) 605-0275
-
~WRD000
From: Matthew Hoppock
Ms. O'Hara, we also never received a determination letter on this request (2020-2386). You and I exchanged correspondence in March, but I received nothing after my March 22, 2020 email.
If there is a determination letter, can you please send it to me so that I can file an administrative appeal?
Thank you.
Matthew Hoppock
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Hoppock:
Our records show that you already appealed this request. Attached is correspondence from the Office of Information Policy (OIP) acknowledging your appeal. Please contact OIP to follow up on the status of your appeal.
Sincerely,
Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
(703) 605-0275
From:
Thanks Shelley. We're having a hard time tracking EOIR numbers when
requests are similar because of the lack of information in the receipt
notices. My apologies. Hope you have a nice day.
Matthew L. Hoppock
matthew@hoppocklawfirm.com
*We have moved! *
*Our new address is**: *
*5949 Nieman RoadPO Box 3886Shawnee, KS 66203 *
913-267-5511 (Phone)
913-562-9555 (Fax)
________________________
*NOTICE: This e-mail message and any attachments is for the sole use of the
intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged
information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the
sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.*
913-267-5511 (Phone)
913-562-9555 (Fax)
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Matthew Hoppock: This response acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) dated 03/11/2022 and received 03/11/2022. Your request has been assigned control number 2022-28285. The FOIA requires an agency to respond within 20 working days after receipt of the request, and EOIR endeavors to meet this standard. The FOIA permits a ten-day extension of this time period, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B), based on unusual circumstances. Your request involves “unusual circumstances,” and EOIR is extending the time period to respond by an additional 10 working days because your request requires the collection of records from field offices, or involves a search, collection, and review of voluminous records, or requires consultation with another agency or two or more agency components. Please be advised that due to necessary operational changes as a result of the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, there may be significant delay in the processing of your request. EOIR FOIA requests are placed in one of three tracks. Track one is for those requests that seek and receive expedited processing pursuant to subsection (a)(6)(E) of the FOIA. Track two is for simple requests that do not involve voluminous records or lengthy consultations with other entities. Track three is for complex requests that involve voluminous records and for which lengthy or numerous consultations are required, or those requests that may involve sensitive records. Your request has been placed in track three for complex requests. If you have filed an application for a fee waiver, EOIR will address your request in a separate letter. Additionally, if you have requested expedited processing, EOIR will contact you in a separate letter. If you have any questions regarding unusual circumstances, you may contact the EOIR FOIA Service Center or FOIA Public Liaison at (703) 605-1297 to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame to process your request, or for any further assistance regarding any aspect of your request. Alternatively, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. Sincerely, FOIA Intake
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------
Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642 (Main Line)
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Hoppock:
This correspondence is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 03/11/2022 to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in which you seek certain records related to fee increases. A search was conducted and one or more records responsive to your request were located. Upon review of the records, it was determined that the records originated from or contained equities belonging to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and/or associated components. Therefore, in accordance with Departmental policy, the documents have been referred to the Office of Information Policy for a release determination and direct response to you. Accordingly, EOIR has closed this request. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c) (2006 & Supp. IV 2010). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. See http://www.justice.gov/oip/foiapost/2012foiapost9.html If you need any further assistance or would like to discuss any aspect of your request, please contact the EOIR FOIA Public Liaison at (703) 605-1297 or EOIR.FOIArequests@usdoj.gov. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. If you are not satisfied with the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s determination in response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, 441 G Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, or you may submit an appeal through OIP’s FOIA STAR portal by creating an account following the instructions on OIP’s website https://www.justice.gov/oip/submit-and-track-request-or-appeal . Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the correspondence and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal." Sincerely,
Joseph Schaaf Supervisory Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 17, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-28285.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Matthew, please see below. All the documents were referred to OIP. JRS
A search was conducted and one or more records responsive to your request were located. Upon review of the records, it was determined that the records originated from or contained equities belonging to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and/or associated components. Therefore, in accordance with Departmental policy, the documents have been referred to the Office of Information Policy for a release determination and direct response to you.
-
~WRD000
Files
pages