Records for Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion (Deceased) (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
| Tracking # |
2018-ICFO-44591 |
| Multi Request | Records for Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion (Deceased) |
| Submitted | June 8, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Matthew Hoppock
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
The agency's records related to Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion, 34, who died while being deported to Eritrea after spending over a year in ICE Detention facilities.
Proof of his death is here, a copy of which is attached:
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-detainee-passes-away-transit-home-country
Mr. Testfatsion had been in ICE custody since Feb. 2, 2017, following his arrest at a United States port of entry while attempting to apply for asylum in the United States. In October 2017, a federal immigration judge ordered Testfatsion removed from the U.S.
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,
Matthew Hoppock
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
A no responsive documents response.
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
June 21, 2018 Matthew Hoppock Filed via MuckRock.com requests@muckrock.com (mailto:requests@muckrock.com) RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2018-ICFO-44591 Dear Mr. Hoppock: This acknowledges receipt of your June 10, 2018, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for agency's records related to Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion, 34, who died while being deported to Eritrea after spending over a year in ICE Detention facilities (see request for details). Your request was received in this office on June 10, 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 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. 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-44591. 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 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: Matthew Hoppock
Today we received a request for proof of death.
ICE has already confirmed death in its press release:
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-detainee-passes-away-transit-home-country
I'm attaching a copy. Your letter did not purport to deny the request, so please consider this our response and please accept your agency's statements about the death of Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion while being deported. Please produce the responsive records ASAP.
Matthew L. Hoppock
From: Matthew Hoppock
Good morning. To assist you in locating his records, I'm including a habeas petition he filed before he died. It lists his alien number as A212-903-961.
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 8, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
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 June 8, 2018. 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: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Mr. Hoppock,
ICE's final response to your FOIA request, 2018-ICFO-44591, for agency's records related to Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion, 34, who died while being deported to Eritrea after spending over a year in ICE Detention facilities (see request for details) is attached.
PleaseSincerely,
ICE FOIA
-
2018-ICFO-44591
From: Matthew Hoppock
The agency performed an inadequate search. The determination letter says you searched for records at the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. We asked for all of ICE's records on Mr. Zeresenay Ermias Testfatsion, not just those possessed by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
There are no relevant exemptions. The subject of these records died in ICE custody. His records should be produced.
From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
A fix is required to perfect the request.
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