U.S.

Department of Homeland Security

800 North Capitol Street, NW #585
Washington, DC 20536-5009

U.S. Immigration
and Customs
Enforcement

April 15, 2009

CASA de Maryland
734 University Boulevard E
Silver Spring, MD 20903

Re: FOIA Request Number 08-4136

Dear :

This letter is the fifth supplement to our November 21, 2008 response to your Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). You have requested copies of the
following documents:

1. The investigation, arrest and detention of approximately 24 individuals in the City of Baltimore,
Maryland, in or near the 7-Eleven parking lot on or near the comer of Broadway and Lombard
Street, on or about January 23, 2007;
2. Any communication relating to the January 23, 2007 enforcement action in Baltimore, Maryland,
before, during or after the action occurred, from or to any office or employee of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement ("ICE");
3. Any investigation of the January 23,2007 operation and/or arrests, and/or the agents involved,
including, but not limited to, any records in the possession or control of various ICE offices;
4. Any and all records mentioning "day laborer", "day laborers", "day-laborer", "day-laborers",
"day labor", "hiring spot", "migrant worker", "immigrant worker", "alien worker", "7-11", "7-
Eleven", "seven-eleven", and "worker center;"

In addition, you are also seeking disclosure of all records created from January 1, 2003 to the present
relating to the following:

5. The June 2003 Department of Justice ("DOJ") document entitled. "Guidance Regarding the Use
of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies" ("DOJ Guidance");
6. The June 2004 Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") document entitled. "The Department
of Homeland Security's Commitment to Race Neutrality in Law Enforcement Activities; and
7. Any and all complaints received by the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility ("OPR") for
any activity involving ICE agents that allegedly or actually occurred at least in part in the state of
Maryland; as well as any analysis, interviews, memoranda, recommendations, and any other
document created or received by the OPR relating to any investigation ofICE conduct, alleged or
real, that occurred at least in part within the state of Maryland; as well as any records relating to
the outcome of any such investigation.

Your request was received in this office on September 22, 2008.

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On November 21, 2008, we responded to your request and notified you that a search ofthe ICE Office of
Detention and Removal Operations (ORO), the ICE Office oflnvestigations (01) and the ICE Office of
Professional Responsibility (OPR) had located 211 pages responsive to your request. Of those pages, 39
were released to you in their entirety. Portions of 109 pages were withheld pursuant to FOIA
Exemptions 2(low), 5,6 and 7(C). Finally, 63 pages were withheld in full pursuant to FOIA Exemptions
2(low), 5, 6 and 7(C).

On February 2, 2009, we provided a supplement to our first response and notified you that a search of the
ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the ICE Office of Detention and Removal
Operations (DRO) had located 365 pages and two videos responsive to item 3 of your request. Ofthose
pages, portions of29 pages were withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(low), 5,6 and 7(C). We
notified you that we were continuing to process the balance of the records and would address those
records in a subsequent response to you.

On February 25,2009, we notified you that we had completed the review of37 pages. Portions of those
pages were withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(1ow), 2(high), 6, 7(C) and 7(E).

On March l3, 2009, we notified you that we had completed the review of292 pages. Portions of those
pages were withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2(low), 2(high), 5,6, 7(C) and 7(E).

On April 2, 2009, we notified you that we had completed the review of304 pages and sixteen videos. Of
those pages, 204 were released in their entirety. Portions of 100 pages were withheld pursuant to FOIA
Exemptions 5, 6 and 7(C). The videos were released in their entirety.

We have completed review of an additional 244 pages. Of those pages, 126 will be released in their
entirety. Portions of 118 pages will be withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 5, 6 and 7(C).

The ICE FOIA Office is currently processing the balance of the records located in response to your
request. Once those records are processed, we will address them in a subsequent response to you.

Portions of 118 pages have been withheld as described below.

FOIA Exemption 2(high) protects information applicable to internal administrative and personnel matters,
such as operating rules, guidelines, and manual of procedures of examiners or adjudicators, to the extent that
disclosure would risk circumvention of an agency regulation or statute, impede the effectiveness of an
agency's activities, or reveal sensitive information that may put the security and safety of an agency activity
or employee at risk. Whether there is any public interest in disclosure is legally irrelevant. Rather, the
concern under high 2 is that a FOIA disclosure should not benefit those attempting to violate the law and
avoid detection.

FOIA Exemption 5 protects from disclosure those inter- or intra-agency documents that are normally
privileged in the civil discovery context. The three most frequently invoked privileges are the
deliberative process privilege, the attorney work-product privilege, and the attorney-client privilege.
After carefully reviewing the responsive documents, I have determined that portions of the responsive
documents qualifY for protection under all three privileges. The deliberative process privilege protects
the integrity of the deliberative or decision-making processes within the agency by exempting from
mandatory disclosure opinions, conclusions, and recommendations included within inter-agency or intra-
agency memoranda or letters. The release of this internal information would discourage the expression
of candid opinions and inhibit the free and frank exchange of information among agency personnel. The
attorney work-product privilege protects documents and other memoranda prepared by an attorney in
contemplation of litigation. The attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between
an attorney and his client relating to a legal matter for which the client has sought professional advice. It

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applies to facts divulged by a client to his attorney, and encompasses any opinions given by an attorney
to his client based upon, and thus reflecting, those facts, as well as communications between attorneys
that reflect client-supplied information. The attorney-client privilege is not limited to the context of
litigation.

FOIA Exemption 6 exempts from disclosure personnel or medical files and similar files the release of
which would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This requires a balancing of the
public's right to disclosure against the individual's right privacy. The types of documents and/or
information that we have withheld may consist of social security numbers, home addresses, dates of
birth, or various other documents and/or information belonging to a third party that are considered
personal. The privacy interests of the individuals in the records you have requested outweigh any
minimal public interest in disclosure of the information. Any private interest you may have in that
information does not factor into the aforementioned balancing test.

FOIA Exemption 7(C) protects records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes that
could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This exemption
takes particular note of the strong interests of individuals, whether they are suspects, witnesses, or
investigators, in not being unwarrantably associated with alleged criminal activity. That interest extends
to persons who are not only the subjects of the investigation, but those who may have their privacy
invaded by having their identities and information about them revealed in connection with an
investigation. Based upon the traditional recognition of strong privacy interest in law enforcement
records, categorical withholding of information that identifies third parties in law enforcement records is
ordinarily appropriate. As such, I have determined that the privacy interest in the identities of
individuals in the records you have requested clearly outweigh any minimal public interest in disclosure
of the information. Please note that any private interest you may have in that information does not factor
into this determination.

If you need to contact our office about this matter, please refer to case number 08-FOIA-4136. This
office can be reached at (202) 732-0300 or (866) 633-1182.

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