"The Gotaway" Video
| Tracking # |
CBP-AP-2022-010663 CBP-2021-109225 |
| Submitted | Sept. 21, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Nicholas Marritz
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
BACKGROUND:
In 2020, CBP posted a three-minute video to its Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter pages called "The Gotaway." The video, which was produced by CBP's El Centro sector, shows a Spanish-speaking attacker stabbing and killing a man in a dark alley after escaping from U.S. agents, a clip apparently created to dramatize President Trump’s depiction of migrants as fearsome criminals. The video ends with the lurid image of the stabbing victim bleeding and dying on the ground. “Every apprehension matters,” a message on screen reads. “Do you know who got away?” CBP tagged a number of far-right outlets in the post, including Breitbart, the Daily Caller, and The Blaze, and also included the hashtag #americafirst, President Trump's campaign slogan.
Records Requested:
1. "The Gotaway" video itself and
2. All records related to FOIA requests and CBP-2020-078200 and CBP-AP-2021-090566, including all records generated in the processing of those requests.
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,
Nicholas Marritz
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=CBP-2021-109225&type=request)
* Tracking Number: CBP-2021-109225
* Requester Name: Nicholas Marritz
* Date Submitted: 09/23/2021
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
BACKGROUND:
In 2020, CBP posted a three-minute video to its Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter pages called "The Gotaway." The video, which was produced by CBP's El Centro sector, shows a Spanish-speaking attacker stabbing and killing a man in a dark alley after escaping from U.S. agents, a clip apparently created to dramatize President Trump’s depiction of migrants as fearsome criminals. The video ends with the lurid image of the stabbing victim bleeding and dying on the ground. “Every apprehension matters,” a message on screen reads. “Do you know who got away?” CBP tagged a number of far-right outlets in the post, including Breitbart, the Daily Caller, and The Blaze, and also included the hashtag #americafirst, President Trump's campaign slogan.
Records Requested:
1. "The Gotaway" video itself and
2. All records related to FOIA requests and CBP-2020-078200 and CBP-AP-2021-090566, including all records generated in the processing of those requests.
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,
Nicholas Marritz
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
CBP-2021-109225 has been processed with the following final disposition: Partial Grant/Partial Denial.
Given the nature of this request, some records are only being released to you as the requester. If you have an account in FOIAonline, you may access those records by [FOIAONLINE_HOME]. Otherwise, those responsive records will be sent via the method agreed upon with the FOIA processor.
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CBP-2021-109225_Records
From: Nicholas Marritz
Dear CBP:
INTRODUCTION
I am appealing CBP's response to my FOIA request CBP-2021-109225. The request concerns a video produced by U.S. Border Patrol's El Centro Division titled "The Gotaway." My request asked CBP to produce the video itself, as well as all records related to two of my previous "Gotaway"-related FOIA requests, which had been assigned the file numbers CBP-2020-078200 and CBP-AP-2021-090566—including all records generated in the processing of those previous requests. I filed my most recent "Gotaway"-related FOIA request not to make more work for your agency; I filed it solely to make the responsive records easily accessible to the general public via MuckRock.com, an online FOIA-response repository.
REASONS FOR APPEAL
1. The email records that CBP produced in response to CBP-2021-109225 contain redactions that your office has already found to be inappropriate (see CBP-AP-2021-090566). CBP should have produced the documents without those offending redactions.
2. CBP did not produce any records related to my prior appeal (CBP-AP-2021-090566), such as the detailed legal memorandum that your office produced in the course of deciding that appeal.
3. CBP's written response to CBP-2021-109225 is vague. The agency writes: "Given the nature of this request, some records are only being released to you as the requester. If you have an account in FOIAonline, you may access those records by [FOIAONLINE_HOME]. Otherwise, those responsive records will be sent via the method agreed upon with the FOIA processor." This response is confusing. What is it about "the nature of this request" that led CBP to break up the documents in this way? (If it's because the records contain information personal to me, feel free to redact that information.) Also, the response refers to "some records." Which ones? Finally, the response refers to "the method agreed upon with the FOIA processor." What method is that, and where do I look for the records?
Kindly clarify.
4. "The Gotaway" video itself was not produced, even though I made sure to specifically request it this time.
Thank you very much for your consideration of this appeal.
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
The FOIA
appeal
- CBP-AP-2022-010663 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:
* Tracking Number: CBP-AP-2022-010663
* Requester: Nicholas Marritz
* Submitted Date: 11/02/2021
* Description:
please see attachment.
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
Nicholas Marritz:
Your letter dated September 28, 2021, was received in this office on November 2, 2021, wherein you appeal FOIA Division's determination under tracking number CBP-2021-109225. The tracking number assigned to your appeal is CBP-AP-2022-010663. Your appeal will be assigned to a member of the Appeals Office for processing.
For future FOIA submissions to CBP, we are recommending that you create a FOIA Online account. This will allow you to submit appeals online in a timely manner.
Sincerely,
Lynette Carter, FOIA Appeals
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
Appeal decision letter for CBP-AP-2022-010663 and part of the release (seven PDF files) are attached. Remaining released records (one PDF file) could not be attached due to the size of the file, and will be emailed separately as Part 2 of 2.
You can also view the decision letter for CBP-AP-2022-010663 and released records by logging in to FOIAonline.
The released records are also publicly available through FOIAonline and can be viewed at the following link (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=CBP-AP-2022-010663&type=request).
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
As noted in email Part 1 of 2, the appeal decision letter for CBP-AP-2022-010663 and part of the release (seven PDF files) were provided. Remaining released records (one PDF file) is attached.
You can also view the decision letter for CBP-AP-2022-010663 and released records by logging in to FOIAonline.
The released records are also publicly available through FOIAonline and can be viewed at the following link (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=CBP-AP-2022-010663&type=request).
Files
pages