Am. Civil Liberties Union of Maine Found. v. DHS, No. 18-00176, 2019 WL 2028512 (D. Me. May 8, 2019) (Levy, J.)

Am. Civil Liberties Union of Maine Found. v. DHS, No. 18-00176, 2019 WL 2028512 (D. Me. May 8, 2019) (Levy, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning immigration investigations in which Government officers have stopped bus passengers to ask whether they are United States citizens

Disposition:  Ordering government to revise certain withholdings

• Exemption 7(E):  Following in camera review of the records, the court first holds that certain withholdings which "contain[] 'agent instruction and guidance pursuant to agency policy, discussing mandatory tactics and techniques used by U.S. Border Protection during transportation checks'" "do not fall within the ambit of Exemption 7(E) because they do not implicate 'investigative techniques not generally known to the public.'"  Second, regarding withholdings made to records "'covering [agency] staffing levels, shift hours, zone assignments, zone boundaries, and vehicle numbers,'" the court "conclude[s] that the redactions . . . concern detailed and recent agent assignment information, which constitutes 'techniques and procedures.'"  Importantly, the court notes that "the Government indicates that the staffing information in the Shift Logs has continuing relevance to its present patrolling and enforcement activities."  Third, the court finds that "an operations order, which is an internal, law enforcement-sensitive document containing specifics of a U.S. Border Patrol operation, or other references to the when and where of the underlying transportation checks" was appropriately withheld while records "show[ing] general cooperation with other law enforcement agencies," "the name of an operations order," and "'concern[ing] details such as when, where and how long a checkpoint operation will take place'" were inappropriately withheld.