U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Information Policy
Suite 11050
1425 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Telephone: (202) 514-3642

July 18, 2018
Mr. Justin Florence
The Protect Democracy Project
2020 Pennsylvania Ave, NW #163
Washington, DC 20006
Justin.florence@protectdemocracy.org

Re:

DOJ-2018-006160 (AG)
VRB:VAV:BRB

Dear Mr. Florence:
This responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received
in this Office on June 19, 2018, for “any record reflecting a law of the United States, a judicial
decision, or a legal opinion of the Department of Justice, that requires the separation of
children from their parents at the border,” dating since March 1, 2017. This response is made
on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
Please be advised that a search has been conducted of the electronic database of the
Departmental Executive Secretariat, which is the official records repository for the Office of
the Attorney General, and no records responsive to your request were located.
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement
and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552 (2012 &
Supp. IV 2016). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements
of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be
taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist.
You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison, Douglas Hibbard, for any further assistance
and to discuss any aspect of your request at: Office of Information Policy, United States
Department of Justice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 205300001; telephone at 202-514-3642; or facsimile at 202-514-1009.
Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation
services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government
Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601
Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at
202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
If you are not satisfied with my response to this request, you may administratively
appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy, United States Department of
Justice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, or you may
submit an appeal through OIP’s FOIAonline portal at

 -2https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/home. Your appeal must be postmarked or
electronically submitted within ninety days of the date of my response to your request. If you
submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked
“Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
Sincerely,

Vanessa R. Brinkmann
Senior Counsel