CBP "Gathering SItes" Communications and Policies (San Diego County Sheriff)

Dear Al Lado:
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department received a public records request from you on December 06, 2023.

You requested the following information from the Management Services Bureau:

Type of Record: Electronic Records
Description: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Al Otro Lado, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, requests the below records concerning asylum seekers who await processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and U.S. Border Patrol (“BP”) at open air processing sites, referred to by CBP and BP as “gathering sites,” in San Diego County:

1. All communications sent to or received from CBP, BP, and their employees concerning so called migrant “gathering sites” in San Diego. The county may limit its search to communications sent or received between May 11, 2023 and the date that it conducts its search. You should search for emails and text message correspondence with CP and BP employees that contain keywords including but not limited to, “Jacumba”, “gathering site”, “waiting site”, “staging area”, "migrant camp", "whiskey”, “Spooners Mesa”, “91x”, “O'Neill”, “Moon Valley”, “willows”, and “177.” The last eight of those keywords are CBP's names for the sites.

2. All policies, memoranda, or procedures concerning any “gathering site.”

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,

Al Otro Lado

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

Your request was received and given the reference number S003454-120623 for tracking purposes. You will receive a response to your request on or before December 18, 2023.

Sincerely, San Diego County Sheriff's Department

RE: Public Records Request of December 06, 2023, Reference # S003454-120623 Dear Al Lado, On M arch 6, 2024 , the San Diego County Sheriff's Department responded and asked for clarification, however no response was received, and the request was closed after 10 business days.

"On December 11, 2023, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department responded and asked for clarification, however no response was received, and the request was closed after 10 business days.

Please see the previously sent clarification message below. A reply must be received within ten (10) business days of the date this email was sent or your request will be closed and a new request will be required. Please respond in writing via the Records Request System so that there is a record of your response.

On December 06, 2023, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department received your request for records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA) wherein you requested the following:

Al Otro Lado, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, requests the below records concerning asylum seekers who await processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and U.S. Border Patrol (“BP”) at open air processing sites, referred to by CBP and BP as “gathering sites,” in San Diego County:

1. All communications sent to or received from CBP, BP, and their employees concerning so called migrant “gathering sites” in San Diego. The county may limit its search to communications sent or received between May 11, 2023 and the date that it conducts its search. You should search for emails and text message correspondence with CP and BP employees that contain keywords including but not limited to, “Jacumba”, “gathering site”, “waiting site”, “staging area”, "migrant camp", "whiskey”, “Spooners Mesa”, “91x”, “O'Neill”, “Moon Valley”, “willows”, and “177.” The last eight of those keywords are CBP's names for the sites.

2. All policies, memoranda, or procedures concerning any “gathering site.”

Additional clarification is needed in order to fulfill your request. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department conducted a preliminary search and identified 6,189 items. Your request would be an overly burdensome task that would likely support a denial pursuant to Government Code section 7922.000. Pursuant to Government Code section 7922.000, an agency may withhold a record if the agency demonstrates that on the facts of the case, the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. This includes the "expense and inconvenience involved in segregating nonexempt from exempt information." American Civil Liberties Union Foundation v. Deukmejian, 32 Cal. 3d 440, 452-453 (1982).

We encourage you to work with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department towards making a focused and effective request for non-exempt records. Are you able to provide specific email domains that would narrow the email search request? Additionally, are you able to further narrow the keywords/search terms? For example, the keyword "Jacumba" is a general term for a community in San Diego County, or the keyword "willows" is a general term for a road that crosses various cities/communities in San Diego County. Please provide additional details that will assist us in conducting an efficient and effective search.

Your request for text message correspondence would be an overly burdensome task that would likely support a denial pursuant to Government Code section 7922.000. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department employs over 4,000 individuals. The broader the sweep of your request, the more likely it is that your request may be denied pursuant to Government Code section 7922.000. Pursuant to Government Code section 7922.000, an agency may withhold a record if the agency demonstrates that on the facts of the case, the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. This includes the "expense and inconvenience involved in segregating nonexempt from exempt information." American Civil Liberties Union Foundation v. Deukmejian, 32 Cal. 3d 440, 452-453 (1982).

In order to provide records responsive to this request, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department would have to physically access each responsive cellphone, extract all responsive records from the phone, and remove the information that is exempt pursuant to any exemptions. Employees are provided Department cellphones in order to assist them in the performance of their law enforcement duties. Records of intelligence information or security procedures, records of a law enforcement investigation, or any investigatory or security files compiled by a law enforcement agency are exempt from disclosure. Cal. Gov't. Code § 7923.600; Haynie v. Superior Court, 26 Cal. 4th 1061, 1071-72 (2001).

We encourage you to work with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department towards making a focused and effective request for non-exempt records. Are you able to identify a specific person or Station/Substation/Unit that you would like to request text messages from? Please provide additional details that would help the San Diego County Sheriff's Department identify the specific cellphone records that you seek.

Upon receipt of your response, the department will further respond to your request as required by law.

Sincerely,

Erica Duarte, Administrative Analyst

San Diego County Sheriff's Department"