DHS Review of Responses 

to Significant Freedom of 

Information Act Requests
 

September 29, 2017 

OIG-17-116-VR 
4FQUFNCFS

 
 

 

 

 

 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Background 

Department of Homeland Security records are subject to release under the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).1 Enacted in 1966 and amended several 

times, FOIA mandates that Federal executive branch agencies release certain 

information to the public upon request, unless the information falls within one 

of nine exemptions which protect certain interests, such as personal privacy or 

national security. The act also includes timetables within which Federal 

agencies must respond to FOIA requests. Generally, agencies must release 

responses to FOIA requests within 20 days, unless certain specific 

circumstances allow for an extension. In addition, the Department of Justice 

has interpreted the statute to mean that agencies may not prevent release of 

information simply because it is embarrassing. 

We conducted this review in response to a June 2015 request from the Senate 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that we determine 

whether political appointees were involved in DHS’ FOIA response process and 

delayed FOIA releases or inappropriately withheld information. 

In March 2011, the DHS Office of Inspector General issued a report, The DHS 

Privacy Office Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (OIG-11-67), 

which addressed similar concerns. The report concluded that political 

appointees in DHS headquarters might have improperly delayed or withheld 

releases of information from responses to significant FOIA requests.2 

Since our 2011 review, DHS has revised its process for reviewing significant 

FOIA requests. In 2011, the Department reduced the number of days that 

political appointees and other officials have to review releases from 3 days to 1 

day. Later, DHS changed the name of this process from the Significant Request 

Review Process to the “1-Day Awareness Notification Process.” Under the new 

process, FOIA processors no longer wait for approval before releasing responses 

to significant FOIA requests. The process is informally documented in a 2012 

email sent to DHS component FOIA offices and subsequent 2015 draft 

guidance. 

Results of Inspection 

We determined that under the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process, political 

appointees do not improperly influence FOIA processors to delay or withhold 

the release of information in response to significant FOIA requests. The 

1 5 U.S.C. § 552
 2 A 2006 DHS memorandum defined significant FOIA requests as those that may garner media interest,
 

arise from Congress or special interest groups, are related to the President’s or agency’s priorities, or are for
 

communications with prominent elected, business, or community leaders.
 www.oig.dhs.gov 2 OIG-17-95
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

purpose of the new process is to notify high-ranking DHS officials that the 

Department will release a significant FOIA response shortly, so those offices 

can prepare for media inquiries or possible litigation. Political appointees who 

receive the notification include an advisor to the DHS Secretary, an official in 

the Office of Public Affairs, and the Chief FOIA Officer. 

Because FOIA processors are not required to wait for approval before releasing 

the information, the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process does not give 

political appointees an opportunity to delay release of FOIA responses. Draft 

FOIA guidance instructs FOIA processors to release responses to significant 

FOIA requests within a specific period of time, usually 1 day, of notifying 

headquarters’ political appointees. The period is extended to 48 hours if 

officials receive notice after 4:00 p.m. 

To ensure that the process outlined in the guidance is followed, we reviewed 

every significant FOIA request from March, April, and May 2016.3 Of the 57 

significant requests DHS processed during those months, none was delayed by 

political appointees or others in headquarters. However, 9 of the 57 responses 

were delayed by the FOIA offices themselves because of FOIA employees’ errors 

or absences. 

Similarly, the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process does not provide 

opportunities for political appointees in headquarters to direct FOIA staff to 

modify FOIA releases and withhold additional information. We also reviewed 

the only documented procedures for the process—an email and draft 

guidance—to assess whether they gave political appointees authority or a 

means to approve, reject, or modify responses to significant FOIA requests. 

Neither the draft guidance nor the email mentions the possibility of political 

appointees responding to notification of releases. 

We also interviewed FOIA staff and officials who had handled significant FOIA 

requests in the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process to determine whether 

political appointees followed the guidance or ever directed FOIA staff to 

improperly withhold information from or modify FOIA releases. None of the 

officials or staff we interviewed said they had received a request from a political 

3 We reviewed March, April, and May 2016 data because 2016 was an election year, and 

political appointees may have started leaving DHS later in the year. 

www.oig.dhs.gov 3 OIG-17-95
 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

appointee in headquarters to inappropriately withhold information or modify a 

FOIA release. 

Although DHS is using the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process appropriately 

to notify political appointees in headquarters of possible impending media 

requests or litigation related to release of information, the process could be 

vulnerable to misuse because guidance has not been finalized or formalized. 

Additionally, the draft guidance does not explicitly state that the 1-Day 

Awareness Notification Process is solely to notify political appointees and not to 

allow political appointees to approve, modify, or delay significant FOIA releases. 

Privacy Office FOIA officials are drafting a formal instruction that will describe 

and define the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process. Issuing such an 

instruction and publishing it on the DHS intranet with other FOIA-related 

instructions would ensure guidance is readily available to all DHS employees 

who process significant FOIA requests. 

Recommendation 1 

We recommend that the Chief FOIA Officer finalize and issue the instruction 

on the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process, ensuring it states that: 

(1) the purpose of the process is solely to inform senior officials about the 

imminent release of information that may raise public interest or litigation; 

and 

(2) FOIA staff, not political appointees, determine whether information 

should be released or withheld under FOIA’s exemptions. 

Privacy Office Comments and OIG Analysis 

We evaluated the Privacy Office’s formal written response, including technical 

comments, and made changes, as appropriate. A copy of the Privacy Office’s 

management comments in their entirety is included as appendix A. The 

Privacy Office concurred with the recommendation and is taking steps to 

address it. 

Privacy Office Response to Recommendation 1: In its response, the 

Privacy Office stated they have begun drafting an instruction on the 1-Day 

Awareness Notification Process. The instruction will outline the purpose of the 

process and include specific language regarding the responsibility of the FOIA 

staff, not political appointees, to make determinations to release or withhold 

information in accordance with FOIA’s exemptions. The Privacy Office 

estimates a finalized instruction by December 31, 2017. 

www.oig.dhs.gov 4 OIG-17-95
 

 

 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

OIG Analysis: The Privacy Office’s planned actions are responsive to the 

recommendation. We consider the recommendation resolved and open. In 

its corrective action plan and subsequent updates, the Privacy Office 

should inform the OIG of its progress in finalizing the 1-Day Awareness 

Notification Process instruction. 

Objective, Scope, and Methodology 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) 

was established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) by 

amendment to the Inspector General Act of 1978. 

We reviewed documents and data sets, including annual DHS FOIA reports, 

Office of Government Information Services’ DHS FOIA compliance reports, 

congressional reports, and the Privacy Office’s draft FOIA Standard Operating 

Procedures. 

We evaluated 4 months of significant FOIA requests reports to identify FOIA 

processors to interview. We interviewed DHS employees from seven offices 

including the FOIA Branch of the Privacy Office, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, Transportation 

Security Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Science and Technology 

Directorate. We asked all these employees whether political appointees in the 

1-Day Awareness Notification Process inappropriately delayed FOIA releases or 

requested that information be withheld from FOIA requests. 

To determine whether the 1-Day Awareness Notification Process delayed FOIA 

releases, we analyzed the handling of all significant FOIA requests from March 

1, 2016, through May 31, 2016. 

We conducted this review between December 2016 and April 2017 under the 

authority of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, and according to the 

Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation issued by the Council of the 

Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

www.oig.dhs.gov 5 OIG-1795
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Appendix A 

Privacy Office Comments to the Draft Report 

www.oig.dhs.gov 6 OIG-17-95
Attachment: Privacy Office's Response to Recommendation 


Contained in OIG 16-081-ISP-DHS-FOIA 


Recommendation: The ChiefFOIA Officer finalize and issue the instruction on the 1-Day 

Awareness Notification Process, ensuring it states that: 

(1) the purpose ofthe process is solely to inform senior officials about the imminent release of 

information that may raise public interest or litigation; 

and 

(2) FOIA staff, not political appointees, determine whether information should be released or 

withheld under FOIA's exemptions. 

Response: Concur. The Privacy Office has begun drafting an instruction on the I-Day 

Awareness Notification Process. The instruction will outline the purpose ofthe notification 

process, and include specific language regarding the responsibility ofthe FOIA staff, not 

political appointees, to make determinations to release or withhold information in accordance 

with FOIA 's exemptions. Estimated Completion Date (ECD): December 31, 2017. 

2 
 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To view this and any of our other reports, please visit our website at: www.oig.dhs.gov. 

For further information or questions, please contact Office of Inspector General Public Affairs 

at: DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@oig.dhs.gov. Follow us on Twitter at: @dhsoig. 

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