ICE DRIL Calls - Aurora

Andrew Free filed this request with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United States of America.
Tracking #

ICE FOIA 2023-ICAP-00248

2023-ICAP-00248

2023-ICFO-04101

Due Dec. 13, 2022
Est. Completion Nov. 14, 2023
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Andrew Free

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any record of all calls received by the Detainee Reporting Information Line (DRIL) from the Aurora ICE Processing Center (AIPC) between April 1, 2022, and October 14, 2022.
For help tasking a timely, appropriately scoped searched, please refer to the agency’s response to the request assigned 2019-ICFO-38997, and particularly, the spreadsheets ICE provided in November 2019. https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/dril-requests-by-facility-72957/

Pursuant to 6 C.F.R. 5.5(e), we hereby request expedited processing, and make the following statements in support under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746:
1. On October 14, 2022, ICE announced the death of a 39 year-old Nicaraguan asylum seeker detained inside AIPC.
See: https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/nicaraguan-man-ice-custody-passes-away-colorado-hospital
2. In the wake of this death, Members of Congress, community-based organizations, and legal service providers providing free legal assistance to people inside AIPC called for a timely, independent, and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding this death—which marks roughly 60th time ICE has announced an in-custody death since the beginning of 2017.
See: https://crow.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-jason-crow-statement-on-death-at-the-aurora-ice-detention-facility; and https://www.rmian.org/happenings-news/2020/4/14/medically-vulnerable-immigrants-detained-by-ice-in-aurora-colorado-seek-immediate-release-amidst-coronavirus-pandemic
3. ICE subsequently released a Congressionally-required Detainee Death Report indicating that the decedent repeatedly sought and received medical care for an injury to his foot, which progressed to his calf.
See: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/reports/ddrMendozaMelvinArielCalero.pdf
4. There has been widespread, international media coverage of this death.
See, e.g.,:
1. https://www.9news.com/article/news/community/inadequate-medical-aurora-ice-detention/73-62542eca-cf06-456e-bea3-65ebfae7847e
2. https://www.cpr.org/2022/10/27/colorado-lawmakers-call-for-investigation-into-death-at-aurora-ice-facility/
3. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/man-nicaragua-dies-aurora-ice-facility/73-f52d0d45-531c-4e17-a361-1376d887e499
4. https://www.9news.com/article/news/community/inadequate-medical-aurora-ice-detention/73-62542eca-cf06-456e-bea3-65ebfae7847e
5. https://www.westword.com/news/nicaraguan-asylum-seeker-dies-in-ice-custody-in-aurora-15252848
6. https://sentinelcolorado.com/news/metro/nicaraguan-asylum-seeker-dies-while-in-custody-at-aurora-geo-detention-center/
7. https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/melvin-ariel-calero-mendoza-nicaraguan-father-dies-ice-custody-aurora-facility/
8. https://localnews8.com/cnn-regional/2022/10/21/melvin-ariel-calero-mendoza-nicaraguan-father-of-2-dies-in-ice-custody-at-aurora-facility/
9. https://www.laprensani.com/2022/10/18/nacionales/3056841-migrante-nicaraguense-muere-bajo-custodia-de-ice-en-colorado-estados-unidos
10. https://100noticias.com.ni/migracion/119078-migrante-nicaraguense-fallecido-migracion-eeuu
11. https://www.canal10.com.ni/noticia/piden-justicia-para-nicaraguense-que-murio-bajo-la-custodia-de-una-agencia-federal-de-ee-uu/
12. https://www.vostv.com.ni/nacionales/26279-migrante-nica-fallece-bajo-custudia-de-migracion-e/
13. https://nuevaya.com.ni/migrante-nicaraguense-perece-en-un-hospital-de-estados-unidos-tras-ser-capturado-por-la-policia-fronteriza/?fbclid=IwAR2W_05ASHQlVNaR7ENnk0WR9-zKffBp9wB2BdNlTCVxqJASSTp9FxIPntU
14. https://www.cpr.org/2022/11/03/advocates-immigration-customs-enforcement-custody-death/
15. https://sentinelcolorado.com/news/crow-bennet-hickenlooper-aurora-ice-death-should-be-independently-investigated/

We therefore request ICE grant expedited processing and release these records.

Thank you for your prompt attention and response,

#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado

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,

Andrew Free

From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

01/04/2023Andrew FreeMuckRock News, DEPT MR136863Boston, Massachusetts 02115 RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2023-ICFO-04101 Dear Requester:This acknowledges receipt of your 11/15/2022, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for any record of all calls received by the Detainee Reporting Information Line (DRIL) from the Aurora ICE Processing Center (AIPC) between April 1, 2022, and October 14, 2022.For help tasking a timely, appropriately scoped searched, please refer to the agency’s response to the request assigned 2019-ICFO-38997, and particularly, the spreadsheets ICE provided in November 2019. https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/dril-requests-by-facility-72957. Your request was received in this office on 11/15/2022.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’re able to narrow the scope of your request please contact our office. Narrowing the scope may speed up the search process. We will make every effort to comply with your request in a timely manner.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 non-commercial requesters. As a non-commercial requester, you will be charged 10 cents per page for duplication; the first 100 pages are free, as are the first two hours of search time, after which you will pay the per quarter-hour rate ($4.00 for clerical personnel, $7.00 for professional personnel, $10.25 for managerial personnel) of the searcher. We will construe the submission of your request as an agreement to pay up to $25.00. You will be contacted before any further fees are accrued.We have 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.If you have any questions, please contact FOIA Public Liaison, Marcus Francis at the address above or (866) 633-1182. 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.Your request has been assigned reference number 2023-ICFO-04101. Please use this number in future correspondence. Sincerely,ICE FOIA OfficeImmigration and Customs EnforcementFreedom of Information Act Office500 12th Street, S.W., Stop 5009Washington, D.C. 20536-5009
This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message and any disclosure, copying, or distribution
of this message, or the taking of any action based on it, by you is strictly prohibited.
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to learn more.
v.E.1

From: Andrew Free

We hereby appeal the agency’s response to our expedited processing request.

Andrew Free
#DetentionKills Transparency Initiative
Al Otro Lado

From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

01/19/2023Andrew FreeMuckRock News, DEPT MR136863Boston, Massachusetts 02115RE: ICE FOIA Case Number 2023-ICAP-00248Dear Requester:The Department of Homeland Security has received your letter appealing the adverse determination of your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act (FOIA/PA) request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Your appeal, postmarked or electronically transmitted on 1/4/2023, was received on 1/13/2023.The Government Information Law Division acknowledges your appeal request of and is assigning it number 2023-ICAP-00248 for tracking purposes. Please reference this number in any future communications about your appeal.A high number of FOIA/PA requests have been received by the Department. Accordingly, we have adopted the court-sanctioned practice of generally handling backlogged appeals on a first-in, first-out basis. While we will make every effort to process your appeal on a timely basis, there may be some delay in resolving this matter. Should you have any questions concerning the processing of your appeal, please contact Fernando Pineiro Jr., ICE FOIA Office/Public Liaison at (866) 633-1182 or at 500 12th St., SW Washington, DC 20536-5009.Sincerely, Shiraz PanthakyChiefGovernment Information Law DivisionICE Office of the Principal Legal AdvisorU.S. Department of Homeland Security
This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message and any disclosure, copying, or distribution
of this message, or the taking of any action based on it, by you is strictly prohibited.
Deloitte refers to a Deloitte member firm, one of its related entities, or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"). Each Deloitte member firm is a separate legal entity and a member of DTTL. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about
to learn more.
v.E.1

From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Hi Andrew Free,
You have a new message for the request 2023-ICAP-00248. Please login to read the message (https://www.securerelease.us/request-details/4adc2b6f-852b-4078-bd43-84471393c6fb/3/messages/8383e1a9-cc2e-4c04-b47d-cecadd44b461)
This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message and any disclosure, copying, or distribution
of this message, or the taking of any action based on it, by you is strictly prohibited.
Deloitte refers to a Deloitte member firm, one of its related entities, or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"). Each Deloitte member firm is a separate legal entity and a member of DTTL. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about
to learn more.
v.E.1

From: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

11/07/2023Andrew FreeMuckRock News, DEPT MR136863Boston, Massachusetts 02115RE: ICE FOIA 2023-ICAP-00248 Dear Requester:This email is being sent to provide a status update regarding ICE FOIA 2023-ICAP-00248, the appeal for ICE FOIA request 2023-ICFO-04101, in which you have requested to appeal the agency’s response to the expedited processing request.Please be advised the remand is forthcoming and is currently being processed. You can anticipate a final response by next week. If you have any questions, please contact FOIA Public Liaison, Fernando Pineiro Jr. at the address above or (866) 633-1182. 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.Sincerely,ICE FOIA OfficeImmigration and Customs EnforcementFreedom of Information Act Office500 12th Street, S.W., Stop 5009
This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message and any disclosure, copying, or distribution
of this message, or the taking of any action based on it, by you is strictly prohibited.
Deloitte refers to a Deloitte member firm, one of its related entities, or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"). Each Deloitte member firm is a separate legal entity and a member of DTTL. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about
to learn more.
v.E.1

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