ICE contracts/MOUs re: Stewart Detention Center

April 08, 2015 BERYL LIPTON MUCKROCK NEWS DEPT MR 15125 MUCKROCK NEWS PO BOX 55819 BOSTON, MA 02205-5891 RE:     ICE FOIA Case Number 2015-ICFO-13499This e-mail is in regards to your December 21, 2014 ICE FOIA request for
all contracts/ammendments and memorandums of understatnding entered into by ICE for services and activities related to the Stewart Detention Center.
In conducting a search for responsive records, the ICE FOIA office has determined that further clarification is needed regarding your request. Please provide a date range for records you are seeking. Please provide the ICE FOIA office with a response as soon as possible to avoid any further delay in the processing of your request. If a response is not received within 10 business days, your request will be administratively closed.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA

Hello,

Our system shows that the case was closed, and it appears to be due to the mix-up about the emails. However, I’m seeing a note that there were documents on a CD though there is no record of correspondence being sent to you through the system. Note is from April 3rd of this year.

I get a limited amount of details from the software and the person who was handling the case is currently out this week on vacation, but I will forward him your email and see if we can get this straightened out when he gets back on Tuesday.
Best,
ICE FOIA

Ms. Lipton,

I consulted with my supervisor back in July and apparently they administratively closed this case out because they did not feel the clarification was sufficient to take the request out of limbo. Looks like it was closed on April 28.
Best,
ICE FOIA

September 02, 2015 BERYL LIPTON MUCKROCK DEOT 15125 PO BOX 55819 BOSTON, MA 02205 RE:     ICE FOIA Case Number 2015-ICFO-95472 Dear Ms. LIPTON: This acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), dated August 31, 2015, and to your request for a waiver of all assessable FOIA fees. Your request was received in this office on August 31, 2015. Specifically, you requested all contracts (and their amendments), memorandums of understanding, intergovernmental service agreements, and any agreements of any sort entered into by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for all services, equipment, and activities involving/provided by/contracted for regarding the Stewart Detention Center and any facilities associated with it through any of the aforementioned agreements regarding the facility. Due to the increasing number of FOIA requests received by this office, we may encounter some delay in processing your request. Per Section 5.5(a) of the DHS FOIA regulations, 6 C.F.R. Part 5, ICE processes FOIA requests according to their order of receipt. Although ICE’s goal is to respond within 20 business days of receipt of your request, the FOIA does permit a 10- day extension of this time period. As your request seeks numerous documents that will necessitate a thorough and wide-ranging search, ICE will invoke a 10-day extension for your request, as allowed by Title 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B). If you care to narrow the scope of your request, please contact our office. We will make every effort to comply with your request in a timely manner. After thoroughly reviewing your letter and request for fee waiver, I have determined that you have not presented a convincing argument that MUCKROCK is entitled to a blanket waiver of applicable fees. The DHS FOIA Regulations at 6 CFR § 5.11(k)(2) set forth six factors to examine in determining whether the applicable legal standard for a fee waiver has been met.  We will consider these factors in our evaluation of your request for a fee waiver: (1) Whether the subject of the requested records concerns “the operations or activities of the government”; (2) Whether the disclosure is “likely to contribute” to an understanding of government operations or activities; (3) Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to the understanding of the public at large, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requestor or a narrow segment of interested persons; (4) Whether the contribution to public understanding of government operations or activities will be "significant"; (5) Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and (6) Whether the magnitude of any identified commercial interest to the requestor is sufficiently large in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor. As a requester, you bear the burden under FOIA of showing that the fee waiver requirements have been met.  Based on my review of your August 31, 2015 letter and for the reasons stated herein, I have determined that your fee waiver request is deficient because your request did not satisfy factors 4, 5, and 6.  Since your request for a fee waiver has failed to satisfy each of the required factors, I am denying your fee waiver request. Provisions of the FOIA allow us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request.  We shall charge you for records in accordance with the DHS Interim FOIA regulations as they apply to non-commercial requesters.  As a non-commercial requester, you will be charged 10 cents per page for duplication; the first 100 pages are free, as are the first two hours of search time, after which you will pay the per quarter-hour rate ($4.00 for clerical personnel, $7.00 for professional personnel, $10.25 for managerial personnel) of the searcher.  We will construe the submission of your request as an agreement to pay up to $25.00. You will be contacted before any further fees are accrued. You have the right to appeal the determination to deny your fee waiver request. Should you wish to do so, please send your appeal following the procedures outlined in the DHS regulations at 6 Code of Federal Regulations § 5.9 and a copy of this letter to: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Principal Legal Advisor U.S. Department of Homeland Security Freedom of Information Act Office 500 12th Street, S.W., Stop 5009 Washington, D.C. 20536-5009 Your appeal must be received within 60 days of the date of this letter.  Your envelope and letter should be marked “FOIA Appeal.”  Copies of the FOIA and DHS regulations are available at www.dhs.gov/foia . ICE has queried the appropriate program offices within ICE for responsive records. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for determination of releasability. Please be assured that one of the processors in our office will respond to your request as expeditiously as possible. We appreciate your patience as we proceed with your request.
Your request has been assigned reference number 2015-ICFO-95472. 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 2014-ICFO-XXXXX or 2015-ICFO-XXXXX tracking number. You may contact this office at (866) 633-1182. Our mailing address is 500 12th Street, S.W., Stop 5009, Washington, D.C. 20536-5009. (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

An interim response, stating the request is being processed.

October 15, 2015
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Office
800 North Capitol Street, NW, Room 585
Washington, DC 20536-5009

This is a follow up to request number 2015-ICFO-95472:

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 21, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2015-ICFO-95472.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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On Sept. 15, 2015:
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
---

Good afternoon,

Your request is currently assigned to an analyst for review.

Sincerely,
ICE/FOIA

Good afternoon,

This request is under an analyst review.

Sincerely,
ICE/FOIA

Good morning, Mr. Lipton:

Your FOIA/PA request in still in-progress, and in the final stage(s) of processing and response.

Please know that we will processing your request as expeditiously as possible. Upon completion of the processing, all documents that can be released will be made available to you at the earliest possible date. We apologize for the delay you are experiencing and appreciate your continued patience. Your request has been assigned reference number 2015-ICFO-95472. Please refer to this identifier in any future correspondence.

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: 1-866-633-1182v
Visit our FOIA website at www.ice.gov/foia<http://www.ice.gov/foia>

Good afternoon,

This request is under an analyst review.

Sincerely,
ICE/FOIA