8 ms·

Buzzfeed Inc. vs. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Complaint [pdf]

steveklabnik 7y ago
TL;DR, IANAL: Buzzfeed is suing both ICE and DHS because Buzzfeed FOIA'd information related to solitary confinement, and have not gotten the proper response yet. The FOIA request went out in September of 2017. If I had to speculate, this is because Obama had a review of solitary confinement practices done in the summer of 2015, and then in January 2016 said that it was going to end in some cases. They're interested in seeing if this actually happened or not.
manfredo 7y ago
The important sections extracted from this rather hard to read PDF: > Solitary confinement, also known as segregation, is the total or near-total isolation of prisoners, often in small cells for 23 hours a day. The United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council has found that prolonged solitary confinement can amount to torture. Solitary confinement of more than 15 days may lead to irreversible psychological damage. ICE policies state that placement in segregation should occur only when necessary and in compliance with applicable detention standards and requires additional review and oversight of decisions to retain detainees in segregation for over 14 days. > On September 15, 2017, BUZZFEED requested from ICE, for the time period beginning January 1, 2016, all written notices to each ICE field office director of instances when a detainee has been held continuously in segregation, and all subsequent reviews conducted by the field office director. As of October 2, 2017, ICE had acknowledged receipt of the request and granted expedited processing, but had not provided a determination or estimated completion date. During the time period of October 2, 2017, through February 26, 2018, BUZZFEED contacted ICE multiple times to obtain an estimated completion date but ICE failed to provide one. On February 26, 2018, ICE provided an estimated completion date of December 20, 2017. That date is not a typo; ICE provided an estimated completion date that was two months in the past. While no administrative appeal was required, BUZZFEED submitted an appeal on March 16, 2018. In response to the appeal, on April 4, 2018, DHS provided no estimated completion date, instead stating that “[i]n many instances, an agency cannot meet [the twenty day] time limits due to a high volume of requests, resource limitations, and other reasons,” and remanded the appeal to ICE for a direct response. ICE has provided no further response to the request and no estimated completion date. References to exhibits omitted TL;DR: Buzzfeed asked for a records of which detainees have been placed in solitary confinement, ICE/DHS did not respond.
lmkg 7y ago
Since it's not clear from the title: the lawsuit is over a FOIA request related to the use of solitary confinement. The FOIA request was first filed in September 2017. According to the complaint, ICE pushed back the deadline to complete several times, and has not responded to communication about the request since April 2018.
jermaustin1 7y ago
This lawsuit was filed in June of 2018. Is there any additional information on this lawsuit?
- steveklabnik 7y ago
  https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=16637 https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=16637 and https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7272334/buzzfeed-inc-v-us-immigration-customs-enforcement/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7272334/buzzfeed-inc-v-... have some more information, seems like it's just kinda stuck at the moment.

TL;DR, IANAL: Buzzfeed is suing both ICE and DHS because Buzzfeed FOIA'd information related to solitary confinement, and have not gotten the proper response yet. The FOIA request went out in September of 2017. If I had to speculate, this is because Obama had a review of solitary confinement practices done in the summer of 2015, and then in January 2016 said that it was going to end in some cases. They're interested in seeing if this actually happened or not.

manfredo 7y ago

The important sections extracted from this rather hard to read PDF: > Solitary confinement, also known as segregation, is the total or near-total isolation of prisoners, often in small cells for 23 hours a day. The United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council has found that prolonged solitary confinement can amount to torture. Solitary confinement of more than 15 days may lead to irreversible psychological damage. ICE policies state that placement in segregation should occur only when necessary and in compliance with applicable detention standards and requires additional review and oversight of decisions to retain detainees in segregation for over 14 days. > On September 15, 2017, BUZZFEED requested from ICE, for the time period beginning January 1, 2016, all written notices to each ICE field office director of instances when a detainee has been held continuously in segregation, and all subsequent reviews conducted by the field office director. As of October 2, 2017, ICE had acknowledged receipt of the request and granted expedited processing, but had not provided a determination or estimated completion date. During the time period of October 2, 2017, through February 26, 2018, BUZZFEED contacted ICE multiple times to obtain an estimated completion date but ICE failed to provide one. On February 26, 2018, ICE provided an estimated completion date of December 20, 2017. That date is not a typo; ICE provided an estimated completion date that was two months in the past. While no administrative appeal was required, BUZZFEED submitted an appeal on March 16, 2018. In response to the appeal, on April 4, 2018, DHS provided no estimated completion date, instead stating that “[i]n many instances, an agency cannot meet [the twenty day] time limits due to a high volume of requests, resource limitations, and other reasons,” and remanded the appeal to ICE for a direct response. ICE has provided no further response to the request and no estimated completion date. References to exhibits omitted TL;DR: Buzzfeed asked for a records of which detainees have been placed in solitary confinement, ICE/DHS did not respond.

lmkg 7y ago

Since it's not clear from the title: the lawsuit is over a FOIA request related to the use of solitary confinement. The FOIA request was first filed in September 2017. According to the complaint, ICE pushed back the deadline to complete several times, and has not responded to communication about the request since April 2018.

jermaustin1 7y ago

This lawsuit was filed in June of 2018. Is there any additional information on this lawsuit?

steveklabnik 7y ago
https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=16637 https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=16637 and https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7272334/buzzfeed-inc-v-us-immigration-customs-enforcement/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7272334/buzzfeed-inc-v-... have some more information, seems like it's just kinda stuck at the moment.