October 15, 2009

First Class Mail and Hand Delivery

Freedom of Information Act Office

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
800 North Capitol St., NW, Room 585
Washington, DC 20536

Catherine M. Papoi, Deputy Chief FOIA Office

Vania T. Locket, FOIA Requester Service Center Contact
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The Privacy Office
245 Murray Drive, SW Building 410
STOP-0550
Washington, D.C. 20528-0550

Department of Homeland Security

USCIS Houston Field Office
126 Northpoint Drive
Houston, TX 77060

Re: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

Expedited Processing Requested

Dear FOIA Officer:

This is a request for records made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act
(“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 522, implementing regulations 8 C.F.R. § 103.10 and 6 C.F.R.
§ 5, and any other applicable regulations.

1. Request for Information

Houston's America For All (herein after, “the Requestor”) hereby requests disclosure
of records1 in your possession related to, created in connection with, or pursuant to
1
The term “records” as used herein includes all records or communications in written or electronic form,
including but not limited to correspondence, documents, data, videotapes, audio tapes, emails, faxes,
telephone messages, logs, files, guidance, guidelines, evaluations, instructions, analyses, memoranda,
agreements, notes, orders, policies, procedures, protocols, reports, rules, training manuals, other manuals, or
studies. With respect to privacy concerns for members of the public, we will accept copies that are redacted
to protect private information of individuals identified in the documents, such as names, social security
numbers and alien numbers, but we would object to the redaction of their birthdates and birthplaces. In
addition, we request that members of the public whose identifying information is redacted be identified with

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Memorandum of Agreement
(“MOA”) with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (“HCSO”) dated July 2008 and its
negotiation of a new, standardized MOA pursuant to changes announced by the
Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) on July 10, 2009.

The 2008 MOA authorized HCSO personnel to be trained and certified to perform
certain immigration enforcement functions, as set forth in Section 287(g) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g). On July 10, 2009, DHS
announced the creation of a new, standardized agreement to be re-signed with
existing partner agencies, including HCSO. The announcement can be found here:

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1247246453625.shtm

Specifically, we request disclosure of the following records:

1.1 Directives and guidance regarding authority: any and all regulations, instructions,
directives, or memoranda issued by ICE or other federal agency in the past five years
reflecting, describing, setting forth or clarifying local law enforcement agencies’
authority to perform immigration enforcement functions under an MOA, including the
role of a subject’s race, ethnicity, nationality, national origin, or language ability in
enforcement decisions and the circumstances under which an officer may exercise 287(g)
authority, including what the nature and level of the state criminal offense being
investigated should be;

1.2 Correspondence regarding authority: any and all correspondence to/from/originating

within ICE or any entity or subdivision of Harris County, reflecting, describing, setting
forth or clarifying HCSO’s authority to perform immigration enforcement functions and
any limitations thereon;

1.3 Monitoring, oversight, and periodic reports: any and all records created by HCSO,
Harris County, an ICE supervisory officer, or the Steering Committee identified within
the July 2008 MOA that reflect efforts to monitor and track implementation of the MOA,
including:

1.3.1 information about the level of immigration enforcement activity by the

HCSO;
1.3.2 number of officers trained and certified or re-certified;
1.3.3 projected outcomes;
1.3.4 proper exercise of authority and compliance with the limitations thereon; a
nd/or
1.3.5 officer complaints/evaluations; and any correspondence generated in
response to such reports;

an alphanumeric code so that multiple records relating to the same individual will be recognized as such.
This redaction agreement does not apply to the names and badge numbers of federal agents.

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 1.4 Aggregate statistical data: any and all records that reflect the total number and, for
each month, from July 2008 to the present date regarding:
1.4.1 persons referred to ICE by HCSO where a state criminal charge was
pending;
1.4.2 persons referred to ICE by HCSO where a state criminal charge was not
pending;
1.4.3 immigration detainers issued by HCSO for persons with a state criminal
charge pending; and
1.4.4 immigration detainers issued by HCSO for persons with no state criminal
charge pending.

2.1 Correspondence regarding applications: any and all correspondence

to/from/originating within ICE, DHS, or the HCSO relating to the re-signing of the
new, standardized 287(g) MOA and other documents related to other ICE ACCESS
programs;

2.2 Correspondence regarding authority: any and all correspondence

to/from/originating within ICE, DHS, or the HCSO reflecting, describing, setting
forth, or clarifying HCSO’s authority to perform immigration enforcement
functions pursuant to the new, standardized MOA;

2.3 Correspondence regarding a deadline for re-signing: any and all

correspondence specifying a deadline or date by which the new, standardized MOA
must be re-signed by the HCSO or County Commissioners and any correspondence
indicating the effect on the existing 2008 MOA and/or participation in any ICE
ACCESS programs if the new agreement is not signed; and

2.4 Correspondence regarding existing, 2007 MOA: any and all correspondence
originating from ICE or DHS regarding any and all changes to its monitoring,
supervision, or oversight of the 2008 MOA following the July 10, 2009
announcement.

2. Request for Expedited Processing

The Requestor seeks expedited processing of this request. Expedition is available for
requests “(I) in cases in which the person requesting the records demonstrates a
compelling need; and (II) in other cases determined by the agency.” 5 U.S.C. §
552(a)(6)(E)(i). See also ACLU v. Department of Justice, 321 F. Supp. 2d 24, 27–28
(D.D.C. 2004). FOIA directs agencies to “process as soon as practicable any requests
for records to which [they have] granted expedited processing.” 5 U.S.C. §
552(a)(6)(E)(iii).

With respect to entities “primarily engaged in disseminating information,” a

compelling need is demonstrated by an “urgency to inform the public concerning
actual or alleged Federal Government activity.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(E)(v)(II).
Among the factors to be considered as to whether there is a compelling need are

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“whether the request concerns a matter of current exigency to the American public”
and “whether the consequences of delaying a response would compromise a
significant recognized federal government activity.” ACLU v. Department of Justice,
321 F. Supp 2d at 29.

There is a compelling need for the information requested. The Harris County
Sheriff’s Office MOA with ICE is the subject of a considerable amount of public
attention and is highly emblematic of the Federal Government’s handling of the
287(g) program. The DHS acknowledged the need to inform the public about this
program when it released the announcement of a new, standardized MOA program in
its July 10 press release referenced above.

3. Request for Fee Waiver

The Requesor additionally requests a waiver of all costs pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §

552(a)(4)(A)(iii) (“Documents shall be furnished without any charge or at a [reduced]
charge . . . if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely
to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the
government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.”).
Disclosure in this case meets the statutory criteria, and a fee waiver would fulfill
Congress’s legislative intent in amending FOIA. See Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Rossotti,
326 F.3d 1309, 1312 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (“Congress amended FOIA to ensure that it be
liberally construed in favor of waivers for noncommercial requesters.” (internal
quotation omitted)).

Houston's America For All was established in 2003 and is a 501c3 organization based
in Houston, TX. It was established to help protect immigrants’ rights and to educate
the community about immigrants’ rights. Among its goals is to end all discrimination
of people and strive for social justice amongst all members of our society. It seeks to
empower the immigrant community to become civically engaged.

Disclosure pursuant to this request is in the public interest. First, the records pertain
directly to the operations and activities of the federal government (of which ICE is an
agency) in conjunction with local law enforcement in Harris County, Arizona.
Access to this information is a prerequisite for members of the local community to
meaningfully evaluate immigration enforcement actions and their potential
detrimental effects. Second, the Requestor has significant “knowledge [and]
expertise as may be necessary to understand this information,” 28 C.F.R. Part
16.11(k)(2)(iii), and thus, release of this information to the organization is likely to
contribute to public understanding of the issue.

Finally, disclosure is not in the Requestor’s “commercial, trade, or profit interest[].”

28 C.F.R. § 16.11(b)(1). The records requested are not sought for commercial use,
and the Requestor plans to disseminate the information disclosed through print and
other media to the public at no cost, and through meetings and correspondence with

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other advocates serving immigrants. The purpose of the request is to monitor and
vindicate legal rights; it is unrelated to commercial business, trade or profit.

If a fee waiver is denied, the requestors are prepared to pay fees up to $25. We ask
that you inform us first if fees in excess of $25 may be charged, though we reserve
the right to appeal a denial of fee waivers.

As the Obama Administration recently declared, all agencies are bound by “a

presumption in favor of disclosure . . . to all decisions involving FOIA.” 74 Fed. Reg.
4683 (Memorandum of the President dated Jan. 21, 2009). If this request is denied in
whole or in part, we additionally ask that you justify all deletions by reference to
specific provisions under the Freedom of Information Act. We expect you to release
all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material. The requestors reserve the right
to appeal a decision to withhold any information or to deny a waiver.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to receiving a
determination of the request for expedited processing within ten (10) calendar days
and a determination on this request for documents within twenty (20) days following
receipt of this letter. See 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(d)(4); 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(6)(A)(i).

Please furnish all applicable records to: America Para Todos c/o Chris Newman, PO
Box 741183, Houston, TX 77272-1183. If you have any questions regarding this
matter, please telephone me at (213) 380-2785

Sincerely,

Chris Newman, Esq

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