"Case Hold and En Banc Conference" Notices
| Tracking # |
2019-38446, DOJ-AP-2020-000368 2019-38446 |
| Submitted | June 24, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Matthew Hoppock
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Each of the "Case Hold and En Banc Conference" documents since 9/22/1998. It appears each of these is stored on "electronic en banc" system or in the "BIA En Banc Reports Archive" at https://eoirnet/sites/eoir/BIA/BIAWeb/Documents/enbanc.html
On that site, each entry contains a date, a document title, initials, and what appears to be a link to either a .pdf or a .html file. I am requesting the documents at least of those links.
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 June 24, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2019-38446.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Matthew, this is #97 of 115 complex requests. Wr/JRS
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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 June 24, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2019-38446.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Matthew, this is now #69 of 115 complex requests. Wr/JRS
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~WRD000
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 June 24, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2019-38446.
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 FOIA response attached. Wr/JRS
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From: Matthew Hoppock
This is an appeal of a denied FOIA request - case number 2019-38446: "Case Hold and En Banc Conference" Notices.
The adjudication letter says documents are being withheld entirely because of personal privacy concerns and because the documents are confidential. However, it doesn't say how many pages are withheld or offer any basis for invoking either exemption. Nor has the agency explained why any of the purportedly confidential or private information could not be redacted.
The request is not for personal information - it's for documents maintained in the course of the BIA's business which described when and why the BIA has placed cases on hold for en banc conferences since 9/22/1998. These records are stored on server called the "electronic en banc" system or in the "BIA En Banc Reports Archive" at https://eoirnet/sites/eoir/BIA/BIAWeb/Documents/enbanc.html and are accessible to most BIA employees. On that site, each entry contains a date, a document title, initials, and what appears to be a link to either a .pdf or a .html file. The request was for the documents at each of those links.
There is no reason why the BIA's en banc conference documents would contain personal, private information. Nor is the information there pre-decisional, as it does not reflect the agency's pre-decision thinking. At best the documents are case summaries, and exempt information should have been redacted.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
This message is to notify you of a new appeal submission to the FOIAonline application. Appeal information is as follows:
* Appeal Tracking Number: DOJ-AP-2020-000368
* Request Tracking Number: 2019-38446
* Requester Name: Matthew Hoppock
* Date Submitted: 10/17/2019
* Appeal Status: Submitted
* Description:
EOIR appeal
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
DOJ-AP-2020-000368 has been processed with the following final disposition: Affirmed on Appeal.
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