DHS-OIG Investigations
| Tracking # |
2022-IGFO-00129 |
| Submitted | Dec. 30, 2021 |
| Due | Jan. 31, 2022 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Andrew Free
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. Any record constituting a list (including OIG Case Number) of all investigations or other complaints DHS-OIG closed in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 or FY21.
2. Any record listing the total number of criminal prosecutions DHS-OIG recommended in FY21.
3. Any record listing the total number of investigations DHS-OIG completed in FY21 by agency component.
4. All agency records received or created by DHS-OIG pertaining to CLOSED, SUBSTANTIATED investigations that were closed in FY21.
5. All agency records received or created by DHS-OIG pertaining to CLOSED, UN-SUBSTANTIATED investigations that were closed in FY21.
6. Any record reflecting the total number (NOT identity) of open DHS-OIG investigations involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, contractors, or facilities.
7. Any record reflecting the total number (NOT identify) of open DHS-OIG investigations involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel, contractors, or facilities.
8. All correspondence to or from DHS-OIG pertaining to any closed, substantiated DHS-OIG investigation involving ICE or CBP personnel, contractors, or facilities.
9. All DHS-OIG records pertaining to the July 15, 2020, Congressional testimony of Inspector General James Cuffari, the hearing during which IG Cuffari provided this testimony, and any actions DHS-OIG took after the hearing pertaining to either of the indigenous children who died in CBP as described during the July 15 hearing.
10. Any record of a closed DHS-OIG that was opened on or after January 1, 2019, pertaining to or referencing The GEO Group, Inc., CoreCivic, Management & Training Corporation, LaSalle Corrections, Akima Global Services, or the Nakamoto Group.
11. A copy of DHS-OIG’s standard FOIA tasking form or similar Tasker.
12. A copy of DHS-OIG’s FOIA Logs for FY18, FY19, FY20, and FY21.
I make this request on behalf of Al Otro Lado’s #DetentionKills Transparency Initiative. We respectfully request expedited processing of this request pursuant to 6 C.F.R. 5.5(e). This request qualifies for expedited processing because it pertaining to records of documented allegations of government misconduct by the nation’s largest domestic law enforcement agency. These records will shed light on the waste, fraud, and abuse DHS-OIG found, and how widespread such violations are within the larger system. Time is of the essence for as families of the decedents, community-based organizations, individuals in custody, and asylum-seekers stuck in the government’s unlawful (see AOL v. Mayorkas (S.D. Cal)) Metering, Title42, and Remain in Mexico border programs.
Please reply within ten business days of this request with your Expedited Processing determination.
If you have any questions about this request or believe any items could be more efficiently delivered through narrowing, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Many thanks,
R. Andrew Free
Al Otro Lado #DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
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: 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 March 7, 2022. 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 March 7, 2022. 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: Andrew Free
I hereby appeal the agency’s failure to acknowledge this request and assign an individualized tracking number.
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Good afternoon Mr. Free,
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG) is processing your attached Freedom of information Act (FOIA) request 2022-IGFO-00129. In order to continue to conduct as expeditiously as possible, a more targeted and efficient search for responsive records we seek you amicability to the following:
Item #4 and #8 -
The request as written would involve a search that would produce a very voluminous amount of documents that would add a longer wait time for receipt of records while processing. We are consequently asking for:
* A combination of both items,
* Modification of request to all responsive Reports of Investigation and supporting documents for the last 3 months of Fiscal Year (FY) 21 (July, August, September 2021),
* An indication of a particular topic/subject of interest to you such as particular incidents at a detention facility.
Item #5 -
Eliminating search for item #5: The combining of items #4 and #8 would contain substantiated investigations.
We thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your response.
DHS OIG FOIA Team
From: Andrew Free
Thanks for this communication. It has been almost year since we filed this request. We appreciate OIG FOIA being in communication about it.
As a show of amicability, why doesn’t the agency start by stating how many responsive records it estimates would be generated by running searches for all responsive records. Then we can speak about narrowing based on facts, rather than speculation.
Perhaps the simplest way to do this would be to arrive at a universe of records that might be responsive. To do that, printouts (without identifying information) of number the closed substantiated and closed unsubstantiated cases responsive to the request would be really helpful.
Is that possible?
Thank you again for reaching out.
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Andrew Free,
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG) have received your most recent FOIA requests 2023-IGFO-00210 and 2023-IGFO-00233 and we are aggregating FOIAs with FOIA 2022-IGFO-00129, as they are very similar.
Sincerely,
DHS-OIG FOIA Team
From: Andrew Free
Thanks very much. Can you please cite us to the statute or regulation that allows you to do this?
And can you please provide an estimated date of the agency’s response, as required by statute?
Thanks very much,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Andrew Free
This email is in response to your FOIA Appeal filed with Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office if Inspector General (OIG). Please see attached document.
Sincerely,
DHS-OIG FOIA Team
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Good afternoon Mr. Free,
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG) is processing your attached Freedom of information Act (FOIA) request 2022-IGFO-00129. The request as written would involve a search that would produce a very voluminous amount of documents that would add a longer wait time for receipt of records while processing.
In order to continue to process FOIA as expeditiously as possible, a more targeted and efficient search for responsive records is needed. Therefore we're seek your amicability
Items #4 and #5 -
Please note, the program office conducting search for responsive records doesn't track cases as "substantiated" or "un-substantiated".
We are consequently asking for:
* A combining of both items#4 and #5,
* Modification of request to all responsive Reports of Investigation and supporting documents for the last 3 months of Fiscal Year (FY) 21 (July, August, September 2021),
* An indication of a particular topic/subject of interest to you such as particular incidents at a detention facility.
Item #8 -
There are 856 cases. A minimum estimate of 25 pages or more per case. The results of 856 cases is over 21,000 pages. Please modify Item#8 to the "Offense Category" which is of interest to you (i.e., Bribery, Fraud, Drugs/Narcotics, etc.)
We thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your response.
DHS OIG FOIA Team
From: Andrew Free
If you’d be willing to entertain a different narrowing proposal, I would like to narrow the request so that it ONLY encompasses Items 1-3, ON THE CONDITION THAT OIG supply this record within the next 20 working days. If OIG provides the records responsive to Items 1-3 with the next 20 working days, we will withdraw the remaining requests and appeal.
Is that agreeable to the agency?
Thanks in advance,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Good afternoon:
Thank you for your response below and your proposal to narrow your FOIA request - FOIA 2022-IGFO-00129, to items 1 to 3.
We accept your proposal as specified and will provide you with responsive records to items 1, 2, and 3 within 20 business days.
Per your email directly below, which FOIA requests and appeal are you proposing to withdraw.
Thank you kindly.
DHS OIG FOIA Team
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Good afternoon:
We are interpreting your Monday, January 9, 2023, 9:16 pm response below as a narrowing of your request to one seeking responsive records to items 1 through 3, and your withdrawal of the rest of the items on your request.
Attached is the response to your modified request.
You also mentioned in your January 9, 2023, 9:16 pm email that you will be withdrawing “the remaining requests and appeal”. Please indicate to us which other requests and appeals you would like to withdraw.
Thank you kindly.
DHS OIG FOIA Team
-
DHS OIG FOIA 2022-IGFO-00129_Outgoing Responsive Record
From: Andrew Free
Thank you very much for these records. I can do this through another FOIA request if it’s easier, but I wonder if there’s a way to pull this same data with case numbers ONLY FOR CBP and ICE? We’ve got a host of other agency components included, it looks like. We’d like to see if we can narrow those. Again, happy to just initiate a new request but don’t want to create extra work/wait.
Thanks in advance,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
From: Andrew Free
Thank you very much for these records. I can do this through another FOIA request if it’s easier, but I wonder if there’s a way to pull this same data with case numbers ONLY FOR CBP and ICE? We’ve got a host of other agency components included, it looks like. We’d like to see if we can narrow those. Again, happy to just initiate a new request but don’t want to create extra work/wait.
Thanks in advance,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Greetings:
Thank you for your email directly below.
We would need to process your email as a new FOIA request since FOIA 2022-IGFO-00129, has been completed and closed pursuant to your modification.
In FOIA 2022-IGFO-00129, to which we provided responsive records, you modified your request and asked for:
1. “Any record constituting a list (including OIG Case Number) of all investigations or other complaints DHS-OIG closed in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 or FY21.”
2. “Any record listing the total number of criminal prosecutions DHS-OIG recommended in FY21.”
3. “Any record listing the total number of investigations DHS-OIG completed in FY21 by agency component.”
In your new request directly below you are asking for “this same data with case numbers only for CBP and ICE”. You are specifically requesting:
* Any record listing the DHS OIG case numbers of all investigations and complaints DHS-OIG closed in FY2020, and FY2021, pertaining to CBP and ICE.
* Any record listing the DHS OIG case numbers of the total number of “criminal prosecutions” DHS-OIG recommended in FY21 pertaining to CBP and ICE.
* Any record listing the DHS OIG case numbers of the total number of investigations DHS-OIG completed in FY21 pertaining to CBP and ICE.
Attached is the acknowledgement letter and FOIA request number to this new request.
Thank you.
DHS OIG FOIA Team
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
Andrew Free,
This email is final response to FOIA 2023-IGFO-00365. Please see attachments. Thank you for submitting FOIA with Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Sincerely,
DHS-OIG FOIA Team
-
FOIA 2023-IGFO-00365 Spreadsheet
From: Andrew Free
Thank you very much for providing these records. Can you please identify in the second tab which case numbers are the ones referred for prosecution after investigation involving CBP and which case numbers are the ones referred for prosecution after investigation involving ICE?
I can just file a separate request if that’s easier but I thought that’s what we were trying to unearth.
Thanks again,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
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 March 7, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2022-IGFO-00129.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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