CBP Public Affairs Uvalde Emails

Andrew Free filed this request with the United States Customs and Border Protection of the United States of America.
Tracking #

CBP-AP-2023-000184

CBP-AP-2022-104662

CBP-2022-087055

Status
Rejected

Communications

From: Andrew Free

To Whom It May Concern:

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

All emails sent or received between May 24, 2022 and May 26, 2022, by persons working in or on behalf of CBP’s Office of Public Affairs, including, but not limited to, Assistant Commissioner Luis Miranda, containing any of the following terms and their Boolean relators: (a) “Uvalde”, (b) “BORTAC”, (c) “kids”, (d) “shooting”, (e) “shooter”, (f) “killing”, (g) “[f*ck] up”, (h) “[clusterf*ck]”, (Please search the actual profane terms for (g) and (h), rather than the sanitized versions) (i) “delay!”; (j) “Hold w/5 position!”); (k) “en route”); (l) “tragedy”; (m) “massacre”; (n) “preventable”; (o) “prevented”; (p) Significant Incident Report; (q) professional responsibility; (r) “investigate”; and “responsib!”.

I respectfully request expedited processing of this request and a fee waiver because of the widespread media attention and public interest related to these terms, and serious question as to the performance of critical government functions by this agency.

Thank you,

Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado

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,

Andrew Free

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=CBP-2022-087055&type=request)

* Tracking Number: CBP-2022-087055
* Requester Name:
Andrew Free
* Date Submitted: 06/03/2022
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

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

All emails sent or received between May 24, 2022 and May 26, 2022, by persons working in or on behalf of CBP’s Office of Public Affairs, including, but not limited to, Assistant Commissioner Luis Miranda, containing any of the following terms and their Boolean relators: (a) “Uvalde”, (b) “BORTAC”, (c) “kids”, (d) “shooting”, (e) “shooter”, (f) “killing”, (g) “[f*ck] up”, (h) “[clusterf*ck]”, (Please search the actual profane terms for (g) and (h), rather than the sanitized versions) (i) “delay!”; (j) “Hold w/5 position!”); (k) “en route”); (l) “tragedy”; (m) “massacre”; (n) “preventable”; (o) “prevented”; (p) Significant Incident Report; (q) professional responsibility; (r) “investigate”; and “responsib!”.

I respectfully request expedited processing of this request and a fee waiver because of the widespread media attention and public interest related to these terms, and serious question as to the performance of critical government functions by this agency.

Thank you,

Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado

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,

Andrew Free

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request CBP-2022-087055 has been
denied.
* Fee Waiver Original Justification:
I respectfully request expedited processing of this request and a fee waiver because of the widespread media attention and public interest related to these terms, and serious question as to the performance of critical government functions by this agency.
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason:
Does not meet DHS requirements

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

CBP-2022-087055 has been processed with the following final disposition: Full Denial Based on Exemptions.

From: Andrew Free

I hereby appeal the Blanket application of Exemption 7A to media statements by the agency taking credit for killing the shooter.

Thank you,

Andrew Free

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Andrew Free:
Your letter dated June 7, 2022, was received in this office on July 14, 2022, wherein you appeal FOIA Division's determination under tracking number CBP-2022-087055. The tracking number assigned to your appeal is CBP-AP-2022-104662 which will be assigned to a member of the Appeals Office for processing.
Sincerely,

Lynette Carter, FOIA Appeals

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Mr. Free,
We have been working on your appeal CBP-AP-2022-104662. I wanted to know if you would be willing to modify the scope of your request. The search for emails with any of approximately 19 words for a small group of OPA people over a 3-day span has resulted in over 8,600 pages of records. In our preliminary review, we note that many of the emails may not relate to the information you desire. Many of them do not relate to the Uvalde shooting which we believe to be the focus of your request.
We are wondering if you are willing to limit the keyword searches. For instance, the term “bortac” is included in many signature lines, which will pull a large amount of emails that are irrelevant to your potential interests. The same could be said for “responsible, investigate, and prevent,” amongst others. We also wonder if you would consider removing from the scope of your request any emails that do not relate to the Uvalde shooting.
I am trying to find some middle ground as to a reasonable amount of records to pull and review, all while providing you exactly what you are searching for. Please let me know if you can assist in this modification.
Thanks.

From: Andrew Free

Thanks very much for your email.

We’d be happy to narrow and agree to terms that are contingent. Maybe only if the email has Uvalde or Robb or something similar designating it as relating to the shooting, like a Significant Incident Report Number, Tasker ID, or Significant Event Notification identifier, will it belong in the universe?

What volume of records are we looking at if we limit the responses in that way?

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Dear Andrew Free <requests@muckrock.com>,
Your password has been updated per your request. You can change your password in the future from your
profile page.
If you believe you received this email in error or need additional assistance, please contact the FOIAonline Help Desk. (mailto:foiaonline@cnservicedesk.net)
FOIAonline Team (mailto:foiaonline@cnservicedesk.net)

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Thank you, Mr. Free. Based on your response, I have contacted those who handle the email searches to perform a new search and to see the quantity of records for this new search. I'll let you know the next update once I receive a response from them.
Thanks.

From: Andrew Free

Sounds good. Does 2 weeks from now seem like a reasonable time for us to check back in?

Thank you for your help!

Andrew

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Sorry for the delay, Mr. Free. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a specific date for the requested information, but know we are working on your request and hope to hear back soon.
Thank you.

From: Andrew Free

Thank you for your prompt response.

I appreciate there’s a lot of moving pieces, and so would like to note that we’re not actually seeking a specific date of release, but rather, an estimated one.

That’s what 5 USC 552(a)(7)(B)(ii) requires. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/552

Any estimate you’re able to provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Hello,
This case was transferred to CBP's new FOIA system, Secure Release, and is now listed as CBP-AP-2023-000184. CBP is no longer using the FOIAOnline platform, and all future correspondences and review for this case will be on the new Secure Release platform using case number: CBP-AP-2023-000184. Due to this transfer, we are closing this appeal in the FOIAOnline platform, but it remains open in the Secure Release platform. To reiterate, your appeal is NOT being closed, but rather it is being transferred from FOIAOnline to the Secure Release platform.
Thanks,
CBP FOIA Appeals and Policy Branch

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Hello,

This case was transferred to CBP's new FOIA system, Secure Release, and is now listed as CBP-AP-2023-000184. CBP is no longer using the FOIAOnline platform, and all future correspondences and review for this case will be on the new Secure Release platform using case number: CBP-AP-2023-000184. Due to this transfer, we are closing this appeal in the FOIAOnline platform, but it remains open in the Secure Release platform. To reiterate, your appeal is NOT being closed, but rather it is being transferred from FOIAOnline to the Secure Release platform.
Thanks,

CBP FOIA Appeals and Policy Branch.

From: Andrew Free

Good morning,

Can you please provide an estimated date of production for these records? We note this recent article further bolstering our request for expedited processing: https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-border-patrol-tactical-unit-facing-renewed-scrutiny/story?id=96620659.

Thank you.

#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Your FOIAonline user account for requests@muckrock.com will be deactivated in 5 days due to inactivity.

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Hi Free, Andrew,

You have a new message for the request CBP-AP-2023-000184. Please login to the SecureRelease Portal to read the message. (https://www.securerelease.us/request-details/31248cb9-e98d-4597-b958-2b996d6fc439/3/messages/c0a9e3c7-934c-4261-9e60-cc7b328a3a09)
| noreply@securerelease.us is not monitored by a FOIA Office or Agency personnel. Replies sent to this address will not be reviewed.
This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message and any disclosure, copying, or distribution
of this message, or the taking of any action based on it, by you is strictly prohibited.
Deloitte refers to a Deloitte member firm, one of its related entities, or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"). Each Deloitte member firm is a separate legal entity and a member of DTTL. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about
to learn more.
v.E.1

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Your confirmation code is 835796

From: United States Customs and Border Protection

Hi Free, Andrew,

You have a new message for the request CBP-AP-2023-000184. Please login to the SecureRelease Portal to read the message. (https://www.securerelease.us/request-details/31248cb9-e98d-4597-b958-2b996d6fc439/3/messages/216e84d7-ac6f-4c7b-8e3c-132e750b8255)
| noreply@securerelease.us is not monitored by a FOIA Office or Agency personnel. Replies sent to this address will not be reviewed.
This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message and any disclosure, copying, or distribution
of this message, or the taking of any action based on it, by you is strictly prohibited.
Deloitte refers to a Deloitte member firm, one of its related entities, or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"). Each Deloitte member firm is a separate legal entity and a member of DTTL. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about
to learn more.
v.E.1

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