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Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request

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  • 03-08-2015, 07:19 AM
    chris067`
    Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    Will authorities come knocking on my door if I request information on my wifes behalf, or if she requests information on her own behalf. This would be through FOIAonline. We need to find out if there is any documentation of her being in the country back when she entered in January 2003. We would request information from USCIS, ICE and most importantly CBP. A little about her story, she entered in January 2003, illegally, she was apprehended my CBP, they took her to Tucson where they took her photo and fingerprints, she used her real name, she was then offered to voluntarily go back to Mexico. The reason we are requesting information is to determine her eligibility for a green card or any other options she may have available to her.
  • 03-08-2015, 08:11 AM
    budwad
    Re: Am I Protected if I Request My Information Through Foiaonline
    What exactly do you think you need protection from? You can make any request for information you want. It doesn't matter on who's behalf it is on.

    If you want to know if there is information in some file or database about your wife entering the country illegally, you can probably bet on it but it might not be subject to discovery through the FOIA..
  • 03-08-2015, 12:54 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    Quote:

    Quoting chris067`
    View Post
    Will authorities come knocking on my door if I request information on my wifes behalf, or if she requests information on her own behalf. This would be through FOIAonline.

    It’s not illegal to make a FOIA request and agencies get thousands of such requests every year. However, if something about the FOIA request reveals your wife is potentially violating the law, the agency is not going to ignore that. Note that the reason you want to make the request does not have to be disclosed to the agency. So you don’t have to disclose that you want the information to explore immigration options for her.

    She would have to make the request herself because very generally the federal government will not release information it holds about her to anyone other than her.
  • 03-08-2015, 01:25 PM
    budwad
    Re: Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    Quote:

    Quoting Taxing Matters
    View Post
    .

    She would have to make the request herself because very generally the federal government will not release information it holds about her to anyone other than her.

    I don't agree with this. Under the FOIA anyone can request anything. If it is subject to the Act it has to be rendered.
  • 03-08-2015, 01:39 PM
    flyingron
    Re: Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    There is some confusion here. There are actually two acts that apply though the requests are typically handled by the same office.

    FOIA makes all but certain exempted records available to the public at large. As Budwad would point out, if it can be obtained by FOIA, it matters not who makes the request.
    Certain personal information is protected specifically by statute which includes some visa and other information by the Immigration and Naturalization Act as well as information involved in active criminal investigations and many others. In addition, certain information is barred under the Privacy Act.

    The Privacy Act is a different act. This specifies protections on files kept on individuals. It puts restrictions on the government's dissemination of such records and also mandates that such be made available to the person that is the subject of the records. In this case, it very much matters that the person make the request on their own behalf.
  • 03-08-2015, 05:22 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    Quote:

    Quoting budwad
    View Post
    I don't agree with this. Under the FOIA anyone can request anything. If it is subject to the Act it has to be rendered.

    Yes, anyone may make a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but that doesn’t mean they’ll get the information they seek. When the request is for personal information of someone else, the agency is generally precluded under FOIA, the Privacy Act (PA), and other federal privacy laws from releasing that information. That is why, for example, I could not use FOIA to get your federal tax return information. FOIA exempts from disclosure information protected under other federal laws, and your tax returns are protected by both the PA and IRC § 6103.

    Because federal law generally protects against disclosure of private information about individuals the agencies likely must deny a FOIA or PA request that seeks information about some other person. Thus, if the OP makes the request, the agency ought to deny the request on that basis (except that perhaps if the wife is not a permanent resident there may not be any protection for her records). Thus, the federal government's main FOIA site, FOIA.gov, specifically states:

    Are there special requirements for obtaining records on myself?

    If you are seeking records on yourself you will be required to provide a certification of your identity. This certification is required in order to protect your privacy and to ensure that private information about you is not disclosed inappropriately to someone else. Whenever you request information about yourself you will be asked to provide either a notarized statement or a statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that you are the person who you say you are.

    What about requirements for obtaining records on someone else?

    If you request records relating to another person, and disclosure of the records could invade that person's privacy, they ordinarily will not be disclosed to you.

    So, I stand by my response: if she wants this information, she likely needs to request it herself, even under FOIA.
  • 03-09-2015, 07:44 AM
    budwad
    Re: Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    Quote:

    Quoting budwad
    View Post
    I don't agree with this. Under the FOIA anyone can request anything. If it is subject to the Act it has to be rendered.

    You will note the qualifier. Subject to the Act refers to the exemption and exception stated in the Act.



    Quote:

    Quoting Taxing Matters
    View Post
    [SIZE=3][So, I stand by my response: if she wants this information, she likely needs to request it herself, even under FOIA.

    I won't argue on this point.

    It still matters what information is being requested. For example, I could request information on Taxing Matters testimony before the Homeland Committee. That information might include personal information about identification, clearance, address, etc. But it will likely be redacted when I get the documents.
  • 03-10-2015, 03:12 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Will You Be Investigated for Making a FOIA Request
    Quote:

    Quoting budwad
    View Post
    It still matters what information is being requested.

    Yes, indeed it does. Here, the OP is seeking information about his wife’s entry and exits from the U.S. That is the sort of personal information that is generally protected under federal law, at least with respect to citizens and permanent residents.


    Quote:

    Quoting budwad
    View Post
    For example, I could request information on Taxing Matters testimony before the Homeland Committee. That information might include personal information about identification, clearance, address, etc. But it will likely be redacted when I get the documents.

    Well, if you meant a committee of Congress, I’ll point out that neither Congress nor the Courts are subject to FOIA; only executive branch and independent federal agencies are subjet to the requirements of that Act. But that aside, I agree with you that if an agency can redact personal information or other protected from documents that are otherwise discloseable under FOIA then the agency must do that rather than withholding the entire document. I can tell you from personal experience that screening FOIA requests and doing redactions is a time consuming process and a pain to do. :p
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