Where a plaintiff has brought an action under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552) seeking to compel United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to disclose written guidance the agency provides its attorneys about the performance of their duties, the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment should be allowed in part and denied in part, as some but not all of ICE’s redactions are justified under exemptions (b)(5) and (b)(7)(E).

“… Defendant has moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the redactions in the 42 documents at issue are (1) internal information protected by the attorney work-product doctrine under FOIA Exemption (b)(5), or (2) information compiled for law enforcement purposes, which would disclose the agency’s techniques, procedures, and/or guidance, under FOIA Exemption (b)(7)(E). …

“… The government has submitted a Vaughn index and a declaration by Fernando Pineiro (‘the Pineiro Declaration’) in support of the redactions. … Pineiro is the Director of ICE’s FOIA Office, which is responsible for processing and responding to ICE’s FOIA requests. …

“After an in camera review of the pertinent documents, i.e., the Vaughn index, the Pineiro Declaration, and the unredacted documents, the Court finds that many of the 42 documents are indeed protected by the work-product doctrine, as they were created in anticipation of litigation. For example, many of the documents include ‘practice pointers’ for litigating attorneys or provide critical...

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