D.J.C.V. v. United States

Background

The United States, represented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, sought permission to file a redacted version of the parties’ Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts on the public docket and an unredacted version under seal. The action was brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The request referred to an existing protective order and to upcoming briefing concerning jurisdiction. The plaintiffs consented to the proposed redactions.

Requested Redactions

The proposed redactions covered: (1) Department of Homeland Security law-enforcement techniques and strategies at the Southwest border, including effects of resource limitations; (2) procedures for apprehending and detaining noncitizens entering between ports of entry; (3) internal system codes, system functions, and instructions for using law-enforcement systems; (4) nonpublic internal discussions about border-security policy and public messaging; and (5) names of low-level Department of Homeland Security employees who were not deposed in the action.

Access Analysis

The Government’s submission acknowledged that the Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts was a judicial document because it had been submitted in connection with jurisdictional briefing. It argued, however, that the presumption of public access to the proposed redacted information was low because the information was not specific to the plaintiffs and would not play a substantial role in deciding the jurisdictional dispute. It also argued that some of the information might fall outside the public-access presumption if the parties did not rely on it in their briefs.

The submission identified countervailing interests favoring nondisclosure, including the risk that disclosure could help people evade immigration-enforcement procedures, impair border-security efforts, compromise Department of Homeland Security information systems, and threaten the privacy and safety of government employees.

Ruling

The order granted the Government’s request to file the Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts with the proposed redactions publicly and the unredacted version under seal. Judge Engelmayer signed the order on May 5, 2023. The text supplied consists primarily of the Government’s request and ends with the judge’s “ORDERED” notation; it does not provide a separate, detailed judicial explanation beyond the grounds presented in that submission.