ICE deportation statistics through 287(g) for FY2014, FY2015 and FY2016

Good morning,

ICE FOIA is currently working through entering a backlog of new request into our system. When your request is entered you will receive an acknowledgment e-mail along with a tracking number associated with your request.

Sincerely,
ICE FOIA

April 26, 2017 Anna Flagg MuckRock DEPT MR 34719 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144-2516 RE:     ICE FOIA Case Number 2017-ICFO-25447 Dear Ms. Flagg: This acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), dated March 10, 2017, and to your request for a waiver of all assessable FOIA fees. Your request was received in this office on March 10, 2017. Specifically, you requested all records pertaining to ICE's deportation statistics under the 287(g) program, on a per-jurisdiction basis for FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016; specifically 287(g)-identified Aliens for Removal by locality for each of FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016; also, 287(g)-identified Aliens Departed/VR (Voluntary Return) by locality for each of FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016. 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. You have requested a fee waiver.  The DHS FOIA Regulations at 6 CFR § 5.11(k)(2) set forth six factors ICE must evaluate to determine whether the applicable legal standard for a fee waiver has been met:  (1) Whether the subject of the requested records concerns “the operations or activities of the government,” (2) Whether the disclosure is “likely to contribute” to an understanding of government operations or activities, (3) Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to the understanding of the public at large, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester or a narrow segment of interested persons, (4) Whether the contribution to public understanding of government operations or activities will be “significant,” (5) Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure, and (6) Whether the magnitude of any identified commercial interest to the requester is sufficiently large in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Upon review of the subject matter of your request, and an evaluation of the six factors identified above, ICE has determined that it will conditionally grant your request for a fee waiver.  The fee waiver determination will be based upon a sampling of the responsive documents received from the various ICE program offices as a result of the searches conducted in response to your FOIA request.  ICE will, pursuant to DHS regulations applicable to media requesters, process the first 100 pages.  If upon review of these documents, ICE determines that the disclosure of the information contained in those documents does not meet the factors permitting ICE to waive the fees, then ICE will at that time either deny your request for a fee waiver entirely, or will allow for a percentage reduction in the amount of the fees corresponding to the amount of relevant material found that meets the factors allowing for a fee waiver.  In either case, ICE will promptly notify you of its final decision regarding your request for a fee waiver and provide you with the responsive records as required by applicable law. In the event that your fee waiver is denied, and you determine that you still want the records, 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 media requestors.  As a media requester you will be charged 10 cents per page for duplication; the first 100 pages are free.  In the event that your fee waiver is denied, we will construe the submission of your request as an agreement to pay up to $25.00.  This office will contact you before accruing any additional fees. ICE has 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 2017-ICFO-25447. 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 2016-ICFO-XXXXX or 2017-ICFO-XXXXX tracking number. If you have any questions or wish to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame for the processing of your request, please contact FOIA office. You may send an e-mail to ice-foia@ice.dhs.gov, call free (866) 633-1182, or you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison in the same manner. Additionally, you have a 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

Ms. Flagg,
ICE's final response to your FOIA request, 2017-ICFO-25447, for all records pertaining to ICE's deportation statistics under the 287(g) program, on a per-jurisdiction basis for FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016; specifically 287(g)-identified Aliens for Removal by locality for each of FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016; also, 287(g)-identified Aliens Departed/VR (Voluntary Return) by locality for each of FY2014, FY2015, and FY2016 is attached.
Sincerely,
ICE FOIA