UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA A.B., Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-00598 (CJN) U.S. Department of Justice, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION In this suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, Plaintiff A.B. seeks to compel the Department of Justice to release records pertaining to then-Attorney General Sessions’s decision to certify A.B.’s asylum case to himself. See generally Am. Compl., ECF No. 12. A.B. disputes only DOJ’s withholding of certain materials as protected by the deliberative process privilege. Because DOJ has adequately justified those withholdings and produced non- exempt segregable information, the Court grants summary judgment for DOJ in full. I. Background A.B. is a Salvadoran woman currently appealing the denial of her asylum application. Am. Compl. ¶ 2. She fled to the United States after experiencing abuse and violence from her husband. Am. Compl. ¶ 9. In 2015, an immigration judge denied her asylum application. Am. Compl. ¶ 11. She appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which reversed and remanded to the immigration judge with instructions to complete security checks and grant asylum. Am. Compl. ¶ 12. The immigration judge instead attempted to “certify” the case back to the Board, a step that the Attorney General later described as “procedurally defective.” Am. Compl. ¶ 13. 1 In March 2018, then-Attorney General Sessions certified the Board’s decision to himself. Am. Compl. ¶ 14. The Attorney General ultimately rejected A.B.’s challenge to his certification authority, vacated the Board’s decision, and remanded A.B.’s case to the immigration judge. Am. Compl. ¶ 17. In October 2018, the immigration judge issued a final order denying A.B.’s asylum application. Am. Compl. ¶ 19. A.B. timely appealed to the Board; her appeal remains pending. Pl.’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. Summ. J. (“Pl.’s Opp’n”) at 4, ECF No. 30. After the Attorney General certified A.B.’s case to himself, A.B. submitted a FOIA request to DOJ for “all records that were prepared, received, transmitted, collected and/or maintained by DOJ that contain, discuss, refer to, or are related to the Attorney General’s decision to certify to himself Plaintiff’s asylum case.” Am. Compl. ¶ 20 (internal footnote omitted). A.B. also submitted a second request to DOJ’s Executive Office of Immigration Review (“EOIR”) that sought similar records.1 Am. Compl. ¶ 23. A.B. filed this suit on March 6, 2019. See generally Compl., ECF No. 1; see also Am. Compl. Following several disputes between the Parties regarding the adequacy and timing of DOJ’s searches, see Pl.’s Opp’n at 7–8, DOJ produced over 1,000 pages of responsive records to A.B. in January 2020, Pl.’s Opp’n at 8. But DOJ also redacted or withheld completely certain records pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 5, 6, and 7(C). Def.’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. (“Def.’s Mem.”) at 1, ECF No. 28-2. 1 A.B.’s second FOIA request sought “[a]ll records that were prepared, received, transmitted, collected and/or maintained by [DOJ] that contain, discuss, refer to, or are related to [A.B.’s] asylum case within, between, or made by the following individuals …
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