NARA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Disposition of ICE Detainee Records

June 28, 2019—The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has announced that it is in the final stages of a records scheduling process with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for schedule DAA-0567-2015-0013, Detainee Records. The schedule, which covers records related to deaths of detainees and allegations of sexual assault and abuse of detainees, received a record number of public comments when initially released in 2017.  NARA has published a Notice in the Federal Register and consolidated reply to comments on Regulations.gov. The public now has an additional 45 days to submit comments to NARA specifically related to items proposed for disposition on the schedule.

SAA encourages individual members to provide comment.  Comments are due on or before August 5, 2019.

Because of significant public interest in this schedule, NARA has also posted copies of the revised proposed schedule and the appraisal report on Regulations.gov with the notice from the Federal Register.  According to NARA, the appraisal report is derived from NARA’s on-site reviews and discussions with ICE officials about agency business processes.

This schedule would authorize the disposal of various categories of ICE records over an extended period and designate other records for permanent retention in the National Archives, including case files related to detainee deaths in ICE custody.  The number of record categories designated as “permanent” has increased by two. One item was added to the schedule and the disposition of one item proposed as temporary has been changed to permanent.  Like all agency schedules, this one must be approved by the Archivist of the United States before it takes effect.

This schedule was originally proposed to NARA on October 26, 2015.  NARA published notice of the pending schedule in the Federal Register on July 14, 2017.  At that time, ICE requested that NARA approve a records retention schedule that would have allowed them to destroy detainee records in 11 categories, including solitary confinement, assault, sexual abuse, and deaths while in custody.  NARA initially recommended approval of ICE’s request, which sparked outrage during the public comment period among opponents who argued that the records clearly had permanent historical value.  NARA agreed to suspend its initial recommendation and reviewed the records retention schedule with ICE to determine what, if any, records can be destroyed. The proposed schedule is the result of that reevaluation process.

For SAA’s previous update on this process, see “NARA Issues Update on Review of ICE Records Disposition” from July 5, 2018.