Linares Alvarez v. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
- Katharine Parker
- 1:22-cv-01425
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Linares Alvarez v. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Judge Parker granted the parties’ request to postpone the initial conference while ICE processes requested records.
Guillermo Linares Alvarez and the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose FOIA case was placed on the proposed document-processing and status-report schedule.
What happened
In Linares Alvarez v. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Guillermo Linares Alvarez sued under the Freedom of Information Act for records about himself, including records of interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arrest and detention records, detainer forms, and investigation records. The parties reported that ICE had gathered about 740 potentially responsive pages after receiving the request.
The parties agreed on a schedule for ICE to review and produce the records: an initial production by May 13, 2022, additional processing by June 17, and completion of the remaining documents by July 15. They asked to postpone the May 4 initial conference and submit a status update by July 29 instead.
The court granted the application. The filing does not decide whether Linares Alvarez is entitled to the requested records. Judge Katharine Parker’s ruling also relieved the parties from filing a proposed case-management plan and discovery schedule at that stage.
The detailed version
- Linares Alvarez v. Immigration & Customs Enforcement · No. 1:22-cv-01425
- Katharine Parker
- Apr. 19, 2022
Background
Guillermo Linares Alvarez brought this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) action seeking records related to himself. The request identified records of interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ICE arrest records, detention-center records, detainer or notification forms, and investigation records. The opinion text states that Linares Alvarez submitted the request to ICE on December 17, 2021, and filed the action after ICE did not produce responsive documents.
The United States Attorney’s Office reported that it represented the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The parties had consented to proceedings before Judge Parker, and the defendants had answered the complaint. They reported no anticipated jurisdiction or venue disputes and no planned motions under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b) or 12(c).
Parties’ Proposed Schedule
The defendants had gathered approximately 740 pages that might respond to the request. The parties agreed that the defendants would review and process 250 pages per month, make an initial production by May 13, 2022, process an additional 250 pages by June 17, and process the remaining documents by July 15. They proposed filing a status report by July 29 concerning any remaining issues.
The parties also asked to be relieved from filing a proposed case-management plan and discovery schedule. They stated that FOIA cases typically proceed without civil discovery and anticipated that any unresolved dispute could be addressed through cross-motions for summary judgment, which are motions asking the court to decide a case based on the developed record without a trial.
Ruling
The court’s filing indicates “APPLICATION GRANTED.” The granted application requested that the May 4, 2022 initial conference be adjourned indefinitely and replaced with a status report due by July 29, 2022. The text does not state that the court decided the merits of Linares Alvarez’s FOIA request or ordered a final production of any particular records. Judge Katharine H. Parker therefore entered a case-management ruling rather than a merits decision.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.