ICE Patrol (Department of Homeland Security)
| Tracking # |
2018-ICFO-45234 |
| Multi Request | ICE Patrol |
| Submitted | June 22, 2018 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Memos, emails, letters, documents, damage assessments and other reports mentioning or relating to "ICE Patrol," the WikiLeaks publication of ICE employee's information. Please include in but do not limit the response to materials on the prior publication by "Sam Lavigne."
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities. I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the Internet Archive and MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.
Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross- section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media.
Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
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,
Emma Best
From: Department of Homeland Security
June 25, 2018 Emma Best MuckRock News DEPT MR 56576 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144-2516 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2018-ICFO-45234 Dear Ms. Best: This acknowledges receipt of your June 25, 2018, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for all records pertaining to memos, emails, letters, documents, damage assessments and other reports mentioning or relating to "ICE Patrol," the WikiLeaks publication of ICE employee's information. Please include in but do not limit the response to materials on the prior publication by "Sam Lavigne". Your request was received in this office on June 25, 2018. 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. 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 media requesters. As a media requester, you will be charged 10 cents per page for duplication; the first 100 pages are free. 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. We have 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 2018-ICFO-45234. 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 2017-ICFO-XXXXX or 2018-ICFO-XXXXX 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, Fernando Pineiro, 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: Department of Homeland Security
June 25, 2018 Emma Best MuckRock News DEPT MR 56576 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144-2516 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2018-ICFO-45234
This e-mail is in regards to your June 25, 2018 ICE FOIA request for all records pertaining to memos, emails, letters, documents, damage assessments and other reports mentioning or relating to "ICE Patrol," the WikiLeaks publication of ICE employee's information. Please include in but do not limit the response to materials on the prior publication by "Sam Lavigne".
In conducting a search for responsive records, the ICE FOIA office has determined that further clarification is needed regarding your request. It is unclear what is being requested. Please reword your request. 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 30 days, your request will be administratively closed.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA
From: Emma North-Best
How is the request vague and unclear? I specify both the subject matter and type of records. The date range is easy to infer. Your request that I rephrase it is vague, and it is unclear what you are requesting me to do.
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 June 22, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2018-ICFO-45234.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Homeland Security
Good afternoon,
Your request 2018-ICFO-45234 is currently on hold due to needed clarification. We sent you a clarification request on June 25, 2018. Please send us the clarification asked for in the original email which has been copied below.
Sincerely, ICE FOIA
June 25, 2018 Emma Best MuckRock News DEPT MR 56576 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144-2516 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2018-ICFO-45234
This e-mail is in regards to your June 25, 2018 ICE FOIA request for all records pertaining to memos, emails, letters, documents, damage assessments and other reports mentioning or relating to "ICE Patrol," the WikiLeaks publication of ICE employee's information. Please include in but do not limit the response to materials on the prior publication by "Sam Lavigne".
In conducting a search for responsive records, the ICE FOIA office has determined that further clarification is needed regarding your request. It is unclear what is being requested. Please reword your request. 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 30 days, your request will be administratively closed.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA
From: Emma North-Best
I responded on the same day, asking for clarification about how the request was vague or unclear. I received no response. Please, help me help 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 June 22, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2018-ICFO-45234.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Homeland Security
Good afternoon,
Your request 2018-ICFO-45234 is currently on hold due to needed clarification. We sent you a clarification request on June 25, 2018. Please send us the clarification asked for in the original email which has been copied below.
Sincerely, ICE FOIA
June 25, 2018 Emma Best MuckRock News DEPT MR 56576 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144-2516 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2018-ICFO-45234
This e-mail is in regards to your June 25, 2018 ICE FOIA request for all records pertaining to memos, emails, letters, documents, damage assessments and other reports mentioning or relating to "ICE Patrol," the WikiLeaks publication of ICE employee's information. Please include in but do not limit the response to materials on the prior publication by "Sam Lavigne".
In conducting a search for responsive records, the ICE FOIA office has determined that further clarification is needed regarding your request. It is unclear what is being requested. Please reword your request. 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 30 days, your request will be administratively closed.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA
From: Emma North-Best
The request is clear! I asked you to clarify what was unclear to you, and you refused to answer! Process the request or explain your confusion!
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 June 22, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2018-ICFO-45234.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Homeland Security
Good afternoon,
Your record has been administratively closed due to the request for clarification had not been received.
Respectfully,
ICE-FOIA
-
~WRD286
From: Emma North-Best
I am appealing the decision to close the request.
1. I was asked for clarification, but not told about what.
2. I inquired on in an email on October 1st about what was unclear, but received no response.
3. No notice of the closure was provided.
From: Department of Homeland Security
Ms. Best,
ICE's final response to your FOIA request, 2019-ICAP-00165, for Appealing Administrative Closure 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
Files
pages