Correspondence Regarding Statements of Law in Charlotte Immigration Court
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
2021-46490 |
| Submitted | July 30, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Evan Benz
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all written communications (electronic or otherwise) sent to or from any of the current of former Charlotte Immigration Judges (V. Stuart Couch, Theresa Holmes-Simmons, Rodger C. Harris, George William Riggs, Jeffery R. Nance, and Amy T. Lee), between Oct. 1, 2019, and the date of processing for this request, which contain any of the following exact phrases: “statement of law”, “statements of law”, or “standard language addendum”.
The search should include records where the above-listed EOIR employees were included in any of the "To," "From," "CC," or "BCC" fields.
I agree to pay up to $50 for the processing of this request.
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,
Evan Benz
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Evan Benz: This response acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) dated 07/30/2021 and received 07/30/2021. Your request has been assigned control number 2021-46490. 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
Dear Mr. Benz:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 07/30/2021 and received 07/30/2021 to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in which you seek email correspondence.
EOIR cannot process your request at this time as it does not reasonably define a set of records to search as required by the FOIA and DOJ regulations. 5 U.S.C. § 522(a)(3); 28 C.F.R. § 16.3(b). DOJ regulations state that, “[t]o the extent possible, requesters should include specific information that may assist a component in identifying the requested records, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, subject matter of the record, case number, file designation, or reference number” and also that “requesters should include as much detail as possible about the specific records or the types of records that they are seeking.” 28 C.F.R. § 16.3(b).
Although your request specifies key words/terms, it fails to provide the subject matter of the record requested. The key words/terms specified in your request may relate to more than one subject matter. For example, the terms/phrases “statement(s)of law” and “standard language addendum” may be used in a myriad of different contexts throughout the agency. The FOIA is not intended to allow requesters to conduct a “fishing expedition” through agency files. Dale v. IRS, 238 F. Supp. 2d 99, 104-05 (D.D.C. 2002). This protects the ability of federal agencies to prioritize their resources notwithstanding any obligation to provide access to records under FOIA. Int’l Counsel Bureau v. U.S. Dep’t of Def., 723 F. Supp. 2d 54, 59–60 (D.D.C. 2010). In that regard, your request as-filed is not reasonably described because responsive records cannot be distinguished from non-responsive records without referencing a subject matter.
Your request requires clarification and is on hold. Please contact EOIR to clarify your request. If we do not hear from you within 30 calendar days of this notice, we will assume that you are no longer interested and your request will be administratively closed. Sincerely, Shelley O'Hara Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
From: Evan Benz
Dear Ms. O'Hara:
The Charlotte IJ's have taken to distributing "statements of law" as addenda to their oral decisions. I am seeking records relating to the development of those "statements of law." Please continue processing this request as normal.
Best,
Evan
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Benz:
Thank you for clarifying that you are seeking records related to the development of “statements of law.”
Your request is off hold and is being processed. You will be notified in separate correspondence if there are any fees accrued in the processing of your request.
Sincerely,
Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Benz: This correspondence is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 07/30/2021 amended 08/09/2021 to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in which you seek records related to "statements of law." A search was conducted and one or more records responsive to your request were located. We are granting partial access to the responsive record(s). ortions of the enclosed records have been redacted in accordance with FOIA Exemption 5, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), which concerns certain inter- and intra-agency communications protected by the deliberative process privilege. 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. You may contact the EOIR FOIA Public Liaison by e-mail at EOIR.FOIARequests@USDOJ.GOV or by telephone number (703) 605-1297 for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Please reference the FOIA control number. 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 this response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
Sincerely,
Shelley O'Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
-
2021-46490
From: Evan Benz
Good morning:
Thank you for this response. However, I must appeal the agency's response, since the agency appears not to have conducted an adequate search. The agency provided some records relating to a "standard language addendum" that appears to come from EOIR HQ or some other central office, but it does not appear that the agency searched the Charlotte IJ's correspondences, as I had requested. Thus, the agency did not conduct an adequate search to reasonably obtain the requested records, which have to do with "statements of law" AND the "standard language addendum."
Please provide any and all additional responsive records after conducting an adequate search.
Thank you,
Evan
From: Evan Benz
Good afternoon: I'm writing to follow up on this appeal re EOIR request 2021-46490, which I submitted in August of last year. Thank you.
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 July 30, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2021-46490.
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 July 30, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2021-46490.
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 July 30, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2021-46490.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Please send your inquiry to EOIR.FOIArequests@usdoj.gov<mailto:EOIR.FOIArequests@usdoj.gov> as I am no longer in this role.
-
~WRD0000
From: Evan Benz
Good morning:
Thank you for this response. However, I must appeal the agency's response, since the agency appears not to have conducted an adequate search. The agency provided some records relating to a "standard language addendum" that appears to come from EOIR HQ or some other central office, but it does not appear that the agency searched the Charlotte IJ's correspondences, as I had requested. Thus, the agency did not conduct an adequate search to reasonably obtain the requested records, which have to do with "statements of law" AND the "standard language addendum."
Please provide any and all additional responsive records after conducting an adequate search.
Thank you,
Evan
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Evan, per our response letter below, please send appeals to 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.
Joseph Schaaf
Supervisory Attorney (FOIA)
-
~WRD000
Files
pages