WikiLeaks (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

Submitted on Monday, May 27, 2019 - 14:44
Submitted by user: Anonymous
Submitted values are:

Select the DHS component you wish to submit your request to: : United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Title:
First Name: Emma
Middle Initial:
Last Name: Best
Suffix:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Country: United States
Address 1: MuckRock News DEPT MR 73726
Address 2: 411A Highland Ave
City: Somerville
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02144
Telephone Number:
Fax Number:
Are you requesting records on yourself? No
If yes, you must check the perjury statement:
By initialing here you are providing your electronic signature.:
Please describe the records you are seeking as clearly and precisely as
possible:
To Whom It May Concern:

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

I seek any and all documents in the agency's possession that pertain to the
WikiLeaks website or organization from January 2006 to the present date,
including but not limited to emails, memos, notes, briefings, reports and
other documents related to, mentioning or generated as a result of:

* guidance and instructions for employees regarding visiting the website or
otherwise reading or learning about it in the news

* internal reactions to the website's existence and disclosures

* damage reports regarding the website and its disclosures

* efforts to identify, investigate and/or mitigate potential leaks to the
website

* efforts to identify, investigate and/or mitigate potential unauthorized
viewing of the website or news reports analyzing it and/or its contents

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,

Emma Best

Attachments:

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I am willing to pay fees for this request up to the amount of: $: 1
Select from the list below: An individual seeking information for personal
use and not for commercial use.
I request a waiver of all fees for this request.:
Please provide an explanation for your request for a fee waiver:
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expeditious handling:
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An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.

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Emma Best,
I am following up on your attached Freedom of Information Act request regarding the WikiLeaks website. USCIS assigned your request case number COW2019500633. USCIS is currently unable to conduct a search based on your current request. However, if you could provide additional information our office would be happy to search for the records you need.

Your request asks for records from January 2006 to present regarding the WikiLeaks website to include emails, memos, notes, etc. This 13 year time span is an issue regarding emails. In August 2014 USCIS transitioned to a modernized email back up system allowing for greater flexibilities in searching for an retrieving email messages from current and former USCIS employees. Email records prior to this date are backed up to multiple bulk backup tapes and stored by a third party vendor. While these bulk backup tapes are technically accessible, retrieving specific emails from these backup tapes is a very long and costly endeavor. Without getting too far into the technicalities, each backup tape contains all email records for hundreds of USCIS employees. Each tape has to be converted into a different format on a lone server, separated by each USCIS employee then a search conducted. The entire process could take a USCIS employee away from all other duties for well over a month just to restore the backup tapes then conduct the search. The search would have to be conducted of each and every USCIS employee individually since we are unable to conduct a search for across multiple employees' profiles. Following the August 2014 transition USCIS is now able to conduct searches for emails without having to restore backup tapes. However, USCIS still does not have the capabilities to conduct a network wide search. In order for our Office of Information Technology to conduct a search for emails we would need the specific USCIS employee(s)' names or at least the USCIS duty position and/or office. If you would be willing to narrow the scope of your request concerning emails to August 2014 through present, and provide USCIS employee names, USCIS duty positions and/or offices such as senior USCIS leadership our office would be able to conduct a search for this portion of your request.

Additionally, your request for any memos, notes, briefings, reports and other documents regarding the WikiLeaks website for a 13 year time frame could also be considered excessive and overly broad. If you would be willing to limit this search to official guidance such as policies, briefing and reports provided to or from senior USCIS leadership we may be able to assist you. However, please keep in mind that the records retention schedule for many documents such as this is much shorter than your requested 13 year time span.

The portion of your request which states "internal reactions to the website's existence and disclosures" is a very generalized statement that does not allow our office to conduct a reasonable search. If you could provide further details about this portion of your request our office may be able to assist.

Please provide any additional information as stated above that may assist USCIS in conducting a search for the information you are seeking. Feel free to respond directly to myself either through this email or by telephone at my number below.

Thank you,

T. Allen Jaynes
Senior Government Information Specialist
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
150 Space Center Loop
Lee's Summit, MO 64064
(816) 350-4687

WARNING: This document is FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO). It contains information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). This document is to be controlled, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with DHS policy relating to Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) information and is not to be released to the public or other personnel who do not have a valid "need-to-know" without prior approval from the originator.

A fix is required to perfect the request.

The request has been rejected as being too vague, burdensome or otherwise unprocessable.