UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

For the Northern District of Illinois − 

Eastern Division 

Jacqueline Stevens ) 

Plaintiff, ) 

v. ) Case No.: 

) 

United States Immigration and Customs ) 

Enforcement and United States ) 

Department Of Homeland Security ) 

Defendants. ) 

 ) 

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF UNDER THE 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 

1. This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act, (“FOIA”) 5 U.S.C. § 552, 

seeking wrongfully withheld agency records relating to conditions of detention and medical 

treatment of individuals held in detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(“ICE”) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). This complaint also seeks a 

declaratory and injunctive relief to remedy Defendant ICE’s pattern and practice of systemic 

violations of FOIA which includes: (1) failure to make determinations concerning FOIA requests 

within the mandated statutory time periods; (2) failure to conduct proper searches to locate 

documents responsive to FOIA requests; (3) failure to segregate non-exempt material in records 

to which ICE had applied redactions; and (4) failure to allocate sufficient resources to address its 

ever growing FOIA backlog. 

2. Plaintiff Stevens has been irreparably harmed by Defendants’ repeated and deliberate 

violations of the Act: she needs the withheld records for her scholarship and journalism 

analyzing professional and criminal misconduct in government agencies and corporations that 

implement policies on behalf of U.S. national sovereignty. 

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Jurisdiction and Venue 

3. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 

and 5 U.S.C. § 522(a)(4)(B). This Court has further jurisdiction to grant declaratory relief 

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2201-2202. 

4. Venue is proper under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) because Plaintiff Stevens resides within 

this District. 

Parties 

5. Plaintiff is a professor of political science and the director of the Deportation Research 

Clinic at Northwestern University, in Cook County, Illinois. Stevens’ office and principal 

residence are in Cook County, Illinois. 

6. In 2011, Stevens published a scholarly article in the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & 

the Law detailing the U.S. government's unlawful detention and deportation of U.S. citizens. The 

article estimated that from 2003 to 2010, “more than 20,000 U.S. Citizens were detained or 

deported,” and identified as the cause, “laws and regulations mandating detention and 

deportation of hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people without attorneys.”1 This article was 

featured in several publications and drew attention to the practice.2 Stevens also wrote an opinion 

piece published in the New York Times on the issue.3

1

Jacqueline Stevens, “U.S Government Unlawfully Detaining and Deporting U.S. Citizens as Aliens,” Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, Spring, 2011, available at http://jacquelinestevens.org/StevensVSP18.32011.pdf .

2New York Times, “Immigration Crackdown Snares Americans” December, 2011, available at

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/us/measures-to-capture-illegal-aliens-nabcitizens.html?pagewanted=all ; Christian Science Monitor, “Deported teen returns to U.S. How many 

Americans are mistakenly banned” January, 2012, available at http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0107/Deported-teen-returns-to-US.-How-manyAmericans-are-mistakenlybanished .

3

Jacqueline Stevens, “Citizenship to Go,” New York Times May, 2012, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/opinion/citizenship-to-go.html .

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7. Since 2011, Stevens has continued to research, investigate and publish on the subject of 

deportation of U.S. Citizens. In 2012, she founded the Deportation Research Clinic for the 

purpose of studying government misconduct in deportation proceedings.4 In 2013 she was 

awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to support her research on the deportation of U.S. citizens.5 

In 2017 her co-edited book Citizenship in Question: Evidentiary Birthright and Statelessness was 

published by Duke University Press. Duke sold the copyright to a non-profit librarian-run 

consortium Knowledge Unlatched through which the collection is available worldwide at no 

cost.6 Stevens’ contribution was awarded “Best Chapter” of 2017 by the Citizenship and 

Migration Section of the American Political Science Association.7 Many of the cases she studied 

have become lawsuits on behalf of the detained U.S. citizens, and have been widely reported.8 

8. Stevens’ past publications using documents obtained under the FOIA have been used to 

draw national attention to secret ICE detention facilities in unmarked office parks and urban 

4

 Jacqueline Stevens, “Forensic Intelligence and the Deportation Research Clinic: Toward a New 

Paradigm,” Perspectives on Politics, September, 2015, available at

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/forensicintelligenceand-the-deportation-research-clinic-toward-anewparadigm/0ABA0DEA34330E5F755A628FAB0C5CCB

5

 Guggenheim Fellow announcement, 2013, https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/jacquelinestevens/.

6

 Citizenship in Question (2017), http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/31762. 

7

 Best Chapter Award, https://www.apsanet.org/MEMBERSHIP/OrganizedSections/Organized-Section-Awards/Section-43#chapter.

8 See, e.g., William Finnigan, “The Deportation Machine,” New Yorker, April 29, 2013, 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/29/the-deportation-machine; Mary Sanchez, 

“How Broken is Our System? We Deport Citizens,” June 9, 2015, 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/sns-201506091930—tms--msanchezctnmsa20150609-20150609-column.html; NPR, “You Say You’re An American, But What If You Had 

to Prove it or be Deported?” December, 2016 available at 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2016/12/22/504031635/you-say-you-re-an-americanbut-what-if-you-had-to-prove-it-or-bedeported; States Without Nations blogpost, available at 

http://stateswithoutnations.blogspot.com/2016/02/how-many-us-attorneys-and-assistant.html; 

NPR “In Rush to Deport, Expelling U.S. citizens” http://www.npr.org/2011/10/24/141500145/inthe-rush-to-deport-expelling-u-s-citizens;

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buildings, the unlawful detention and deportation of U.S. citizens as aliens, migrant children 

misidentified as adults based on dental radiographs, and major violations by private prisons of 

state employment laws and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, including forced labor.9 In 

addition to scholarship and media coverage, the FOIA records she obtained and analyzed has 

become the basis for litigation.10

9. Stevens has spent years researching conditions of detention in ICE detention facilities, 

working to identify systemic protocols and misconduct underlying the deportation of U.S. 

Citizens and the violation of civil and constitutional rights of those detained. A primary tool in 

her research efforts has been obtaining and reviewing U.S. government documents pursuant to 

FOIA requests. 

10. Under the new administration, government misconduct in deportation proceedings has 

generated additional media and Congressional attention to ICE policies and procedures, 

including those surrounding the deportation of U.S. Citizens.11 ICE’s response has been to 

9

 See e.g., Nadia Reiman, “My Very Unhappy Birthday,” This American Life, 

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/679/save-the-girl/act-one-6; On the prison litigation; Jacqueline 

Stevens, “When Migrants are Treated Like Slaves,” New York Times (April 4, 2018) 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/opinion/migrants-detention-forced-labor.html; Jacqueline 

Stevens, Citizenship In Question: Evidentiary Birthright and Citizenship, “The Alien Who is a 

Citizen” (2017); Jacqueline Stevens, “One Dollar Per Day: The Slaving Wages of Immigration 

Jail, 1942 to Present,” Georgetown Immigration Law Journal (2015);

10

 See Gonzalez v. CORECIVIC, Inc., case no: 1:18-cv-00169 (filed 2/22/2018); Barrientos, et 

al. v. CORECIVIC, Inc., case no: 4:18-cv-00070-CDL (filed 4/17/2018); Raul Novoa, et al v. The 

GEO Group, Inc., case no: 5:17-cv-02514 (filed 12/20/2017); Chao Chen v. The GEO Group, 

Inc., case no. 3:17-cv-05769 (filed 9/26/2017); State of Washington v. The GEO Group, Inc., 

case no. 17-2-11422 (09/20/2017); Alejandro Menocal et al. v. GEO Group, Inc., case no. 1-14-

cv-02887 (filed 10/21/2014)); Sylvester Owino and Jonathan Gomez et al. v. CoreCivic, case no. 

3:17-cv-01112-jls-nls (filed 05/31/2017).

11 See Tom Hals, “U.S. to ramp up rapid deportations with sweeping new rule,” Reuters, July 22, 

2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-deportation/us-to-ramp-up-rapiddeportations-with-sweeping-new-rule-idUSKCN1UH275; The Daily Beast, “American Citizen 

Trapped in ICE Jail” March, 2017, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/31/americancitizen-trapped-in-ice-jail.html; Prison Legal News, “Ignorance, Bureaucracy and Red Tape: 

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further decrease transparency, leaving FOIA as the primary tool for researchers and journalists to 

uncover changes in policy and practice and abuses by the agency. 

11. Defendant ICE is an executive agency of the United States government and is principally 

responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws. ICE is an agency within the meaning of 5 

U.S.C. § 522(f)(1). ICE is an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

(“DHS”). 

12. ICE has custody, possession, and control over the records sought by Stevens under the 

Act, and ICE had such custody, possession, and control at the time the records were requested. 

13. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is a cabinet department of the 

United States federal government and an executive agency with the primary mission of securing 

the United States. DHS is an agency within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 522(f)(1). 

14. DHS may have custody, possession, and control over some of the records sought by 

Stevens under the Act, and DHS may have had such custody, possession, and control at the time 

the records were requested. 

FOIA Requests 

Request no. 1 – Subfield office locations 

15. On August 6, 2018, Stevens submitted a request to ICE for the following, pursuant to 

FOIA: 

1) A list of all ICE Enforcement and Removal Field and Subfield offices by control city, 

including the complete phone numbers and addresses of these offices in the United States 

U.S. Citizens Mistakenly Deported” April, 2017, 

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/apr/3/ignorancebureaucracy-and-red-tape-uscitizens-mistakenly-deported/; Asbury Park Press, “How ICE Can Detain U.S. Citizens,” March, 

2017, http://www.app.com/story/news/local/publicsafety/2017/03/23/immigration-know-yourrights-trump-freehold/99459216/. Stevens in 2020 assisted the Government Accountability 

Office in its research for a report being prepared at the request of Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), 

Chair, House Judiciary.

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and abroad and information on holding cells in these locations, as well as the number of 

unique individuals in custody at that location between Monday, July 30 and August 5, 

2018. Please include as well all locations at which individuals were held for more than 

24 hours and the dates on which that occurred between January 1, 2016 and the day of the 

release of information. 

2) Please include the Excel spreadsheet and screen shots of the data base interface used to 

produce the search results. 

3) A list of addresses for locations listed as "unavailable" in the release to the NIJC of 

11/6/2017 (https://immigrantjustice.org/sites/default/files/uploaded-files/no-contenttype/2018-06/ICE_Facility_List_11-06-2017-web.xlsx). 

16. On September 5, 2018, the ICE FOIA Office sent an email to Stevens referencing 2018-

ICFO-56530 as the case number assigned to the request and stating as follows: 

In conducting a search for responsive records, the ICE FOIA office has 

determined that further clarification is needed regarding your request. Please 

describe what you mean by "information on holding cells" and "unique 

individuals in custody at that location." Please provide the ICE FOIA office with 

a response as soon as possible to avoid any further delay in the processing of your 

request. If a response is not received within 30 days, your request will be 

administratively closed. 

17. This inquiry is evidence of ICE’s pattern and practice of triggering unwarranted and 

unjustified delays within the FOIA determination process. There is no lawful basis for tolling the 

20 days imposed by Congress for responding to this and other requests. 

18. On September 5, 2018, within the hour of ICE sending their inquiry, Stevens clarified 

both points of professed confusion by stating the following: 

1) "Holding cells" is the term of art used by ICE and federal courts to refer to 

areas where people arrested by ICE or other components of DHS are held. Hence 

the name "holding cells." e.g., here is a reference in an ICE document to "holding 

cells." 

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/prea_audit/losAngelesStagingFacilityMar14_15_

2017.pdf (Just use control/f.) You can find dozens more references on your own 

website, if you go to ice.gov and type "holding cells" into the search box. Please 

see this reference as well from an ICE spokesperson. 

https://www.kansas.com/news/business/bizcolumnsblogs/carrierengers/article1114192.html. 

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2) Per the American Heritage Dictionary, A "unique individual" is one 

distinguishable human being. ICE maintains data on this, and I included a link to 

this data. 

19. On September 10, 2018, Stevens checked the status of the request on the FOIA online 

tracking platform. The platform reported the status of her request was “On Hold - Other”. To 

address this, Stevens sent an email to the ICE FOIA Office stating the following: 

Can you please advise as to the estimated date of completion, insofar as the 

agency has gone beyond the time allowed by statute? I am not sure about the

nature of this delay. The information I am seeking is any description of the 

facility holding people, i.e., the square feet, availability of a toilet, security, access 

to visitors. And I want to know how many people are held in these facilities in a 

particular time frame, per my request. 

20. The email went unanswered by ICE. 

21. On March 15, 2019, ICE issued a “final response” to Stevens request, stating that the 

search of the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) for records produced 

one spreadsheet responsive to her request. 

22. On May 1, 2019, Stevens appealed the determination as the production was not a 

responsive document as contemplated by FOIA; the response included only the city locations of 

the offices and omitted the full addresses and phone numbers of the locations as well as other 

information responsive to her request, while the cover letter included no legal grounds for this 

omission. 

23. On May 20, 2019, the Government Information Law Division of DHS sent Plaintiff a 

letter claiming to have received the appeal on May 20, 2019 and assigning it case number 2019-

ICAP-00377. 

24. In a letter dated June 18, 2019, ICE issued a response summarizing the appeal tracked as 

2019-ICAP-00377 and then stating: “ICE is therefore remanding your appeal to the ICE FOIA 

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Office for the completion of processing, including tasking to the appropriate agency/office(s) to 

obtain any responsive documents, and a direct response to you.” 

25. As of May 1, 2020, 318 business days have lapsed since the appeal was remanded but 

Plaintiff’s request has not been completed. 

Request No. 2 – Lauren Underwood and Electronic Health Records 

26. On November 22, 2019, Stevens submitted to the Department of Homeland Security 

through an online portal a request for the following information: 

1) all communications and related materials created, received, or maintained by the 

Department of Homeland Security to which Rep. Lauren Underwood(D-IL) or any 

member of her staff were a party. This includes but is not limited to all email, text 

messages, notes, reports, memorandums, proposed bill texts, and bill evaluations. In a 

floor speech of 9/26/2019 Rep. Underwood stated she received information from the 

"Department of Homeland Security" indicating a request for an integrated Electronic 

Health Records System she referenced as "EHR." She refers to this in her remarks on 

HR 3525 as a "direct ask from medical officers at the Department of Homeland 

Security." 

2) DHS communications and related materials created by or received from other 

components of DHS or the Department of Health and Human Services Office of 

Refugee Resettlement about the use of Electronic Health Records systems already in 

place as well as the establishment of an EHR for the use by offices of CBP. 

3) Information on meetings and communications with private individuals, including 

but not 

limited to lobbyists or company officials related to past, current, or potential 

"enterprise" or other information technologies for collecting, coordinating, or 

maintaining health records data for those encountered or detained by DHS or any 

component of DHS. Technical reports, email, text messages, or other communications 

with the private sector tied to past, current, or potential contracts tied to EHR 

systems. 

The time frame of this request is January 1, 2017 to the present, by which I mean the 

date a search is initiated by the tasked component.12

12Stevens co-authored, "Democratic Representative Pushed to Create a Massive Migrant Health 

Database that No One Wants," The Intercept, Jan. 4, 2020,https://theintercept.com/2020/01/04/border-patrol-cbp-migrant-health-database. She seeks these records for 

her ongoing investigations of government corruption. 

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27. On December 2, 2019 Stevens received by email letter from DHS restating her request 

and assigning it case number 2020-HQFO-00215. The letter, signed by James Holzer, Deputy 

Chief Privacy Officer, Deputy Chief FOIA Officer, DHS, stated: 

Due to the subject matter of your request, I am transferring this request to the FOIA 

Officers for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), for processing under the FOIA and direct 

response to you. 

28. On January 22, 2020, Stevens received an email referencing her FOIA request with a new 

tracking number: 2020-ICFO-18634. The correspondence stated in relevant part as fallows: 

we determined that your request is too broad in scope, did not specifically identify the 

records which you are seeking, or only posed questions to the agency. Records must be 

described in reasonably sufficient detail to enable government employees who are 

familiar with the subject area to locate records without placing an unreasonable burden 

upon the agency.... Please resubmit your request containing a reasonable description of 

the records you are seeking. Upon receipt of a perfected request, you will be advised as 

to the status of your request. If we do not hear from you within 30 days from the date of 

this letter, we will assume you are no longer interested in this FOIA request, and the case 

will be administratively closed. Please be advised that this action is not a denial of your 

request and will not preclude you from filing other requests in the future. 

29. That same day, January 22, 2020, Stevens replied: “This is a very specific description of 

the records I am seeking. Please produce the responsive documents immediately; the response 

time already has exceeded the statutory limit.” 

30. Stevens received no further reply. 

31. Plaintiff attempted repeatedly to contact ICE via the phone number provided. On January 

23, 2020, she sent the following email to ice-foia@dhs.gov with subject line 2020-ICFO-18634 

and problem with ICE telephonic service, in violation of the FOIA statute: 

To whom it may concern, Over the past seven months, including today, I have attempted to 

contact this office over the phone. So far, I have been unable to do either, as my calls are 

dropped each time. When I call the number provided both on the cover letter of the FOIA 

response and on your .gov website for the ICE/FOIA PA headquarters office (866-633-1182), 

I am directed to press 1 (for english), press 3 (for questions regarding my FOIA case), and 

hold as I am transferred to two different lines until the call is dropped. This has happened on 

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previous occasions, indicating the problem seems to be systematic. I would very much 

appreciate a response to this email as soon as possible 1) explaining why I cannot get in 

contact over the phone; 2) providing a responsive phone number for me to contact; and 3) 

providing me immediate response to the email I sent yesterday re: 2020-ICFO-18634 and 

ICE's unlawful refusal even to initiate a search for a legally valid request in the statutory time 

frame much less produce responsive documents. I am trying to clear this up with the agency 

to avoid the need to bring another lawsuit against ICE and needless waste taxpayer and 

judicial resources. Please let me know if ICE will be conducting the search. If not I will be 

forced to include this case in my upcoming FOIA complaint. Thank you, Jackie.” 

32. Stevens received no documents and no further communication from Defendant regarding 

this properly submitted FOIA request. 

33. As of May 1, 2020, 107 days have lapsed since Stevens submitted her request. 

Request No. 3 – Butler County Jail 

34. On March 25, 2019, Stevens submitted a FOIA request for the following information: 

All documents ICE has referencing the Butler County Jail work program for 

detainees, including but not limited to documents with the language about porters 

Chief Dwyer stated he had personally read in an IGSA, as well as all other 

correspondence about the Butler County's use of people held under immigration law 

to perform work in and around the facility. People likely to have or have access to 

responsive documents include but are not limited to Tae Johnson and Kevin Landy. 

All formal and informal compliance reports and follow-up correspondence, including 

but not limited to email, attachments, grievances or complaints, and contract addenda 

for Butler County, in particular associated with the deficiencies noted in the reports. 

 

All data tracking the length of time people are held in the Butler County facility; if 

there is a db with the number of days/alien please send me an output from that db 

with the individually identifying information redacted but including the date of arrival 

and transfer from the facility, as well as the status of the case at the time of transfer, 

i.e., VD, removal, termination, transfer to another ICE facility. The date for this 

request is April 11, 2014 through the time documents are submitted from the 

component to the ICE FOIA office for redaction or the time frame when the 

documents are produced in litigation, whichever is most contemporary to their 

production to me. 

35. On April 8, 2019, ICE responded via email confirming receipt of the request and 

assigning it tracking number 2019-ICFO-33429. Defendant invoked a 10-day extension of the 

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mandated FOIA response period due to the fact that Stevens request “seeks numerous documents 

that will necessitate a thorough and wide-ranging search.” 

36. On August 16, 2019, a research assistant working under the supervision of Plaintiff 

checked the status of the request on the DHS FOIA status website. The platform reported that the 

request’s status as “Request for Docs Sent.” 

37. Plaintiff has received no responsive documents for Defendant. 

38. As of May 1, 2020, 267 business days have lapsed since ICE acknowledged receipt of the 

request on April 8, 2019. 

Request No. 4: Kenosha Jail 

39. On January 16, 2019, Stevens submitted the following FOIA request to Defendant: 

for the following maintained, received, or required to be produced by ICE related to 

health care services at the Kenosha County, WI jail for individuals held under 

immigration laws. The component most likely to have responsive records is the ICE 

Health Service Corps, though contract and civil rights monitoring components of ICE 

also are likely locations for such records. 

1. All contracts and associated attachments, memorandums of understanding, email, 

and all other items associated with the submission; acceptance, and review of 

detainee health with Kenosha County, WI for health care provided to people held 

under immigration laws. 

2. All logs of grievances (oral and written) submitted by people detained at the 

Kenosha County facility. 

3. All medical expense reports submitted to ICE for the Kenosha County facility. 

4. All reviews and reports on health care services provided to people held under 

immigration laws at the Kenosha County facility, including regular reports, ad hoc 

reports, and those based on specific grievances or complaints generated by any 

source. 

5. All reports of hunger strikes. 

6. All reports of hospitalization outside of the Kenosha County facility for people 

held under immigration laws by Hudson County. The time frame of this request is 

January 1, 2015 to the present. 

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Databases that may have information responsive to this request include but are not 

limited to: CaseTrakker, MedEZ, Dental XRay System, Criminal Institution 

Pharmacy System, Medical Payment Authorization Request Web System (MedPAR) 

and Medical Classification Database. 

 

40. On February 26, 2019, Stevens received a tracking number for the request: 2019-ICFO2917. 

41. On June 10, 2019, Stevens received a “final response” of just 15 pages. 

42. On August 16, 2019, Stevens appealed the response, stating in part: 

I noted in my request that the component most likely to have responsive records is the 

ICE Health Service Corps, though contract and civil rights monitoring components of 

ICE also are likely locations for such records. It was assigned case no 2019-ICFO-29171. 

I write here to appeal the “final response,” received on June 10, 2019. 

The June 10 response claims to have found 15 pages responsive to my request. However, 

it is missing a number of responsive documents. These include but are not limited to: all 

contracts and associated attachments, memorandums of understanding, email, and all 

other items associated with the submission, acceptance, and review of detainee health 

with Kenosha County, WI for health care provided to people held under immigration 

laws, all logs of grievances (oral and written) submitted by people detained at the 

Kenosha County facility, all reports of hunger strikes, and all reports of hospitalization 

outside of the Kenosha County facility for people held under immigration laws by 

Hudson County [sic]. 

Upon information and belief your agency does in fact possess documents enumerated 

above, I would appreciate it if you would produce records responsive to my request as 

soon as possible or state legal reasons for not producing it. 

43. On September 26, 2019 Defendant asserted that the appeal was received on August 29, 

2019 and assigned it case number 2019-ICAP-00567. The letter stated in part: 

Please note the contract between ICE and Kenosha County specifically pertains to 

detention and/or transportation services, not medical services. ICE does not maintain 

records regarding medical services for detention centers that are not Service Processing 

Centers. Therefore, in order to receive records that are responsive to the portions of your 

request pertaining to medical services, you should submit a request directly to the 

Kenosha County detention facility. 

With that said, however, and upon a complete review of the administrative record 

and the search documentation, ICE has determined that a new search(s), or 

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modifications to the existing search(s), could be made specifically pertaining to those 

portions of your request that do not seek medical service records. ICE is therefore 

remanding your appeal to the ICE FOIA Office for processing and re-tasking to the 

appropriate agency/office(s) to obtain any responsive records. 

44. As of May 1, 2020, 147 business days have lapsed since the appeal was remanded but 

Plaintiff’s request has not been completed and no additional documents have been received. 

Request No. 5 – Jail Services Costs Statements 

45. On August 23, 2018, Stevens submitted a request via email to ICE for the following 

information: 

A. The most recent Jail Services Costs Statement (JSCS) for the following facilities ICE 

uses to hold people under immigration laws: 

 1) the Berks County Residential Center, Berks County, PA; 

 2) South Texas Family Residential Center, Dilley, TX; 

 3) Hudson County Jail, Hudson County, NJ; 

 4) Stewart County, GA, (CoreCivic); 

 5) Aurora, Colorado (GEO) 

 6) Tacoma, WA (GEO) 

 7) Otay Mesa, CA (CoreCivic) 

 8) Eloy, EZ (CoreCivic) 

 9) Pinal County Jail, AZ 

 10) Otero County Processing Center, NM (MTC) 

 11) Joe Corley Detention Facility, Conroe TX (GEO) 

 12) Houston, TX (CoreCivic on Export Drive) 

 13) IAH, Secure Adult Detention Center (MTC) (Livingstone, TX) 

 14) LaSalle, LA 

B. Memorandum from Michael J. Davidson, Chief, CALD, OPLA, ICE to William C. 

Randolph, Director and Head of Contracting Activity, OAQ, ICE, Funding 

Intergovernmental Service Agreements (Feb. 7, 2013). 

C. All information in any medium including but but (sic) not limited to e-mail, text 

messages, reports, contracts, memoranda, letters, or faxes signed by, from, to OR about 

Charlie Dent, John McCormack, Eric Ruth, Matthew Lerch, Judith Kraine, Mark 

Baldwin, William Dennis, Thomas Gajewski, Judith Schwank, Mark Scott in ICE 

components that handle Berks County, PA ICE Intergovernmental Service Agreements 

(IGSAs) and not responsive to previous requests. This means any document under ICE 

control associated with detention or removal operations, facility leases, purchases, sales, 

or services rendered in Berks County, PA that references any of the individuals listed 

above is responsive to this request. Please make sure to inquire of any ICE component 

responsible for any negotiations with Berks County. The time frame of this request is 

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2000 to the present. The most likely location of records responsive to this request are 

offices responsible for the Berks County, PA operations, contracts, and reviews, 

including but not limited to litigation for that facility. In particular, there should be 

communications in 2006 about ICE-contracted facility firings based on allegations of 

unlawful actions. Components within ICE that are alerted about misconduct or possible 

litigation should be searched for responsive records. 

D. All grievance logs and grievances for Berks County, PA, Hudson County, NJ, and 

Otero County Processing Center, January 1, 2010 to present (Names and other Personally 

Identifying information is of course exempt and may be redacted.) 

E. All Jail Services Costs Statements for Berks County Family Facility and Hudson 

County, NJ 2001 to present.’ 

F. Since January 1, 1999, the earliest first 100 pages of documents associated with the 

IGSA for: 

 1. Berks County, PA 

 2. Hudson County, NJ 

For “F” please request documents of the component of ICE predecessor INS that would 

initiate discussions of IGSAs for the purposes of holding people under immigration laws. 

 I am seeking the first information referencing these county governments as suitable 

detention locations by an INS component in any medium, including but not limited to 

emails, letters, proposals, memorandums, or reports. 

G. All Evaluations associated with contracts for facilities below, including technical and 

performance evaluations by the Contracting Officers and ICE Detention Planning and 

Acquisition Unit and ongoing performance and renewals by contract officers EXCEPT 

Inspector reports. The time frame for this request is January 1, 2000 or the first year of 

the facility’s submission of the JCSC through the present. 

1) the Berks County Residential Center, Berks County, PA; 

 2) South Texas Family Residential Center, Dilley, TX; 

 3) Hudson County Jail, Hudson County, NJ; 

 4) Stewart County, GA, (CoreCivic); 

 5) Aurora, Colorado (GEO) 

 6) Tacoma, WA (GEO) 

 7) Otay Mesa, CA (CoreCivic) 

 8) Eloy, EZ (CoreCivic) 

 9) Pinal County Jail, AZ 

 10) Otero County Processing Center, NM (MTC) 

 11) Joe Corley Detention Facility, Conroe TX (GEO) 

 12) Houston, TX (CoreCivic on Export Drive) 

 13) IAH, Secure Adult Detention Center (MTC) (Livingstone, TX) 

 14) LaSalle, LA 

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H. Evaluations of JCSCs by Contracting Officers and ICE Detention Planning and 

Acquisition Unit for all detention contracts since January 1, 2008. 

I. Evaluations of the FIRST JCSCs by Contracting Officers and ICE Detention Planning 

and Acquisition Units (or their predecessors) for all currently operating ICE/INS 

detention facilities except as covered by (H). 

46. On September 5, 2018, ICE sent Stevens an acknowledgement for her request and 

assigned it reference number 2018-ICFO-59138. 

47. On October 25, 2018, ICE sent a “final response” letter stating the following: 

ICE has conducted a search of the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations 

(ERO) and the ICE Office of Acquisitions (OAQ) for records responsive to your request 

and no records were found. 

48. On October 31, 2018, Stevens submitted a timely appeal from the October 25, 2018 

determination challenging the adequacy of the search. 

49. On November 26, 2018, the Government Information Law Division of DHS sent a letter 

to Plaintiff claiming to have received the appeal on November 23, 2018. The letter 

acknowledged the appeal and assigned it case number 2019-ICAP-00109. 

50. On February 19, 2019, ICE issued a “final response” via email, stating the following: 

Upon a complete review of the administrative record, ICE has determined that new 

search(s) or modifications to the existing search(s), could be made. Therefore, ICE is 

remanding your request to the ICE FOIA Office for processing and re-tasking to the 

appropriate agency/office(s) to obtain any responsive documents. 

51. On February 7, 2020 ICE sent Stevens by electronic mail a cover letter signed by Catrina 

M. Pavlik-Keenan and one document responsive to Plaintiff’s request which consists of a sevenpage memorandum dated February 7, 2013. Six of the seven pages were redacted in their 

entirety save the words “IGSA Funding” in the header. The only exemption cited is b(5). 

52. The cover letter from Ms. Pavlik-Keenan, dated February 4, 2019, states: “After review 

of the documents on remand, I have determined that portions of documents will be withheld 

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pursuant to exemptions of the FOIA as described below. The letter invoked exemption 5, 6, 7(c). 

Pavlik-Keenan does not state how the search was conducted, nor the total number of records 

responsive to the request that were withheld. 

Request No. 6 -Hudson County Jail

53. On December 16, 2018, Stevens submitted a FOIA request seeking all items maintained, 

received, or required to be produced by ICE related to health care services at the Hudson County 

jail for individuals held under immigration laws, including: 

All contracts and associated attachments, memorandums of understanding, e-mail, and all 

other items associated with the submission, acceptance, and review of the CFG Health 

Systems, LLC, contracts with Hudson County for health care provided to people held 

under immigration laws. 

All logs of grievances (oral and written) submitted by people detained at the Hudson 

County facility. 

All medical expense reports submitted to ICE, including via Hudson County.

All reviews and reports on health care services provided to people held under 

immigration laws at the Hudson County facility, including regular reports, ad hoc reports, 

and those based on specific grievances or complaints generated by any source. 

All reports of hunger strikes. 

All reports of hospitalization outside of the Hudson County facility for people held under 

immigration laws by Hudson County. 

54. On December 17, 2018, ICE sent Stevens a confirmation receipt for her request and 

assigned it tracking number 2019-ICFO-24680. 

55. On February 27, 2019, a research assistant looked up the status of the request on the 

FOIA online platform. The system reported that “There is no FOIA request in the system for that 

number.” 

56. On July 5, 2019, a research assistant checked the platform again, and the system reported 

that the status is “request for docs sent” with an estimated delivery date as February 22, 2019. 

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57. On September 18, 2019, Stevens received by electronic mail a cover letter signed by 

Catrina M. Pavlik-Keenan and production of six pages plus an Excel spread sheet. 

58. On or about October 3, 2019 Stevens sent ICE an appeal of the response and indicated it 

was her belief that numerous documents responsive to her request had not been produced. 

59. On November 4, 2019, ICE indicated that it had received the appeal on November 4, 

2019 and assigned it tracking number 2020-ICAP-00063. 

60. On December 4, 2019, Stevens received by electronic mail a letter with the same date 

signed by Shiraz Panthaky, Chief Government Information Law Division. The letter states in 

part: “Upon a complete review of the administrative record, ICE has determined that a new 

search(s) or modifications to the existing search(s), could be made. Therefore, ICE is remanding 

your request to the ICE FOIA Office for processing and re-tasking to the appropriate 

agency/office(s) to obtain any responsive records, should they exist.” 

61. Plaintiff has received no additional records after remand. 

62. As of May 1, 2020, 101 business days have lapsed since the appeal was remanded but 

Plaintiff’s request has not been completed. 

63. Plaintiff has exhausted all available administrative remedies.

Claims for Relief 

Count I – Violation of FOIA 

64. All previous paragraphs are incorporated as though fully set forth herein. 

65. Plaintiff has a statutory right under the Act to obtain the agency records properly 

requested in her six requests identified above. 

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66. No legal basis exists for Defendants DHS and ICE’s failure to promptly docket, process, 

respond, and produce responsive agency records in accordance with the timing and other 

requirements of the Act. 

67. DHS and ICE’s failure to disclose all responsive agency records in connection with 

Stevens’ six requests identified above, as well as its failure to (1) docket and process Stevens’ 22 

November, 2019 request for records [Request No. 2]; (2) timely respond to her March 25, 2019 

[Request No. 3] and 22 November, 2019 [Request No. 2] requests; (3) process on remand and 

respond to the August 6, 2018 [Request No. 1], January 19, 2019 [Request No. 4], and December 

16, 2018 [Request No. 6], requests; (4) provide a legally sufficient appellate response to Request 

Nos. 2 and 5; and (5) conduct proper searches to locate documents responsive to the six FOIA 

requests, each violate the Act, as well as regulations promulgated by DHS. 

68. As of the date of this Complaint, Defendants has failed to produce all records requested 

by Plaintiff in her six FOIA requests or to demonstrate that such records are lawfully exempt 

from production. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C). Nor have Defendants notified Plaintiff of the 

scope of any responsive records it intends to produce or withhold and the reasons for any 

withholdings, nor informed Plaintiff that it may appeal any specific, adverse determination. 

69. By failing to timely process and respond to Plaintiff’s requests within the statutorily 

prescribed time limits, Defendants have violated their respective duties under the FOIA, 

including but not limited to their duties to conduct a reasonable search for responsive records and 

to produce all responsive, reasonably segregable, non-exempt information. Therefore, 

Defendants are unlawfully withholding records requested by Plaintiff pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552. 

70. Plaintiff is being irreparably harmed by reason of Defendants’ unlawful withholding of 

records responsive to Plaintiff’s FOIA requests and their failure to comply with their respective 

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obligations under FOIA, and Plaintiff will continue to be irreparably harmed unless Defendants 

are compelled to conform its conduct to the requirements of the law. 

Count II – Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against ICE

71. Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates paragraphs 1 through 60. 

72. Defendant ICE has a mandatory statutory duty under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3) to conduct a 

reasonable search for records responsive to FOIA requests and to make a determination on each 

request within the time period set forth in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6): 20 business days, to be extended 

by no more than 10 business days in the event that the agency notifies the requester in writing of 

the existence of “unusual circumstances.” 5 U.S.C. § 522(a)(6)(B)(i) 

73. ICE has failed to make determinations on Plaintiff’s FOIA requests, appeals, and 

remands within the timeframes required by statute. Defendant’s failures are part of a pattern and 

practice of such deliberate violations of FOIA. Exceptional circumstances do not justify ICE’s 

delay in processing FOIA requests. 

74. ICE has failed to allocate sufficient resources to address its FOIA backlog, including 

allocating sufficient budgetary and personnel resources to comply with the timeframes imposed 

by the Act. 

75. Defendant’s backlog demonstrates the existence of a pattern and practice of deliberate 

and repeated failures to make timely determinations on FOIA requests, process appeals, and 

promptly produce responsive records within the statutory time periods and in good faith. 

76. Defendant also routinely fails to conduct good faith searches for records and redacts 

information that is not within the scope of to the carefully crafted statutory exceptions. As a 

result, Defendant is precluding the public from monitoring its actions and performance. 

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77. No legal ground, justification, or excuse exists for Defendant’s nationwide pattern and 

practice of failing to meet the statutory deadlines with respect to properly submitted FOIA 

requests and to discharge its statutory duties in good faith. 

REQUEST FOR RELIEF 

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that judgment be entered in her favor and against Defendant, 

and that the Court: 

A. Order Defendants and any of their agents or other persons, departments, or components 

acting for, with, by, through, or under them, to conduct a prompt, reasonable search for 

records responsive to Plaintiff’s requests ; 

B. Permanently enjoin and restrain Defendants and any of Defendants’ agents or other 

persons, departments, or components acting for, with, by, through, or under them from 

withholding the agency records at issue in this case; 

C. Declare that the requested records by Plaintiff are not exempt from disclosure under 

FOIA, and order Defendant with custody of the records to disclose the requested records in 

their entirety and make copies available to the Plaintiff; 

D. Declare that Defendant ICE’s pattern and practice of failing to make determinations on 

requests within the statutory time frames violate the Act; 

E. Declare that Defendant ICE’s pattern and practice of failing to make determinations on 

requests remanded for further processing and promptly notify the requestor of its 

determinations violate the Act; 

F. Award Plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E); 

and, 

G. Award all other relief to Plaintiff that the Court deems just, equitable, and proper. 

Case: 1:20-cv-02725 Document #: 1 Filed: 05/05/20 Page 20 of 21 PageID #:20
Respectfully submitted, 

 _____s/ Nicolette Glazer Esq.________ 

 Nicolette Glazer Esq. 

 LAW OFFICES OF LARRY R GLAZER

 1875 Century Park East #700 

 Century City, CA 90067 

 T: 310-407-5353 

 F: 310-407-5354 

 nicolette@glazerandglazer.com

ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF 

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