ICE correspondence w/MDH
Tracking # |
21-059 |
Submitted | Jan. 28, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Daniel Gross
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. Copies of all email correspondence, including images and attachments, that the following MDH staff members
—Dennis Schrader
—Bryan Mroz
—Jinlene Chan
—Atif Chaudhry
—Tom Andrews
—Office of the Secretary staff members
have sent to or received from an @ice.dhs.gov email address between 12/1/2020 and the date this request is processed.
2. Any records of calls or meetings (including virtual or video meetings) between MDH staff and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including calendar entries, meeting notes, reports, guidance, and any other relevant documents.
I am submitting this request as a member of the news media who works full-time as an editor at Insider Inc. in New York City.
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 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Daniel Gross
From: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Dear Mr. Gross,
Please see the attached correspondence related to the below PIA request.
Regards,
Heather Shek
Office of Governmental Affairs
Maryland Department of Health
201 W. Preston St.
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+W.+Preston+St.+Baltimore,+MD+21201&entry=gmail&source=g>
Baltimore, MD 21201
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+W.+Preston+St.+Baltimore,+MD+21201&entry=gmail&source=g>
(410) 767-6504
MDH.PIA@maryland.gov
http://dhmh.maryland.gov/
--
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From: Daniel Gross
Good morning,
Thank you for your response to my request under the Maryland Public Information Act. I hereby request a fee waiver on the grounds that this request is in the public interest.
These records will inform the public about the ongoing pandemic, its impact on marginalized communities, and the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine supplies in the state of Maryland. It will help the public understand the role of the federal government, if any, in helping direct vaccines to the incarcerated immigrants who in its custody in Maryland facilities.
These records will be made available to the public and are part of media reporting for my employer, the news outlet Business Insider.
If narrowing the details of the request would speed up your timeline, I would be glad to speak by phone to discuss ways that this could be achieved. Thank you very much for your time.
Daniel Gross
562-276-3316
From: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Good Afternoon,
Limiting your request to specific keywords and emails only would
significantly narrow the scope and the effort needed to respond, thereby
reducing (and possibly extinguishing) the fee.
Please let me know if you would like to narrow the scope of your request.
Regards,
Heather
Office of Governmental Affairs
Maryland Department of Health
201 W. Preston St.
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+W.+Preston+St.+Baltimore,+MD+21201&entry=gmail&source=g>
Baltimore, MD 21201
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+W.+Preston+St.+Baltimore,+MD+21201&entry=gmail&source=g>
(410) 767-6504
MDH.PIA@maryland.gov
http://dhmh.maryland.gov/
--
NOTICE: This message and the accompanying documents are intended only for
the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, or exempt from disclosure under
applicable law. If the reader of this email is not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from reading,
disseminating, distributing, or copying this communication. If you have
received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and
destroy the original transmission.
From: Daniel Gross
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your response!
I am happy to narrow my request by striking #2: Any records of calls or meetings (including virtual or video meetings) between MDH staff and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including calendar entries, meeting notes, reports, guidance, and any other relevant documents.
I am also happy to remove "Office of the Secretary staff members" from my list of senders/recipients.
That would restrict my request to:
1. Copies of all email correspondence, including images and attachments, that the following MDH staff members
—Dennis Schrader
—Bryan Mroz
—Jinlene Chan
—Atif Chaudhry
—Tom Andrews
have sent to or received from an @ice.dhs.gov email address between 12/1/2020 and the date this request is processed.
Please let me know if this narrows the request sufficiently to extinguish the fee. If any processing fees remain, I would first ask that your office make a determination on my previous request for a public interest fee waiver, as I am a member of the news media.
Thank you and have a good day,
Daniel Gross
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Maryland Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 28, 2021. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Feb. 5, 2021. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #21-059.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Dear Mr. Gross,
To be clear, in my below emails I did not indicate the completion date
would be February 5th. On the contrary, I did not even receive your
narrowed search until after that date (i.e. 2/18/21). Regardless, attached,
please find correspondence and documents responsive to the below PIA
request.
Regards,
Heather Shek
Office of Governmental Affairs
Maryland Department of Health
201 W. Preston St.
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+W.+Preston+St.+Baltimore,+MD+21201&entry=gmail&source=g>
Baltimore, MD 21201
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+W.+Preston+St.+Baltimore,+MD+21201&entry=gmail&source=g>
(410) 767-6504
MDH.PIA@maryland.gov
http://dhmh.maryland.gov/
--
NOTICE: This message and the accompanying documents are intended only for
the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, or exempt from disclosure under
applicable law. If the reader of this email is not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from reading,
disseminating, distributing, or copying this communication. If you have
received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and
destroy the original transmission.
From: Daniel Gross
Hi Ms. Shek,
Thank you very much for completing this request. Apologies for the prior email—it was an automated reminder from the public records platform MuckRock, which is why it included a mistaken date. Have a nice day,
Daniel Gross
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