FOIA Exemption 7(E)
Pursuant to Exemption 7(E) the government need not disclose “techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions.” For a record to qualify under 7(E), it must involve techniques and procedures not known to the general public. There is normally no protection for routine procedures and techniques. An agency invoking 7(E) must demonstrate that the records were developed for law enforcement purposes, as measured by one of a number of tests that vary on the basis of the agency’s function. 7(E) records include any materials collected or assembled for law enforcement purposes, including documents originally compiled for non law-enforcement purposes. These materials need not have been compiled at a specific time.
Example of 7(E)
In Families for Freedom vs. United States Custom and Border Protection, three individuals in deportations brought action against Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ICE and DHS. The FOIA suit requested records pertaining to the scope of CBP operations on inter-city buses and trains. CBP cited 7(E) in denying the demand for information regarding “arrest quotas, targets, goals and expectations.” The court mandated release of seven daily reports because statistics are not techniques, procedures or guidelines. The court also found that the information did not risk circumvention of the law because figures were broken down by sector rather than station. Courts occasionally find for plaintiffs on the merits in FOIA actions.