UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUAN LUCIANO MACHADO AMADIS, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 1:16-cv-2230 (TNM) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, et al. Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Juan Luciano Machado Amadis sues the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Department of State (“State”) under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (“FOIA”). He also seeks relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, and the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651. At issue are Government’s responses to Mr. Amadis’s requests for documents about State’s decision to deny his visa applications based on events that occurred nearly four decades ago. Mr. Amadis alleges that State and DOJ’s components—the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”)—conducted inadequate searches in response to his FOIA requests. He also contends that the FBI and DOJ’s Office of Information Policy (“OIP”) improperly withheld records. Before the Court is the Government’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Mr. Amadis’s Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. For the reasons given below, the Court will grant summary judgment to the Government and deny Mr. Amadis’s cross-motion. I. BACKGROUND Juan Luciano Machado Amadis is a Dominican citizen who lives in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Am. Compl., ECF No. 15, ¶ 3. In 1989, he was denied a visa by the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo. Cross Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. D, ECF No. 31-4, p. 1. State explained that Mr. Amadis was inadmissible under Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act because he had been arrested for possession of over 100 grams of cocaine. Id. Section 212 allows State to refuse visas to persons who it has reason to believe “is or has been” a drug trafficker. Id. at 2. The cocaine charge, however, was dismissed, see Cross Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. B, ECF No. 31-2, pp. 4–5, and Mr. Amadis provided evidence to State that he had no conviction record, Cross Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. D, ECF No. 31-4, p. 2. State again found Mr. Amadis ineligible for a visa under Section 212(a) in 1990. Cross Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. D, ECF No. 31-4, p. 2. It explained that while Mr. Amadis “has no conviction record . . . this does not address whether or not he was arrested,” and Section 212(a) does not require a conviction for State to make an ineligibility finding. Id. “According to information available to [State], [Mr. Amadis] was arrested December 10, 1980, at the Santo Domingo Airport at which time 125 grams of cocaine was confiscated from his luggage.” Id. In 2012, Mr. Amadis again applied for a visa, and for a third time, State refused his request. Id. at 3. State cited Section 212(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes known and suspected drug traffickers inadmissible, see 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(C). Id. Mr. Amadis maintains that State is misinformed. He acknowledges that on December 10, 1980, he flew from New York to Santo Domingo where ...
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