Processing BIA New Hires FOIA & EOIR Comms re IG Report
| Tracking # |
2023-03214 A-2022-01381 2022-32662 A-2022-01380 2022-32662 |
| Submitted | April 7, 2022 |
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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:
On behalf of the #DetentionKills Transparency Initiative of Al Otro Lado, I request:
1. All agency records, including, but not limited to, emails, Skype messages, text messages, Slack messages, voicemails, faxes, and any other written communication regarding the FOIA request assigned tracking number 2019-53072, and appeal number DOJ-App-2020-001118.
2. Any DOJ FOIA Appeal log containing DOJ-APP-2020-001118.
3. Any communication between DOJ FOIA Appeals and EOIR regarding the scope of an appropriately tasked search on remand.
4. Any record of communication (including, but not limited to, the means of communication described above) regarding DOJ-OIG Management Advisory Memorandum 22-016 (available at https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/22-061.pdf) (the “MAM”) created on or after March 30, 2022. At minimum, please task David Neal and all staff who would have received the MAM, as well as every BIA Member appointed between January 21, 2017, and January 20, 2021.
5. Any record of communication, as described above, regarding DOJ-OIG Investigative Summary 22-059. Available at https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/22-059.pdf. Please task, at minimum, the same actors listed in #4 above.
6. All notifications from DOJ/EOIR-FOIA to EOIR management OR Main Justice regarding FOIA requests consider “high-profile” or of-interest, or bearing any other unique identifier or descriptor distinguishing the FOIA request(s) at issue in the notification from other FOIA requests received by EOIR-FOIA. Please use a temporal scope of January 21, 2017 to January 20, 2021 for this Item.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if any of the above can be clarified in a manner that ensures prompt access to these records.
Many thanks,
Andrew Free
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: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Re: 2022-32662 DearAndrew Free, This message is inresponse to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for agency recordsrelating to the above-referenced individual. In order tofacilitate the delivery of your documents when they become ready, we havecreated an account for you within our Public Access Link (PAL). When yourdocuments are ready for delivery, they will be sent to you via electronicallydelivery to your PAL account, and you will be notified of the delivery. Youmust follow the steps below to access electronically delivered documents in thePAL. If you are the respondent or the respondent’s representative, you may now request your ROP directly from the court/BIA per the instructions here: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ROPrequest (https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ROPrequest) . To take advantage of this alternate method, please withdraw your FOIA and follow the instructions on the webpage. If you are a party to a case before an immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals, you may now request your ROP directly from the court/BIA per the instructions here: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ROPrequest (https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ROPrequest) . To take advantage of this alternate method, please withdraw your FOIA request and follow the instructions on the webpage. IMPORTANT Within the next 24hours, you should receive at least two emails. The first email will state thatan existing profile with your email address has been located and a temporarypassword has been created. The second email will provide you with the temporarypassword. As soon as you receive those emails, please go to the PAL at https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/app/Home.aspxand complete the following steps: (https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/app/Home.aspx)
* Click “Sign In.”
* Click “Forgot User Name or Password?”
* Type in your email address, which must be the same email address that is referenced in the emails you received, and click “Recover User Name.”
* Check your email for the verification code. Then, enter the verification code in the box where prompted and click “Recover user Name.”
* Check your email for the User Name.
* Click “Sign In.”
* Enter the User Name and temporary password you received in the previous email. Then, click “Sign In.”
* Set up your “Hint Question” and “Hint Answer.” Click “Change Password” to update the temporary password to a password of your choosing. (Use the temporary password for the “Old Password” field.) If you did notreceive the emails or have any trouble with your PAL account, please contactthe EOIR FOIA Public Liaison at EOIR.FOIARequests@usdoj.gov. If you cannot usethe PAL, please contact the EOIR FOIA Public Liaison above to make alternatearrangements for delivery. Note that non-PAL delivery will require specialhandling and documents may be delayed. Sincerely, FOIA Intake
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free, An existing profile with 'requests@muckrock.com' has been located. Therefore, a temporary password has been issued and sent to the email address provided. Once you've logged in using the temporary password, please click My Account in the top toolbar to update your profile and change your password.
Regards,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
Your request has been received by the DOJ-EOIR PAL.
The request has been assigned tracking # '2022-33727', please log into your account and review your submission.
Please use this link to login and check the status of your request: https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/.
Kind Regards,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
DearAndrew Free:
Yourpreviously acknowledged FOIA Request 2022-32662 containedelements that we determined could be processed more efficiently as a separateFOIA request. Therefore, we have split the items requesting communications about memos from the original request and assigned it anadditional FOIA number.
Thisresponse acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requestby the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) dated 04/07/2022 andreceived 04/07/2022. Your request has been assigned control number2022-33700.
TheFOIA requires an agency to respond within 20 working days after receipt of therequest, and EOIR endeavors to meet this standard. The FOIA permits a ten-dayextension of this time period, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B), based onunusual circumstances. Your request involves “unusual circumstances,” and EOIRis extending the time period to respond by an additional 10 working daysbecause your request requires the collection of records from field offices, orinvolves a search, collection, and review of voluminous records, or requiresconsultation with another agency or two or more agency components.
Pleasebe advised that due to necessary operational changes as a result of thenational emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)outbreak, there may be significant delay in the processing of your request.
EOIRFOIA requests are placed in one of three tracks. Track one is for thoserequests that seek and receive expedited processing pursuant to subsection(a)(6)(E) of the FOIA. Track two is for simple requests that do not involvevoluminous records or lengthy consultations with other entities. Track three isfor complex requests that involve voluminous records and for which lengthy ornumerous consultations are required, or those requests that may involvesensitive records. Your request has been placed in track three for complexrequests.
Ifyou have filed an application for a fee waiver, EOIR will address your requestin a separate letter. Additionally, if you have requested expedited processing,EOIR will contact you in a separate letter.
Ifyou have any questions regarding unusual circumstances, you may contact theEOIR FOIA Service Center or FOIA Public Liaison at (703) 605-1297 to discussreformulation or an alternative time frame to process your request, or for anyfurther assistance regarding any aspect of your request. Alternatively,you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at theNational Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIAmediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows:Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and RecordsAdministration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at(877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769.
Sincerely,
FOIAIntake
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Free,
I am contacting you in regards to your FOIA request 2022-33700, which is the FOIA number that was split out from FOIA request 2022-32662. FOIA request 2022-33700 pertains to items 4 and 5 of your original request, specifically, communications regarding DOJ-OIG Management Advisory Memorandum 22-016 (the "MAM") and DOJ-OIG Investigative Summary 22-059.
From: Andrew Free
Okay. I’ve received this contact. Is there a step you’d like me to take or information you require?
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Mr. Free,
I see you replied to my email about 2022-33700 (the split out request covering items 4 and 5 of your original request), but your reply stated that you were following up to 2022-32662 (the original request). I have described in detail the information needed in my last email in regards to 2022-33700. If you’d prefer to discuss that on the phone, please feel free to call my cell number or let me know a good time and number where I can reach you. Otherwise, you could let me know by email if you accept what I have proposed or have a different proposal for the search.
If you have questions about 2022-32662 (the original request covering the other items), it would be best to contact Joseph Schaaf (copied here), as he is covering that request.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Andrew Free
After review, I hereby appeal the adequacy of the search and all redactions.
There are attachments omitted and documented referenced which would be responsive to this request, and have been obviously excluded.
I further appeal the referral of records to “JMD” and other agencies as untimely and waived. Referrals do not discharge the agency’s responsibility for complying with the Act.
Please remand with instructions produce the referred documents without further delay.
Thank you very much,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
From: Andrew Free
Ms. Gardner:
I have separately emailed you and Mr. Schaaf the following message, with subject line “2022-33700 / : 2022-32662”
*******
Ms. Gardner:
I am writing to follow up on your communications regarding the above-referenced FOIA requests.
First, can you please provide the statutory authority from which EOIR FOIA claims the ability “split” a single FOIA request into two requests? The language of the statute couches the individualized tracking number obligation in the singular — not the plural. See 5 USC 552(a)(7)(A):
(7)Each agency shall—
(A)establish a system to assign an individualized tracking number for each request received that will take longer than ten days to process and provide to each person making a request the tracking number assigned to the request; and
What is the claimed legal basis of assigning my request TWO individualized tracking numbers?
Second, because EOIR’ request-splitting procedure has confused the MuckRock platform through which I made the request and caused unnecessary confusion and delay (See: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/processing-bia-new-hires-foia-eoir-comms-re-ig-report-127328/#comm-1288531), can you please reply to this email address all prior communications you and Mr. Schaaf have sent regarding my request? I suspect there is a message you sent that is not included in the chain reflected on the MuckRock page.
I will be happy to field questions upon receipt.
Many thanks,
Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
The status of your FOIA/PA request #2022-32662 has been updated to the following status 'In Process'. To log into the DOJ - EOIR - PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/
Sincerely,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Andrew Free
Dear Ms. Gardiner:
I am in receipt of and have reviewed your email dated May 10, 2022 regarding Items 4 and 5 of my request, which EOIR FOIA has assigned tracking number 2022-33700. I tried calling your cell, but there was no answer, and no voicemail set up. So I’m responding here.
First, we are unwilling to narrow our request to only include communications to or from David Neal and his proxies. With respect to Item 4 of the request — the March 30, 2022 Management Advisory Memorandum — we are also seeking to understand what Board Members who owe their current jobs to the process described in the Memorandum may have responded to it. Knowing what those Members, and others currently sitting on the Board, said and did in response to this report is part of our aim in filing this request. The IG says there was not enough evidence to prove political favoritism. What was the Board Members’ and other senior EOIR staff’s reaction to that? Your proposal wouldn’t allow us to find out. So we reject it.
Second, because we understand that these men are not new to government service, and historically, EOIR personnel have (unsuccessfully) used Skype and other messenger services to evade disclosure under standard FOIA searches (see: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/eoir-foia-e-mails-for-2018-66793/#file-787229), we are not willing to narrow our search to emails only. Instead, we want what the statute entitles us: all reasonably segregable portions of responsive, non-exempt agency records.
Third, DOJ’s assertion that a because a search for the records described would be “unduly burdensome” in the agency’s estimation, the request did not “reasonably describe” the records we seek is inconsistent with the text, purpose, and authority interpretation FOIA. (See: https://www.justice.gov/archive/oip/courtdecisions/reasonably-described-records.html) Rather, the proper test under the law is whether EOIR has enough information to decipher what records we’re seeking. The fact that seeking these records creates a burden EOIR considers undue is irrelevant to EOIR’s statutory obligations. You know what records I’ve asked for because you’ve specifically proposed limitations to the searches you’d conduct in response. One can’t propose to limit something without understanding the larger thing being limited. And because your email displays a thorough understanding of the records we seek, claiming we didn’t reasonably describe those records is in contravention of the FOIA.
Fourth, as to Item 5, I am seeking any record of communication, as described above, regarding DOJ-OIG Investigative Summary 22-059. And we are seeking those records from David Neal and his designees, as well as all Board Members. Nothing about this request is unclear or warrants further explanation. Putting the request on hold to “clarify” it prompts significant worry on our part that the DOJ is seeking to stall its response. Of course, if EOIR wished to respond promptly it could simply task a search of the individuals described in the request. But it didn’t. Why not?
If we do not receive confirmation from you in writing by the end of this week (May 20) that EOIR will task searches responsive to both of these requests, we intend to treat EOIR’s response as a constructive denial and preserve our right to challenge that denial through administrative appeal and, if necessary, action in federal court.
Thank you for seeking clarification. Please start processing our requests, as your agency is obliged to do under federal law.
Thank you,
Andrew
For clarity and transparency in the MuckRock platform, I am pasting the entirety of your communication below.
****************
EOIR’s May 10, 2022 Email:
I am contacting you in regards to your FOIA request 2022-33700, which is the FOIA number that was split out from FOIA request 2022-32662. FOIA request 2022-33700 pertains to items 4 and 5 of your original request, specifically, communications regarding DOJ-OIG Management Advisory Memorandum 22-016 (the “MAM”) and DOJ-OIG Investigative Summary 22-059. On April 19, 2022, I attempted to send you an email from our FOIA processing system to discuss the details of 2022-33700 and try to better respond to your request. Unfortunately, I just discovered that during that time, we had intermittent problems with communications exiting the system. In short, the email I wrote you never got sent to you, as far as I can see. I sincerely apologize for this technical issue and any delay it has caused. I am emailing you now directly from Outlook, so hopefully we will not have any more dropped communications. I do still need to discuss the items in your request so that I can make sure I am getting you what you need. Below are the two items from your request that I am addressing under 202233700. Please note that we separated these items in order to allow for the original request 2022-32662 to continue to be processed while this portion is on hold for clarification. This was done intentionally for your benefit since we cannot move forward with an unperfected FOIA request and leaving items 4 and 5 within your original FOIA request would have put the entire request to a halt. Your request: 4. Any record of communication (including, but not limited to, the means of communication described above) regarding DOJ-OIG Management Advisory Memorandum 22-016 (available at https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/22061.pdf ) (the “MAM”) created on or after March 30, 2022. At minimum, please task David Neal and all staff who would have received the MAM, as well as every BIA Member appointed between January 21, 2017, and January 20, 2021. 5. Any record of communication, as described above, regarding DOJ-OIG Investigative Summary 22-059. Available at https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/22059.pdf . Please task, at minimum, the same actors listed in #4 above. I would like to better understand exactly what it is you are looking for so we can narrow the search a bit. As you can imagine, searching emails and all other forms of communication for all the possible individuals you listed could become an elaborate and lengthy process with little results from individuals who would be less likely to possess such communications. This would be an undue burden on the agency, but more importantly, a longer wait and less fruitful results for you. In order to make the search more efficient and focus on the most likely locations to house the information, I would like to propose that we conduct a search of David Neal’s email as well as the email of any individual(s) who could act as David Neal’s proxy for transmitting memorandum to staff and BIA members. It is very unlikely that transmission of memos would go out to staff or BIA Members through avenues other than email. Additionally, by searching Director Neal’s (and his proxy’s) emails, we would be able to see the “to” and “from,” which would encompass staff and BIA Members. Please let me know if you would agree to this narrowing of the scope of your request. If not, please provide more information about the exact information you are looking for so I can get you what you need more efficiently. Since we need to clarify your request, I have placed it on hold. Below is our standard language for “on hold” cases: Because your request would require an unreasonably burdensome search and is therefore, not reasonably described, your request is on hold. Please contact EOIR to clarify your request. If we do not hear from you within 30 calendar days of this notice, we will assume that you are no longer interested and your request will be administratively closed. If you would prefer to discuss by phone, please feel free to reach out to me at my cell phone number below. Additionally, if I have addressed your concerns about splitting requests, which seemed to be the impetus for your subsequent FOIA request 2022-34483, please let me know if you would prefer to withdraw that request. Otherwise, I will respond to 2022-34483 separately.
Sincerely, Jessica I. Gardner
Honors Attorney
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike,
Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Andrew,
Thank you for the clarification! Your response does provide us some missing context to perform the searches. We will take the request off “hold” and continue processing. If we need additional context, I will reach out to you.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
-
image001
From: Andrew Free
Thanks, Ms. Gardner.
I appreciate your confirmation, and apologize for misspelling your last name in our last conversation.
Upon additional reflection, we will agree to narrow our search further to ELIMINATE BIA staff who are NOT serving as Mr. Neal’s proxies for the purpose of these two reports (those listed in Item 4 and Item 5). Put simply, if there is a staffer who, based upon their work with EOIR would have created or received records APART FROM any standard, mass distributed communications about the reports in Item 4 or 5, we’d like that staffer’s email searched. But doing an entire email sweep of the BIA / EOIR staff in Falls Church is unnecessary, and we affirmatively limit our request so that the agency need not conduct such a search. Hopefully that will move things forward a little more easily.
We do, however, still want each Board MEMBER’s communications searched (i.e., not STAFF).
We may have additional ideas for narrowing if you can let us know the systems architecture EOIR uses for communications. For instance, if you’re searching a centralized email server, we would be willing to negotiate and affirmatively agree in advance on custodians and terms. Perhaps that’s what you’re thinking, too? Please let me know.
Best regards,
Andrew
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
The status of your FOIA/PA request #2022-33700 has been updated to the following status 'In Process'. To log into the DOJ - EOIR - PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/
Sincerely,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Andrew,
Thank you for your reply. I have tasked OIT with searching Director Neal’s communications as listed in your original request. Most EOIR communications can be found by email, which I believe is on a centralized email server, but may also exist in Microsoft Teams. I am not aware of anyone using Slack or Skype, but OIT can confirm all of these specifics for us and will have to in order to conduct their search. For the terms, I simply asked for mentions of “Investigative Summary 22-059” and “Management Advisory Memorandum 22-016.” I removed the “DOJ-OIG” as that could cause many unresponsive communications to pull in since those are acronyms we use too frequently.
I have also put a request in to the Director’s office to identify any staffers that would be appropriate to search based on your previous email.
Finally, I put in a search request to the BIA to identify the members you requested to be searched.
Once I have the staffers and the BIA members identified, I can task OIT to search their communications as well. Please let me know if you have any updates based on this information. If we can help OIT narrow their search, they will provide us with clearer results, which will ultimately help me to get those results to you faster.
Also, I am very sorry about my voicemail not working. I am working on getting that resolved with OIT. In the meantime, if you want to discuss by phone, please let me know your number and any time you have for a call so we can set something up.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Andrew Free
Ms. Gardner,
No worries. Thanks very much. Want to check in about three weeks from now and see where we are? Maybe like June 10?
Best,
Andrew
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Andrew,
That’s perfect. I’ll set a reminder and reach out with an update by June 10, if not sooner.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Andrew Free
Great. Talk then!
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Free: This correspondence is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 04/19/2022 to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in which you seek records regarding the processing of FOIA 2019-53072 and its appeal. A search was conducted and one or more records responsive to your request were located. We are granting partial access to the responsive record(s). Additional documents were located containing equities belong to the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and/or subordinate Offices. Per Departmental policy, these documents have been referred to the Office for Information Policy for direct response to you. Note that EOIR FOIA does not normally provide "high visibility" reports to the Office of the Director. Several one-off documents were located and are included in the release. Portions of the enclosed records have been redacted in accordance with FOIA Exemption 5, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), which concerns certain inter- and intra-agency communications protected by the deliberative process privilege. the attorney work-product doctrine and/or the attorney-client privilege. Additionally, portions of the enclosed records have been redacted in accordance with FOIA Exemption 6, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6), which concerns material the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of third parties. Finally, portions of the enclosed records have been redacted in accordance with FOIA Exemption 7E, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E), which concerns records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes the release of which would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions. FOIA Exemption 7E extends protection of information related to agency technology systems. See Levinthal v. FEC , 219 F.Supp.3d 1, 9 (D.D.C. 2016).
Please be advised that we have considered the foreseeable harm standard when reviewing records and applying FOIA exemptions. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c) (2006 & Supp. IV 2010). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. See http://www.justice.gov/oip/foiapost/2012foiapost9.html. You may contact the EOIR FOIA Public Liaison by e-mail at EOIR.FOIARequests@USDOJ.GOV or by telephone number (703) 605-1297 for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Please reference the FOIA control number. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. If you are not satisfied with the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s determination in response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, 441 G Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, or you may submit an appeal through OIP’s FOIA STAR portal by creating an account following the instructions on OIP’s website: https://www.justice.gov/oip/submit-and-track-request-or-appeal. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of this response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the correspondence and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
Sincerely,
Joseph Schaaf
Supervisory Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
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2022-32662
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
The Office of Information Policy has received your FOIA Appeal. Please see the attached acknowledgment letter.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
The Office of Information Policy has received your FOIA Appeal. Please see the attached acknowledgment letter.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Good morning, Andrew,
I’m just checking in to let you know that the search is progressing as normal. I have located some communications, and I am waiting on the last group now. Once I have received all communications, I will need to conduct an analysis before releasing anything. I am hoping to hit our target date of July 1. Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime, and I will keep you updated if anything changes.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------
Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642 (Main Line)
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Good afternoon, Andrew,
I just wanted to check in as tomorrow was our target date for 2022-33700 (originally from 2022-32662). Although I managed to hit my target of redacting the responsive documents, I discovered in the process that there are a mix of certain emails that must be referred to other entities for consultation and/or release. Therefore, we will need more time to parse through those records and send to those entities. I will release the items that I am able to as soon as that parsing is done. Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Andrew Free
Sounds good. Appreciate your follow-up and this information. Want to check in on 7/15?
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
The Office of Information Policy has made its final determination on your FOIA Appeal Number A-2022-01381 . A copy of this determination is enclosed for your review, along with any enclosures, if applicable. Thank you.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Good morning, Andrew,
Thank you for your reply. I should have another update for you by July 15.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
Documents requested by you were delivered by PAL. Please access https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/ to download the documents.
Note: In order to access the https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/, use your login that have been made activated by the agency, and the password which was sent in confidence to your email ID when registering with the Public Access Service of the agency.
Regards,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Hello Andrew,
I wanted to email you directly in case you did not see the delivery of 2022-33700 (items 4 and 5 of your original request 2022-32662). I electronically delivered the documents to your PAL account at DOJ - EOIR - PAL-Home (justice.gov)<https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/app/Home.aspx> on 07/06/2022. My apologies for the spacing in my response letter. It looked perfectly normal when I wrote it but somehow acquired extra spaces between the paragraphs when it was delivered by the system.
Your login ID to PAL is AFree_127328-50120860. If you do not know the password, click “Sign In,” then “Forgot User Name or Password,” enter the email address requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com> and click “Reset Password.” A temporary password will be emailed to you at requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>, which you can change immediately after logging in. Once you are logged in, you will also see your documents ready for download under the “Request Status” section for request 2022-33700.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jessica I. Gardner
Attorney Advisor
Assistant Program Manager for Process Improvement
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Department of Justice
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600
Falls Church, VA 22041
Cell: (571) 265-0876
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2022-33700_20425
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
Once you login, please change your password to protect your account details.
User Name: AFree_127328-50120860
Password: 05t!mQSG
Regards,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Andrew Free
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Andrew Free
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Hello:
Attached is the OIG's acknowledgment of your FOIA referral.
Thank you.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------
Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642 (Main Line)
From:
Dear Andrew Free,
The status of your FOIA/PA request #2022-33700 has been updated to the following status 'In Process'. To log into the DOJ - EOIR - PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foia-qc.eoir.justice.gov/
Sincerely,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------
Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642 (Main Line)
202-514-1009 (Fax)
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
The Office of Information Policy has made its final determination on your FOIA Appeal Number A-2022-01380 . A copy of this determination is enclosed for your review, along with any enclosures, if applicable. Thank you.
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free: This response acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) dated 10/25/2022 and received 10/25/2022. Your request has been assigned control number 2023-03214. The FOIA requires an agency to respond within 20 working days after receipt of the request, and EOIR endeavors to meet this standard. The FOIA permits a ten-day extension of this time period, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B), based on unusual circumstances. Your request involves “unusual circumstances,” and EOIR is extending the time period to respond by an additional 10 working days because your request requires the collection of records from field offices, or involves a search, collection, and review of voluminous records, or requires consultation with another agency or two or more agency components. Please be advised that due to necessary operational changes as a result of the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, there may be significant delay in the processing of your request. EOIR FOIA requests are placed in one of three tracks. Track one is for those requests that seek and receive expedited processing pursuant to subsection (a)(6)(E) of the FOIA. Track two is for simple requests that do not involve voluminous records or lengthy consultations with other entities. Track three is for complex requests that involve voluminous records and for which lengthy or numerous consultations are required, or those requests that may involve sensitive records. Your request has been placed in track three for complex requests. If you have filed an application for a fee waiver, EOIR will address your request in a separate letter. Additionally, if you have requested expedited processing, EOIR will contact you in a separate letter. If you have any questions regarding unusual circumstances, you may contact the EOIR FOIA Service Center or FOIA Public Liaison at (703) 605-1297 to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame to process your request, or for any further assistance regarding any aspect of your request. Alternatively, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. Sincerely, FOIA Intake
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
This response acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Your request has been assigned control number 2023-03214.
Please be advised that the status of requests submitted through the Public Access Link (PAL) may be tracked at https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/app/Home.aspx (https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/app/Home.aspx) , and you will receive an email response to your request upon completion of processing. The status of requests submitted by email or mail may not be trackable through the PAL, but you will still receive an email or mailed response to your request upon completion of processing. Please ensure the email address you provided in PAL will be able to receive the messages we send you. Messages rejected by your email account will not be rerouted to you
Note that parties to immigration cases (including respondents and their representatives of record) have the option to request their Record of Proceedings directly from the immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals. Please see the instructions here: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ROPrequest. (https://www.justice.gov/eoir/ROPrequest)
Please be advised that due to necessary operational changes as a result of the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, there may be significant delay in the processing of your request.
If you have filed a fee waiver request, EOIR will address the fee waiver in a separate letter. Most requests for records of proceedings do not require any fees; however, if the fees for processing the request are estimated to exceed $25.00, EOIR will notify you before processing the request to determine whether you will commit to paying the fee or whether you wish to narrow the scope of your request to reduce the fee. Fees may be charged for searching records at the rate of $4.75 (administrative)/$10.00 (professional) per quarter hour, and for duplication of copies at the rate of $.05 per copy. The first 100 copies and two hours of search time are not charged, and charges must exceed $25.00 before we will charge a fee.
The FOIA requires an agency to respond within 20 working days after receipt of the request, and EOIR endeavors to meet this standard. The FOIA permits a ten-day extension of this time period, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B), based on unusual circumstances. Your request involves “unusual circumstances,” and EOIR is extending the time period to respond by an additional 10 working days because your request requires the collection of records from field offices, or involves a search, collection, and review of voluminous records, or requires consultation with another agency or two or more agency components.
EOIR FOIA requests are placed in one of three tracks. Track one is for those requests that seek and receive expedited processing pursuant to subsection (a)(6)(E) of the FOIA. Track two is for simple requests that do not involve voluminous records or lengthy consultations with other entities. Track three is for complex requests that involve voluminous records and for which lengthy or numerous consultations are required, or those requests that may involve sensitive records. As a matter of default, your request has been placed in track two for simple requests. If you have requested expedited processing, EOIR will contact you in a separate letter.
If you have any questions regarding unusual circumstances, you may contact the EOIR FOIA Service Center or FOIA Public Liaison at (703) 605-1297 or EOIR.FOIArequests@usdoj.gov to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame to process your request, or for any further assistance regarding any aspect of your request. Alternatively, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769.
Sincerely,
FOIA Intake
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Andrew Free,
The status of your FOIA/PA request #2023-03214 has been updated to the following status 'In Process.' To log into the DOJ - EOIR - PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foia.eoir.justice.gov/
Sincerely,
DOJ-EOIR PAL
From: Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review
Dear Mr. Free: This correspondence is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request 2022-32662, partially remanded by the Office for Information Policy 10/25/2022 and reassigned FOIA# 2023-03214. The attached documents are reissued, less certain redactions. ortions of the records have been redacted in accordance with FOIA Exemption 6, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6), which concerns material the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of third parties. Please be advised that we have considered the foreseeable harm standard when reviewing records and applying FOIA exemptions. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c) (2006 & Supp. IV 2010). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. See http://www.justice.gov/oip/foiapost/2012foiapost9.html. You may contact the EOIR FOIA Public Liaison by e-mail at EOIR.FOIARequests@USDOJ.GOV or by telephone number (703) 605-1297 for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Please reference the FOIA control number. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. If you are not satisfied with the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s determination in response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, 441 G Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, or you may submit an appeal through OIP’s FOIA STAR portal by creating an account following the instructions on OIP’s website: https://www.justice.gov/oip/submit-and-track-request-or-appeal. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of this response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the correspondence and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
Sincerely,
Joseph Schaaf
Supervisory Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
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2023-03214
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