ICE Comms regarding Jean Jimenez post-Filing
| Tracking # |
2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095 |
| Submitted | Oct. 8, 2019 |
| Due | Sept. 14, 2021 |
| 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:
Please provide:
(1) all records of communications, including, but not limited to emails, text message, inter-office memoranda, fax messages sent or received by ICE-ERO Atlanta Field Office personnel John Bretz, Sean Gallagher, and any other person in ICE ATL ERO Field Office, OPLA, or ICE HQ, between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019, referencing the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, captioned Chaverra v. Bretz, No. 4:19-cv-81-CDL, or the administrative tort claim filed pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act.
(2) all records of communications referencing "Jean Jimenez" "Jeancarlo* Alfonso Jimenez Joseph" "Jimenez" "Gilberto Chaverra" or "Chaverra" sent or received between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019.
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: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Submitted on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - 01:06
Submitted by user: Anonymous
Submitted values are:
Select the DHS component you wish to submit your request to: : U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Title:
First Name: Andrew
Middle Initial:
Last Name: Free
Suffix:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Country: United States
Address 1: MuckRock News, DEPT MR 81413
Address 2: 411A Highland Ave
City: Somerville
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02144
Telephone Number: 6172991832
Fax Number:
Are you requesting records on yourself? No
If yes, you must check the perjury statement:
By initialing here you are providing your electronic signature.:
Please describe the records you are seeking as clearly and precisely as
possible:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
Please provide:
(1) all records of communications, including, but not limited to emails, text
message, inter-office memoranda, fax messages sent or received by ICE-ERO
Atlanta Field Office personnel John Bretz, Sean Gallagher, and any other
person in ICE ATL ERO Field Office, OPLA, or ICE HQ, between May 16, 2019 and
October 8, 2019, referencing the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for
the Middle District of Georgia, captioned Chaverra v. Bretz, No.
4:19-cv-81-CDL, or the administrative tort claim filed pursuant to the
Federal Tort Claims Act.
(2) all records of communications referencing "Jean Jimenez" "Jeancarlo*
Alfonso Jimenez Joseph" "Jimenez" "Gilberto Chaverra" or "Chaverra" sent or
received between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019.
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
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From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
November 05, 2019 Andrew Free Muckrock Dept MR 81413 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2020-ICFO-06614
This e-mail is in regards to your October 09, 2019 ICE FOIA request for (1) all records of communications, including, but not limited to emails, text message, inter-office memoranda, fax messages sent or received by ICE-ERO Atlanta Field Office personnel John Bretz, Sean Gallagher, and any other person in ICE ATL ERO Field Office, OPLA, or ICE HQ, between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019, referencing the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, captioned Chaverra v. Bretz, No.4:19-cv-81-CDL, or the administrative tort claim filed pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act.(2) all records of communications referencing "Jean Jimenez" "Jeancarlo* Alfonso Jimenez Joseph" "Jimenez" "Gilberto Chaverra" or "Chaverra" sent or received between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019.
Aftercareful review of your FOIA request, we determined that your request is toobroad in scope, did not specifically identify the records which you areseeking, or only posed questions to the agency. Records must be describedin reasonably sufficient detail to enable government employees who are familiarwith the subject area to locate records without placing an unreasonable burdenupon the agency. For this reason, §5.3(b) of the DHS regulations, 6C.F.R. Part 5, require that you describe the records you are seeking with asmuch information as possible to ensure that our search can locate them with areasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, a request should includespecific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name,author, recipients, and subject matter of the records, if known, or the ICEprogram office you believe created and/or controls the record. TheFOIA does not require an agency to create new records, answer questions posedby requesters, or attempt to interpret a request that does not identifyspecific records. Pleaseresubmit your request containing a reasonable description of the records youare seeking. Upon receipt of a perfected request, you will be advised asto the status of your request. Ifwe do not hear from you within 30 days from the date of this letter,we will assume you are no longer interested in this FOIA request, and the casewill be administratively closed. Please be advised that this action isnot a denial of your request and will not preclude you from filing otherrequests in the future.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA
From: Andrew Free
I hereby appeal the agency's determination that this request is too broad as it violates the Freedom of Information Act and DHS's implementing regulations. This is an illegal attempt to circumvent ICE's obligations under the FOIA and is arbitrary and capricious. I therefore request that ICE's FOIA office be referred to the Office of Special Counsel for this blatantly unlawful and bad-faith denial.
From: Andrew Free
This denial is legally baseless. Read the statute, read your regulations, timely conduct a search, and release the records. Or we'll see you in court.
From: Andrew Free
Here. Allow me to help.
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, a FOIA request must reasonably describe the records sought. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). A request is sufficient if it enable a professional agency employee familiar with the subject area to locate the record with a “reasonable amount of effort.” Truitt v. Dep’t of State, 897 F.2d 540 (D.C. Cir. 1980). Federal courts explain that “[t]he rational for this rule is that FOIA was not intended to reduce government agencies to full-time investigators on behalf of requestors, or to allow requestors to conduct “fishing expeditions” through agency files.” For example, if a FOIA request is unreasonable if it requires the agency employees to have “clairvoyant capabilities” to discern the requestors needs or requires countless number of hours seeking needles in a bureaucratic haystack.
On the other hand, FOIA does not require that documents be identified with exacting particularities or be models of clarity. Conservation Force v. Ashe, 979 F. Supp. 2d 90, 101 (D.D.C. 2013). Rather, requested records must only be “reasonably describe[d].” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). Numerous courts approved FOIA requests seeking “all
documents” pertaining to specific topics. E.g.:
Morley v. C.I.A., 508 F.3d 1108, 1113 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (enforcing FOIA request for “all records pertaining to CIA operations officer George Efythron Joannides”);
LaCedra v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, 317 F.3d 345, 348 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (reversing summary judgment where agency failed to search for documents responsive to request for “all documents pertaining to my case”);
Ruotolo v. Dep't of Justice, Tax Div., 53 F.3d 4 (2d Cir. 1995) (reversing summary judgment where agency failed to establish undue burden in response to FOIA requests for “all FOIA requests,” “all Vaughan indexes,” “all the pertinent parts of any Court Orders,” and “all pertinent parts of any taxpayers' motions and briefs” regarding described topics);
Yeager v. Drug Enforcement Admin., 678 F.2d 315, 326 (D.C. Cir. 1982) (enforcing FOIA request for “all the records” within a particular computer system);
Wildlands CPR v. U.S. Forest Serv., 558 F. Supp. 2d 1096, 1101-02 (D. Mont. 2008) (approving FOIA requests seeking “all records that relate to various topics”);
McNamara v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 949 F. Supp. 478, 484-85 (W.D. Tex. 1996) (holding that federal agencies should not have unilaterally narrowed FOIA request that sought “information pertaining” to a particular conspiracy).
Similarly, DHS FOIA regulations governing descriptions of records sought provide the standards requestors should use in seeking records from DHS agency components. 6 C.F.R. 5.3(b). This regulation provides:
(b) Description of records sought. Requesters must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable DHS personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. A reasonable description contains sufficient information to permit an organized, non-random search for the record based on the component's filing arrangements and existing retrieval systems. To 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. Requesters should refer to appendix I of this subpart for additional component-specific requirements. In general, requesters should include as much detail as possible about the specific records or the types of records that they are seeking. Before submitting their requests, requesters may contact the component's FOIA Officer or FOIA public liaison to discuss the records they are seeking and to receive assistance in describing the records. If after receiving a request, a component determines that it does not reasonably describe the records sought, the component should inform the requester what additional information is needed or why the request is otherwise insufficient. Requesters who are attempting to reformulate or modify such a request may discuss their request with the component's designated FOIA Officer, its FOIA Public Liaison, or a representative of the DHS Privacy Office, each of whom is available to assist the requester in reasonably describing the records sought.
In this case, the request identifies (a) the date range of records sought (5/16/19-10/8/19); (b) the names and/or offices of the custodians of records to be searched; (c) the subject-matter of the records to be searched for; and (d) the case number of the records subject to the request; and (e) specific search terms. It does so notwithstanding the fact that the text of the Freedom of Information Act itself only requires requestors to "reasonably describe" the records sought, and courts have instructed that requests should be construed broadly to promote and further the purposes of the FOIA, i.e., transparency, access, and accountability.
Please search for these records immediately, or be prepared to explain to a federal court why DHS's FOIA regulations aren't ultra vires of the Act as applied in this case.
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
**Please Do Not Respond Directly -This email has been sent on behalf of ice-foia@dhs.gov**
We have received your Freedom of Information Act request for appealing "too broad" determination(1) all records of communications, including, but not limited to emails, text message, inter-office memoranda, fax messages sent or received by ICE-ERO Atlanta Field Office personnel John Bretz, Sean Gallagher, and any other person in ICE ATL ERO Field Office, OPLA, or ICE HQ, between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019, referencing the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, captioned Chaverra v. Bretz, No.4:19-cv-81-CDL, or the administrative tort claim filed pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act.(2) all records of communications referencing "Jean Jimenez" "Jeancarlo* Alfonso Jimenez Joseph" "Jimenez" "Gilberto Chaverra" or "Chaverra" sent or received between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019 and have assigned it tracking number 2020-ICAP-00095. Please refer to the attached Acknowledgement Letter for more information.
ICE FOIA.
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Mr. Free,
ICE's final response to your FOIA request, 2020-ICAP-00095, for appealing "too broad" determination(1) all records of communications, including, but not limited to emails, text message, inter-office memoranda, fax messages sent or received by ICE-ERO Atlanta Field Office personnel John Bretz, Sean Gallagher, and any other person in ICE ATL ERO Field Office, OPLA, or ICE HQ, between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019, referencing the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, captioned Chaverra v. Bretz, No.4:19-cv-81-CDL, or the administrative tort claim filed pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act.(2) all records of communications referencing "Jean Jimenez" "Jeancarlo* Alfonso Jimenez Joseph" "Jimenez" "Gilberto Chaverra" or "Chaverra" sent or received between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019 is attached.
Please note that the attachment may be password protected. If you are prompted to enter a password when opening the attachment and you did not receive a password it may be in your junk/spam folder.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
September 29, 2021 Andrew Free Muckrock Dept MR 81413 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2020-ICFO-06614 Dear Mr. Free: This acknowledges receipt of your October 09, 2019, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for (1) all records of communications, including, but not limited to emails, text message, inter-office memoranda, fax messages sent or received by ICE-ERO Atlanta Field Office personnel John Bretz, Sean Gallagher, and any other person in ICE ATL ERO Field Office, OPLA, or ICE HQ, between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019, referencing the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, captioned Chaverra v. Bretz, No.4:19-cv-81-CDL, or the administrative tort claim filed pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act.(2) all records of communications referencing "Jean Jimenez" "Jeancarlo* Alfonso Jimenez Joseph" "Jimenez" "Gilberto Chaverra" or "Chaverra" sent or received between May 16, 2019 and October 8, 2019. Your request was received in this office on October 09, 2019. ICE FOIA has corrected the received date in regards to this case.
Your request has been assigned reference number 2020-ICFO-06614. Please refer to this identifier in any future correspondence. To check the status of an ICE FOIA/PA request, please visit . Please note that to check the status of a request, you must enter the 2020-ICFO-06614 tracking number. If you need any further assistance or would like to discuss any aspect of your request, please contact the FOIA office. You may send an e-mail to ice-foia@ice.dhs.gov, call toll free (866) 633-1182, or you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison, Marcus Francis, in the same manner. Additionally, you have a right to right to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) which mediates disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If you are requesting access to your own records (which is considered a Privacy Act request), you should know that OGIS does not have the authority to handle requests made under the Privacy Act of 1974. You may contact OGIS as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. (http://www.dhs.gov/foia-status) http://www.dhs.gov/foia-status
Regards,
ICE FOIA Office
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Freedom of Information Act Office
500 12th Street, S.W., Stop 5009
Washington, D.C. 20536-5009
Telephone: 1-866-633-1182
Visit our FOIA website at www.ice.gov/foia
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
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 Oct. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2020-ICFO06614, 2020-ICAP-00095.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The search for responsive records is complete. This request is in queue to be processed.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA Office
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Freedom of Information Act Office
500 12th Street, S.W., Stop 5009
Washington, D.C. 20536-5009
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