STAYED,TYPE I−FOIA
U.S. District Court District of Columbia (Washington, DC) CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 1:18−cv−01501−KBJ

BUZZFEED INC. v. U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT et al Assigned to: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Cause: 05:552 Freedom of Information Act
Plaintiff

Date Filed: 06/25/2018 Jury Demand: None Nature of Suit: 895 Freedom of Information Act Jurisdiction: U.S. Government Defendant

BUZZFEED, INC.

represented by Matthew Lynn Schafer BUZZFEED INC. 111 East 18th Street 14th Floor New York, NY 10003 (646) 798−0693 Fax: (212) 431−7461 Email: matthew.schafer@buzzfeed.com TERMINATED: 02/28/2019

Merrick Jason Wayne LOEVY & LOEVY 311 N. Aberdeen Street Third Floor Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 243−5900 Fax: (312) 243−5902 Email: merrick@loevy.com ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Matthew Topic LOEVY & LOEVY 311 N. Aberdeen Street Third Floor Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 243−5900 Fax: (312) 243−5902 Email: matt@loevy.com ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

V.
Defendant
U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

represented by John Moustakas U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 555 Fourth Street, NW Washington, DC 20530 (202) 252−2518 Email: john.moustakas@usdoj.gov LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED
Melanie Dyani Hendry U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 555 Fourth Street, NW Washington, DC 20530 (202) 252−2510 Fax: (202) 252−2599

Defendant
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Email: melanie.hendry2@usdoj.gov TERMINATED: 08/07/2019
represented by John Moustakas (See above for address) LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED
Melanie Dyani Hendry (See above for address) TERMINATED: 08/07/2019

Date Filed 06/25/2018
06/25/2018 06/25/2018 06/26/2018 07/11/2018 07/18/2018 07/18/2018 07/18/2018 07/18/2018 08/02/2018 09/04/2018
09/04/2018

# Docket Text
1 COMPLAINT against U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090−5553645) filed by BUZZFEED INC.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit Exhibit D, # 5 Civil Cover Sheet Civil Cover Sheet, # 6 Summons Summons)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 06/25/2018)
2 NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Topic on behalf of BUZZFEED INC. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 06/25/2018)
Case Assigned to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (zsth) (Entered: 06/26/2018)
3 SUMMONS (4) Issued Electronically as to U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zsth) (Entered: 06/26/2018)
4 NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Lynn Schafer on behalf of BUZZFEED INC. (Schafer, Matthew) (Entered: 07/11/2018)
5 RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY served on 7/3/2018 (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 07/18/2018)
6 RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT served on 7/13/2018 (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 07/18/2018)
7 RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 7/9/2018. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 07/18/2018)
8 RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 7/5/2018. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 8/4/2018. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 07/18/2018)
9 ANSWER to Complaint by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT.(Hendry, Melanie) (Entered: 08/02/2018)
10 GENERAL ORDER AND GUIDELINES APPLICABLE TO FOIA CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON. The Court will hold the parties and counsel responsible for following these directives, and parties and counsel should pay particular attention to the Courts instructions for processing and production of records, batching motions, and filing exhibits. Failure to adhere to this Order may, when appropriate, result the imposition of sanctions and/or sua sponte denial of non−conforming motions. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 9/4/2018. (lckbj1) (Main Document 10 replaced on 9/5/2018) (zhs). (Entered: 09/04/2018)
MINUTE ORDER. Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall review this Courts 10 General Order and

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02/13/2019

Guidelines Applicable to FOIA Cases, and promptly confer and file a joint proposed schedule for disclosure or briefing motions for summary judgment, on or before 9/18/2018. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 09/04/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 09/04/2018)
Set/Reset Deadlines: Proposed Briefing Schedule due by 9/18/2018 (tj) (Entered: 09/06/2018)
11 Joint STATUS REPORT Concerning Proposed Schedule by BUZZFEED INC.. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 09/18/2018)
MINUTE ORDER setting a Telephone Conference for 10/4/2018 at 11:00 AM in Chambers before Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Counsel will be provided dial−in information by e−mail. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 09/19/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 09/19/2018)
Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: Telephone Conference held in chambers on 10/4/2018. (Court Reporter Sara Wick) (gdf) (Entered: 10/04/2018)
12 ORDER. On or before October 16, 2018, Defendant ICE shall file a supplemental memorandum that addresses the agency's FOIA−processing capacity and the reason for the delay in this case. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 10/4/18. (lckbj3) (Entered: 10/04/2018)
Set/Reset Deadlines: Supplemental Memorandum due by 10/16/2018. (gdf) (Entered: 10/04/2018)
13 RESPONSE TO ORDER OF THE COURT re 12 Order, Declaration of ICE FOIA Officer Catrina Pavlik−Keenan filed by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Hendry, Melanie) (Entered: 10/16/2018)
14 MOTION for Leave to File Response to Defendant's Declaration Regarding Production Schedule by BUZZFEED INC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Response to Declaration)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/19/2018)
MINUTE ORDER granting 14 Motion for Leave to File Response to Defendant's Declaration Regarding Production Schedule. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 10/19/2018. (lckbj1) (Entered: 10/19/2018)
15 RESPONSE to Defendant's Declaration Regarding Production Schedule filed by BUZZFEED INC.. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/19/2018)
MINUTE ORDER. The Court has reviewed ICEs declaration 13 , and while it has no reason to question the comprehensive description of ICEs current processing capacity with respect to an ordinary request (see Paragraph 18 (explaining that, given the number of employees who are working on FOIA requests and the number of pending requests, the agency cannot produce more than 500 pages per month in each case)), the declaration does not address the fact that the instant request qualifies for special treatment given its declared expedited processing status, and the agencys considerable and unexplained delay in producing ANY records in this matter, particularly in light of its purported first−in, first−out approach to managing backlogged requests. (See Paragraph 17.) The fact that the agency may have granted this request for expedited processing in error is irrelevant; the request at issue has been delegated as such. Moreover, because this case involves a request that was submitted at the end of FY 2017, and the parties have now entered FY 2019 without any records having been produced, the agency will need to shift resources to address the pending request at a faster rate than it is handling other matters. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that ICE process the approximately 8,100 pages of responsive records at a rate of 1,000 pages per month, to be completed on or before August 1, 2019. It is further ORDERED that the first monthly production must occur on or before December 1, 2018, and that the parties shall file a status report 60 days after the first production and every 60 days thereafter. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 10/22/2018. (lckbj3) (Entered: 10/22/2018)
MINUTE ORDER. On October 22, 2018, this Court entered a minute order requiring ICE to process records at a rate of 1,000 pages per month, with the first production to

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03/25/2019 04/24/2019 06/26/2019 06/26/2019
08/06/2019 08/07/2019 08/26/2019 08/27/2019
11/26/2019 12/05/2019

take place on or before December 1, 2018. (See Minute Order of October 22, 2018.) The Court further ordered the parties to "file a status report 60 days after the first production and every 60 days thereafter." (See id.) The first of these joint status reports should have been filed no later than February 1, 2019, but, to date, the parties have not done so. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties file a joint status report on or before February 25, 2019. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 2/13/19. (lckbj3) (Entered: 02/13/2019)
Set/Reset Deadlines: Joint Status Report due by 2/25/2019. (gdf) (Entered: 02/13/2019)
16 Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Hendry, Melanie) (Entered: 02/25/2019)
17 NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF APPEARANCE as to BUZZFEED INC.. Attorney Matthew Lynn Schafer terminated. (Schafer, Matthew) (Entered: 02/28/2019)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 16 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall file a further joint status report on or before 4/26/2019, and every 60 days thereafter, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 3/13/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 03/13/2019)
18 LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by BUZZFEED INC. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 03/25/2019)
19 Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Hendry, Melanie) (Entered: 04/24/2019)
20 Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Hendry, Melanie) (Entered: 06/26/2019)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 20 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 8/26/2019, the parties shall file a further joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 6/26/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 06/26/2019)
21 NOTICE of Appearance by Merrick Jason Wayne on behalf of BUZZFEED INC. (Wayne, Merrick) (Entered: 08/06/2019)
22 NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by John Moustakas on behalf of U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT Substituting for attorney Melanie Hendry (Moustakas, John) (Entered: 08/07/2019)
23 Joint STATUS REPORT by BUZZFEED INC.. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 08/26/2019)
MINUTE ORDER adopting the parties' proposed briefing schedule. It is hereby ORDERED that the following deadlines are set for briefing summary judgment: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment shall be served on or before 11/26/2019; Plaintiff's Opposition and Cross−Motion for Summary Judgment shall be served on or before 1/7/2020; Defendant's Reply and Cross−Motion Opposition shall be served on or before 1/28/2020; Plaintiff's Cross−Motion Reply shall be served on or before 2/18/2020; briefs shall be filed as a batch within three (3) business days of the service of the last reply brief authorized by this Minute Order, but in any event no later than the Final Filing Deadline of 3/24/2020. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 8/27/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 08/27/2019)
24 Consent MOTION to Stay Summary Judgment Briefing by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (Moustakas, John) (Entered: 11/26/2019)
MINUTE ORDER granting 24 Motion to Stay Summary Judgment Briefing. It is hereby ORDERED that the summary judgment deadlines that this Court previous set

01/06/2020 01/07/2020
01/21/2020 01/27/2020
02/20/2020 02/25/2020
03/20/2020 03/24/2020
04/24/2020 04/28/2020

are STAYED, and that, on or before 1/6/2020, the parties shall file a joint status report that indicates whether further litigation will be necessary and, if so, whether any updated need to be made to the briefing schedule they propose in their 24 Motion. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 12/5/2019. (jag) (Entered: 12/05/2019)
25 Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Moustakas, John) (Entered: 01/06/2020)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 25 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 1/20/2020, the parties shall file a further joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 1/7/2020. (jag) (Entered: 01/07/2020)
26 Joint STATUS REPORT by BUZZFEED INC.. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 01/21/2020)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 26 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 2/20/2020, the parties shall file a further joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 1/27/2020. (jag) (Entered: 01/27/2020)
27 Joint STATUS REPORT by BUZZFEED INC.. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 02/20/2020)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 27 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 3/20/2020, the parties shall file a further joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 2/25/2020. (jag) (Entered: 02/25/2020)
28 Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Moustakas, John) (Entered: 03/20/2020)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 28 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 4/24/2020, the parties shall file a further joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 3/24/2020. (jag) (Entered: 03/24/2020)
29 Joint STATUS REPORT by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT. (Moustakas, John) (Entered: 04/24/2020)
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the representations in the parties' 29 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 6/24/2020, the parties shall file a further joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 4/28/2020. (jag) (Entered: 04/28/2020)

 
 Case 1:18-cv-01501-KBJ Document 1 Filed 06/25/18 Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

BUZZFEED INC.,

)

111 East 18th Street, 13th Floor

)

New York, NY 10003

)

)

Plaintiff,

)

)

v.

)

)

U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS

)

ENFORCEMENT,

)

Office of General Counsel

)

United States Department of Homeland Security )

Washington, D.C. 20258

)

)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND

)

SECURITY,

)

245 Murray Lane SW

)

Mail Stop 0485

)

Washington, D.C. 20528-0485

)

)

Defendants.

)

COMPLAINT

1. Plaintiff BUZZFEED INC. files this Freedom of Information Act suit to force

Defendants U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY and U.S. IMMIGRATION &

CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT to comply with the clear statutory requirement that they

“promptly” release records related to solitary confinement that were requested over nine months

ago.

PARTIES

2. Plaintiff BUZZFEED INC. is a member of the media and made the FOIA requests

at issue in this case.

3. Defendant U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (“DHS”) is a

federal agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.

Case 1:18-cv-01501-KBJ Document 1 Filed 06/25/18 Page 2 of 4

4. Defendant U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT is a federal

agency and component of DHS and is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. §

552.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5. This case is brought under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(c)(i) and presents a federal

question conferring jurisdiction on this Court.

6. Venue is proper under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B).

BACKGROUND 7. Solitary confinement, also known as segregation, is the total or near-total isolation

of prisoners, often in small cells for 23 hours a day.

8. The United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council has found that prolonged solitary confinement can amount to torture.1

9. damage.2

Solitary confinement of more than 15 days may lead to irreversible psychological

10. 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.3

DEFENDANTS’ FOIA VIOLATION 11. 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

1 Solitary Confinement Should be Banned in Most Cases, UN Expert Says, UN News (Oct. 18, 2011),
https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/10/392012-solitary-confinement-should-be-banned-most-cases-un-expert-says. 2 Id. 3 U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Review of the Use of Segregation for ICE Detainees 1 (Sep. 4, 2013),
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention-reform/pdf/segregation_directive.pdf.

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Case 1:18-cv-01501-KBJ Document 1 Filed 06/25/18 Page 3 of 4
the field office director. A true and correct copy of the full request, which has been paraphrased here, is attached as Exhibit A.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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. A true and correct copy of the email chain referenced in this paragraph and the preceding paragraph is attached as Exhibit B.
15. While no administrative appeal was required, BUZZFEED submitted an appeal on March 16, 2018. A true and correct copy is attached as Exhibit C.
16. 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. A true and correct copy is attached as Exhibit D.
17. ICE has provided no further response to the request and no estimated completion date.
COUNT I – VIOLATION OF FOIA 18. The above paragraphs are incorporated herein. 19. Defendants are agencies subject to FOIA. 20. Plaintiff made a FOIA request to Defendants for agency records of Defendants.
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Case 1:18-cv-01501-KBJ Document 1 Filed 06/25/18 Page 4 of 4

21. One or more of the requested record are not exempt from disclosure. 22. Defendants have failed to produce the requested records. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff asks the Court to:
i. Order Defendants to conduct a reasonable search for records and promptly produce all non-exempt requested records;
ii. Award Plaintiff attorney fees and costs; and iii. Enter any other relief the Court deems appropriate.

DATED: June 25, 2018

Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Matthew Topic
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
Matthew Topic (E-Mail: foia@loevy.com) LOEVY & LOEVY 311 N. Aberdeen, Third Floor Chicago, IL 60607 Tel.: (312) 243-5900 Fax (312) 243-5902 Bar No. IL0037
Matthew Schafer (E-Mail: matthew.schafer@buzzfeed.com) BUZZFEED INC. 111 East 18th Street, 13th Floor New York, NY 10003 Tel.: (646) 660-0693 Fax: (212) 431-7461 Bar No. 1008728

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