DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND (Department of Homeland Security)

To Whom It May Concern:

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

All contracts, invoices, memoranda of understanding, licenses, subscription agreements, and other agreements regarding the licensing and use of cell site simulator technology, also known as “stingray” or “IMSI catchers" between 2018 and 2022 with vendors, including but not limited to Harris Corporation (also known as L3 Harris Technologies) and Tactical Support Equipment.

BACKGROUND

In 2020, The American Civil Liberties Union published more than a thousand pages of record obtained through FOIA from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about their purchase and use of “Stingrays” — also known as “cell site simulators” or “IMSI catchers” — which is technology used to track and locate cell phones.

The ACLU initially submitted its FOIA request to ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2017, after the Detroit News reported on a case where ICE used a cell site simulator to locate and arrest an individual on immigration-related charges. Among other things, the documents revealed that that ICE used cell site simulators at least 466 times between 2017 to 2019. This requests seeks updated information on ICE’s use of stingray technology.

Department of Homeland Security issued guidance (Policy Directive 047-02) regarding the use of cell site simulator technology on October 19, 2015; and updated the guidance on August 31, 2017.

According to Gizmodo News, local law enforcement started phasing out the use of stingray “crossbow” technology sold by Harris Corporation and replacing them with 5G-compliant Nyxcell V800/F800 TAU—surveillance technology manufactured by a Canadian firm named Octasic — which they bought from the vendor Tactical Support Equipment. (https://gizmodo.com/american-cops-turns-to-canadian-phone-tracking-firm-aft-1845442778)

I request this information in the public interest in my capacity as an investigative journalist working with journalism nonprofit Type Investigations and with previous articles published in The Guardian, NBC News, The Article, Bloomberg, The New Republic and other major national and international publications.

I attest that the requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. In case the volume of records in response is significant, I request that they be released on a rolling basis .

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,

Tanvi Misra