U.S.

Department of Homeland Security

500 12th Street, SW; STOP 5009
Washington, DC 20536-5009

September 24, 2018

Kyle Iboshi
KGW
1501 SW Jefferson Street
Portland, OR 97201

RE: FOIA Appeal 2018-ICAP-00436, 2018-ICFO-41809

Dear Mr. Iboshi:

This is in response to your appeal letter received August 24, 2018, appealing U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Your
FOIA Request dated June 8, 2018, requested a complete case file for an ICE Office of Professional
Responsibility (OPR) investigation pertaining to an incident on September 18, 2017, where ICE
agents approached Isidro Andrade-Tafolla outside the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro,
Oregon and demanded to see his identification.

By letter, dated July 30, 2018, the ICE FOIA Office advised you that “[y]ou have requested records
concerning a third party. Records pertaining to a third party generally cannot be released absent
express authorization and consent of the third party, proof that the subject of your request is
deceased, or a clear demonstration that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the personal
privacy interest and that significant public benefit would result from the disclosure of the requested
records. Since you have not furnished a release, death certificate, or public justification for release,
release of the requested records concerning a third party would result in an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy in violation of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.” You appealed the withholding of
the records.

In its final rule on FOIA Regulations, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) explains that it
applies a balancing test to determine whether the personal privacy interests of the individual
outweigh the public interest in disclosure of such records, which may result in a denial of access to
third party requests that are not accompanied with proper signed authorization. 81 FR 83628
(Nov. 22, 2016). In your case, after a complete review of the administrative record and your appeal,
we find that your “public interest” statements provided in your appeal letter were not sufficient to
override the personal privacy interests of the individuals that fall within the scope of your request.
Therefore, ICE affirms the determination of the ICE FOIA Office.

This decision is the final action of ICE concerning your FOIA request. Inasmuch as you consider
this to be a denial of your appeal, you may obtain judicial review of this decision pursuant to the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) in the United States District Court in the district in which you
reside or have a principal place of business, or in which the agency records are situated, or in the
District of Columbia.

The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) also mediates disputes between FOIA
requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If you wish to contact
OGIS, you may email them at ogis@nara.gov or call 1-877-684-6448.

Should you have any questions regarding this appeal closure, please contact ICE. In the subject line
of the email please include the word “appeal,” your appeal number, which is 2018-ICAP-00436, and
the FOIA case number, which is 2018-ICFO-41809.

Sincerely,

Ali Kargbo
Erin Clifford
Chief
Government Information Law Division
ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

www.ice.gov