8/14/2019 CASA FOIA Request About 7-Eleven Raid - Second Supplemental Response Letter (2/25/09)

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February 25, 2009

CASA de Maryland734 University Boulevard ESilver Spring, MD 20903Re: FOIA Request Number 08-4136Dear

U.S. Department of Homeland Security425 I Street. NWWashington, DC 20536u.s. Immigrationand CustomsEnforcement

This letter is the second supplement to our November 21, 2008 response to your Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) request to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). You haverequested copies ofthe following documents:

1. The investigation, arrest and detention of approximately 24 individuals in the City ofBaltimore, Maryland, in or near the 7-Eleven parking lot on or near the comer ofBroadwayand Lombard Street, on or about January 23, 2007;2. Any communication relating to the January 23, 2007 enforcement action in Baltimore,Maryland, before, during or after the action occurred, from or to any office or employee ofImmigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE");3. Any investigation of the January 23, 2007 operation and/or arrests, and/or the agentsinvolved, including, but not limited to, any records in the possession or control of various

ICE offices;4. Any and all records mentioning "day laborer", "day laborers", "day-laborer", "day-laborers","day labor", "hiring spot", "migrant worker", "immigrant worker", "alien worker", "7-11","7-Eleven", "seven-eleven", and "worker center;"In addition, you are also seeking disclosure of all records created from January 1, 2003 to the presentrelating to the following:

5. The June 2003 Department of Justice ("DOJ") document entitled. "Guidance Regarding theUse of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies" ("DOJ Guidance");6. The June 2004 Department ofHomeland Security ("DHS") document entitled. "The

Department of Homeland Security's Commitment to Race Neutrality in Law EnforcementActivities; and7. Any and all complaints received by the ICE Office ofProfessional Responsibility ("OPR")for any activity involving ICE agents that allegedly or actually occurred at least in part in thestate ofMaryland; as well as any analysis, interviews, memoranda, recommendations, andany other document created or received by the OPR relating to any investigation oflCEconduct, alleged or real, that occurred at least in part within the state ofMaryland; as well asany records relating to the outcome of any such investigation.

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Your request was received in this office on September 22, 2008.On November 21,2008, we responded to your request and notified you that a search of the ICEOffice of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO), the ICE Office ofInvestigations (01) and theICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) had located 211 pages responsive to your request.Ofthose pages, 39 were released to you in their entirety. Portions of 109 pages were withheldpursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(low), 5, 6 and 7(C). Finally, 63 pages were withheld in fullpursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(low), 5, 6 and 7(C).On February 2, 2009, we provided a supplement to our first response and notified you that a searchof the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the ICE Office of Detention andRemoval Operations (DRO) had located 365 pages and two videos responsive to item 3 of yourrequest. Of those pages, portions of29 pages were withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(low),5,6 and 7(C). We notified you that we were continuing to process the balance of the records andwould address those records in a subsequent response to you.We have completed review of an additional 37 pages. After review, I have determined that portionsof those pages will be withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(low), 2 (high) 6, 7(C) and 7(E).The ICE FOIA Office is currently processing the balance of the records located in response to item 3of your request. Once those records are processed, we will address them in a subsequent response toyou.Portions of37 pages have been withheld as described below.FOIA Exemption 2(low) protects information applicable to internal administrative personnelmatters to the extent that the information is of a relatively trivial nature and there is no public interestin the document.FOIA Exemption 2(bigb) protects information applicable to internal administrative and personnelmatters, such as operating rules, guidelines, and manual of procedures of examiners or adjudicators,to the extent that disclosure would risk circumvention of an agency regulation or statute, impede theeffectiveness of an agency's activities, or reveal sensitive information that may put the security andsafety of an agency activity or employee at risk. Whether there is any public interest in disclosure islegally irrelevant. Rather, the concern under high 2 is that a FOIA disclosure should not benefitthose attempting to violate the law and avoid detection.FOIA Exemption 6 exempts from disclosure personnel or medical files and similar files the releaseof which would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This requires a balancingof the public's right to disclosure against the individual's right privacy. The types of documentsand/or information that we have withheld may consist of social security numbers, home addresses,dates of birth, or various other documents and/or information belonging to a third party that areconsidered personal. The privacy interests of the individuals in the records you have requestedoutweigh any minimal public interest in disclosure of the information. Any private interest you mayhave in that information does not factor into the aforementioned balancing test.FOIA Exemption 7(C) protects records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes thatcould reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This

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exemption takes particular note of the strong interests of individuals, whether they are suspects,witnesses, or investigators, in not being unwarrantably associated with alleged criminal activity.That interest extends to persons who are not only the subjects of the investigation, but those whomay have their privacy invaded by having their identities and information about them revealed inconnection with an investigation. Based upon the traditional recognition of strong privacy interest inlaw enforcement records, categorical withholding of information that identifies third parties in lawenforcement records is ordinarily appropriate. As such, I have determined that the privacy interest inthe identities of individuals in the records you have requested clearly outweigh any minimal publicinterest in disclosure of the information. Please note that any private interest you may have in thatinformation does not factor into this determination.FOIA Exemption 7(E) protects records compiled for law enforcement purposes, the release ofwhich would disclose techniques andlor procedures for law enforcement investigations orprosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if suchdisclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. I have determined thatdisclosure of law enforcement techniques and procedures related to fugitive operations couldreasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. Additionally, the techniques andprocedures at issue are not well known to the public.If you need to contact our office about this matter, please refer to case number 08-FOIA-4136. Thisoffice can be reached at (202) 732-0300 or (866) 633-1182.

atrina M. Pavlik-KeenanFOIA Officer

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