MEMORANDUM OPINION
This is a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) case brought by Neal D. Barnard against the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to obtain records related to him that could explain why he has been detained, questioned, and/or searched in airports during and after his international trips beginning in January 2003. On November 16, 2006, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, informed Plaintiff that it hаd located six pages of records related to him, but that the records would be withheld in their entirety pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 2 and 7. Currently before the Court are the Parties’ Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment on the dispositive question of whether the agency properly withheld the records in their entirety. After a thorough review of the Parties’ submissions, including an in camera review of the records at issue, applicable case law and statutory authority, the Court shall grant Defendant’s [14] Motion for Summary Judgment and deny Plaintiffs [16] Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment for the reasons that follow.
I. BACKGROUND
Between January 2003 and January 2007, Plaintiff was detained, questioned, and/or searched at various airports before or after international trips on approximately 17 occasions. See Pl.’s Mot. for Summ. J. at 2-5. On two occasions, Plaintiff observed the phrase “Terrorist Organization Member-Caution” displayed on the computer screens of United States Customs and Border Protection employees, and during two other incidents was informed that his name was on a “no-fly” list. Id. Seeking to discover the records underlying his travel difficulties, Plaintiff sent a letter to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) on March 21, 2006, asking for records related to any “monitoring, surveillance, observation, questioning, interrogation, and/or investigation of [Plaintiffs] activities.” 1 See Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 3 (Plaintiffs FOIA Request). On August 7, 2006, after failing to receive a timely response from ICE, Plаintiff filed the instant Complaint for injunc-tive relief. 2 Pl.’s Mot. for Summ. J. at 6. By letter dated November 16, 2006, ICE responded to Plaintiffs request, stating that it had located six pages of responsive records, but that the pages were “exempt from disclosure, in their entirety, pursuant to [FOIA Exemptions 2 and 7].” 3 Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 9 (FOIA Response).
II. LEGAL STANDARD
In reviеwing a motion for summary judgment under FOIA, the Court must conduct a
de novo
review of the record.
See
5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). In the FOIA context,
“de novo
review requires the Court to ‘ascertain whether the agency has sustained its burden of demonstrating that the documents requested ... are exempt from disclosure under [ ] FOIA.’ ”
Assassination Archives & Research Ctr. v. Cent. Intelligence Agency,
Summary judgment is proper when “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A gеnuine issue of material fact exists only when there is sufficient evidence such that a reasonable juror could find for the party opposing the motion.
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby Inc.,
Under FOIA, all underlying facts and inferences are analyzed in the light
Congress enacted FOIA for the purpose of introducing transparency to government activities.
See Stern v. Fed. Bureau of Investigation,
An аgency also has the burden of detailing what proportion of the information in a document is non-exempt and how that material is dispersed throughout the document.
Mead Data Cent. Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Air Force,
III. DISCUSSION
Defendant’s search for documents produced six pages
5
of
responsive rеcords located in the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (“TECS”).
6
See
Exemption 2 applies to two types of information: (1) internal agency matters so routine or trivial that they could not be “subject to ... a genuine and significant public interest” and (2) internal agency matters of some public interest “where disclosure may risk circumvention” of statutes or agency regulations.
Dep’t of Air Force v. Rose,
Exemption 7 protects from disclosure “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposеs,” but only to the extent that the production of such records would cause an enumerated harm. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7);
see Fed. Bureau of Investigation v. Abramson,
Mr. Marshal H. Fields, Jr., the Chief of the FOIA/Privacy Act (“FOIA/PA”) Section at ICE reviewed the records to determine whether any portions of the records could be segregated and disclosed.
See
Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A ¶ 25 (Declaration of Marshal Fields dated Feb. 20, 2007) (hereinafter “Fields Deck”). Mr. Fields determined that “the exempt information was so inextricably intertwined with the non-exempt information ... any release of the nonexempt materials could reasonably lead to the identification of the individuals, techniques, entities, or other
In his consolidated Cross-Motion аnd Opposition, Plaintiff concedes that Defendant properly withheld information pertaining to TECS, special agents, and internal codes, and that Defendant may properly withhold portions of the records if they pertain to an ongoing criminal investigation. Pl.’s Mot. for Summ. J. at 8. Plaintiff argues, however, that Defendant has not met its burden of showing that there is an ongoing criminal investigation of Plaintiff (which Defendant uses as a basis for withholding the records) beсause Mr. Fields’ declaration is not based on his personal knowledge. Id. at 8-13. Plaintiff also argues that Defendant has not met its burden of demonstrating that the non-exempt portions of the records cannot be segregated and disclosed to Plaintiff. Id. at 13-14. The Court shall address each of these arguments in turn.
A Sufficiency of Defendant’s Declaration
Plaintiff argues that Defendant’s declaration contains hearsay which should be disregarded by the Court. Pl.’s Mot. for Summ. J. at 8. Specifically, Plaintiff argues that Mr. Fiеlds does not have personal knowledge of the investigation involving Plaintiff, but he “simply reported information that he retrieved from a ‘database used for storage, tracking, and retrieval of law enforcement information’ that is accessible by all ICE offices.” Id. at 9 (quoting Fields Decl. ¶ 15). Because the declaration does not state that Mr. Fields has “personal knowledge of an ongoing investigation in [his] department,” Plaintiff argues that Defendant has failed to show the records were properly withheld. Id.
Plaintiff misunderstands the personal knowledge requirements for FOIA declarations. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(e) provides that a declaration “must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible as evidence, and show that the [declarant] is competent to testify on the matters stated.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). A declarant in a FOIA case satisfies the personal knowledge requirement in Rule 56(e) “ ‘if in his declaration, [he] attests to his personal knowledge of the procedures used in handling [a FOIA] request and his familiarity with the documents in question.’ ”
Madison Mech., Inc. v. Nat’l Aeronautics and Space Admin.,
No. 99-2854,
Because a declarant is deemed to have personal knowledge if he has a general familiarity with the responsive records and procedures used to identify those rec
In the present matter, Defendant submitted the declaration of Mr. Fields, Chief of the FOIA/PA Section of the Information Disclosure Unit, Mission Support Division, Office of Investigations, at the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security. See Fields Decl. ¶ 2. His official duties and responsibilities include “the general management, oversight, and supervision of the FOIA/PA Section.” Id. ¶ 3. Mr. Fields declares that his statements are made “based upon [his] personal knowledge, review of documents kept in the course of business, and information conveyed to [him] in the course of [his] official duties.” Id. ¶ 4. Mr. Fields further indicates that he “reviewed all documents responsive to Plaintiffs FOIA request ‘line-by-line’ to identify information exempt from disclosure or for which a discretionary waiver of exemption could be applied.” Id. ¶25. Because Mr. Fields is familiar with the processes used to search for the records at issue, and because he has reviewed the records himself, he is competent to testify as to the information contained in those records. Accordingly, Plaintiff is incorrect that Mr. Fields’ declaration contains impermissible hearsay.
Plaintiff attempts to circumvent this case law by arguing that the investigation of Plaintiff has likely ended and that TECS is unreliable.
See
Pl.’s Mot. for Summ. J. at 10-11. Plaintiff indicates that the FBI disclosed documents to Plaintiff in
B. Segregation of Non-Exempt Information
Plaintiffs second argument is that Defendant has failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that the exempt and non-exempt portions of the records are inextricably intertwined. Plaintiff has a point. FOIA rеquires that “[a]ny reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting such a record after deletion of the portions which are exempt.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b). The question of segregability is “subjective based on the nature of the document in question, and an agency must provide a reasonably detailed justification rather than conclusory statements to support its claim that the non-exempt matеrial in a document is not reasonably segregable”.
Mead Data Cent. Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Air Force,
Defendant’s declaration fails to provide sufficient detail concerning the non-exempt information
to
allow meaningful rеview concerning segregability. Mr. Fields’ only explanation is that the nonexempt information is “inextricably intertwined” with the exempt information, and that no portions can be segregated and released without leading to the “identification of the individuals, techniques, entities, or other items that are properly protected by the exemptions asserted.” Fields Decl. ¶25. This explanation fails to even provide a description of the proportion of information in the records that is non-exempt, nor how that information is dispersed throughout the records. Rather than order an additional round of briefing on those questions, however, and given Defendant’s argument that further discussion of the records would divulge information properly withheld based on the exemptions it has invoked, the Court exercised its discretion to order submission of the documents to Chambers for an
in camera
review.
See
5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) (authorizing
in camera
in
Having reviewed the documents in camera, the Court agrees with Defendant that there exists no reasonably segregable nonexempt portions of the records. 9 The few words or phrases that might be considered non-exempt are dispersed throughout the seven pages and are inextricably intertwined with information found to be exempt by the Court in its discussion above. 10
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth аbove, the Court shall GRANT Defendant’s [14] Motion for Summary Judgment and DENY Plaintiffs [16] Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. The Parties may file supplemental briefing as to Plaintiffs Privacy Act claim, if necessary, in accordance with the Order accompanying this Memorandum Opinion.
Notes
.Neither Party disputes that ICE is a component of Defendant Department of Homeland Security, nor that both are agencies within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1).
.Plaintiff also filed FOIA requests with other agencies, including the FBI. See PL's Stmt. ¶ 10. Thеse FOIA requests are not at issue in the present action.
.Plaintiff appealed the ICE's decision,
see
. The Parties’ Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment only address Plaintiff's claims in the FOIA context. The Court notes, however, that review under the Administrative Procedure Act is unavailable for Plaintiff's claim because it applies “except to the extent that prior, аdequate, and exclusive opportunity for judicial review is provided by law,” 5 U.S.C. § 704, and FOIA specifically provides for judicial review of agency decisions to withhold documents, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B).
See Sierra Club, et al. v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior,
. Defendant subsequently located a seventh page. See footnote 9, infra.
. Plaintiff does not challenge the sufficiency of Defendant’s search for responsive records. See generally, Second Am. Compl.
. Plaintiff cites
Linn v. Dep’t of Justice,
No. 92-1406,
. Nor would Defendant necessarily have an obligation to reveal which agency is conducting the investigation if that information is properly withheld pursuant to a FOIA exemption.
. Defendant included, with the unredacted copies of thе documents, the declaration of Gloria L. Marshall (which Defendant filed on the public docket). Ms. Marshall states that Mr. Fields, Defendant’s previous declarant, is no longer employed by ICE, and that she reviewed the relevant FOIA files to locate the six pages of records. See Decl. of G. Marshall dated January 23, 2008 ¶ 6. She discovered seven pages of records instead of the six previously referenced by Mr. Fields. Id. Ms. Marshall states that she independently reviewed all seven pages and “determined that all records are exempt from disclosure ... for the reasons explained in the Fields Declaration.” Id.
. The Court has sua sponte filed the seven pages of records under seal.
