UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA KAY KHINE and : CATHOLIC CHARITIES, : : Plaintiffs, : Civil Action No.: 17-1924 (RC) : v. : Re Document Nos.: 11, 17 : UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF : HOMELAND SECURITY, : : Defendant. : MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS I. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, Catholic Charities requested various materials from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on behalf of Kay T. Khine (“Khine”) (together with Catholic Charities, “Plaintiffs”). In response, USCIS disclosed certain documents, withheld others, and sent Plaintiffs a letter explaining its decision. Unsatisfied with that letter, and without administratively appealing it, Plaintiffs filed this action to compel the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), in which USCIS is housed, to explain the decision in a more fulsome and detailed manner, such that Plaintiffs can file a “meaningful” administrative appeal. 1 Before this Court are DHS's motion to dismiss and Plaintiffs’ motion to file a sur-reply to DHS’s motion. Having 1 Because Plaintiffs have brought this action against DHS, the Court will hereafter refer to Plaintiffs’ request as being made to DHS, rather than USCIS. reviewed the parties’ submissions, this Court grants both motions and dismisses the complaint for Plaintiffs’ failure to exhaust administrative remedies. II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Khine is a native of Burma who sought asylum in the United States. Compl. ¶ 12, ECF No. 1. During her asylum process, a United States asylum officer generated an “Assessment of the case” (the “Assessment”). Id. This three-page document is allegedly in DHS’s possession. Compl. ¶¶ 13, 18. In February 2017, Catholic Charities submitted a FOIA request on behalf of Khine seeking the Assessment, the asylum officer’s notes regarding Khine, and other materials related to Khine’s asylum application. See Compl. ¶ 15; FOIA Request, Compl. Ex. 1, ECF No. 1-1. In July 2017, DHS produced 860 pages of material and a letter (the “initial response”) (1) explaining DHS’s response to Plaintiffs’ request, including the statutory provisions under which DHS withheld certain documents in part or in full; 2 (2) stating that DHS had submitted certain responsive documents to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) for further consideration; and (3) noting Plaintiffs’ right to appeal DHS’s initial decision. Compl. ¶¶ 17, 19; Letter from Jill A. Eggleston, Director, FOIA Operations, USCIS, to David L. Cleveland, Counsel for Kay T. Khine (July 12, 2017), Compl. Ex. 2, ECF No. 1-2 (“DHS Letter”). The asylum officer's Assessment was withheld in full as exempt from FOIA, and the initial response explained that withheld documents “contain no reasonably segregable portion(s) of non-exempt information.” DHS Letter at 2; see also Compl. ¶¶ 40, 45. 2 These include Privacy Act—5 U.S.C. §§ 552a(d)(5), (j)(2) and (k)(2)—and FOIA—5 U.S.C. §§ 552(b)(5), (b)(7)(C), and (b)(7)(E)—provisions. 2 As noted in the initial response, an appeal would allow Plaintiffs to “preserve [their] rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and reconsider [their] ...
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