Analysis of the Second Response by the Department of Justice to Recommendations in the Office of the Inspector General's June 2003 Report on the Treatment of September 11 Detainees

January 2004
Office of the Inspector General

[identical letter sent to Chairman/Ranking Member of Senate Committee on the Judiciary]

January 5, 2004

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman and Congressman Conyers:

Enclosed is a follow-up analysis of the actions taken by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in response to the recommendations contained in the June 2003 Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report entitled, "The September 11 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11 Attacks" (Detainee Report).

On September 5, 2003, we analyzed the responses from the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to each of the 21 recommendations we made in the report. In that analysis, we stated that both agencies were taking our recommendations seriously and were taking steps to address many of the concerns raised by the OIG report. However, we concluded that a number of the recommendations were not addressed with sufficient specificity, and we asked for a follow-up response to provide additional information on actions taken to respond to the recommendations.

On November 20, 2003, the DOJ submitted to the OIG a second response to the recommendations that related to DOJ responsibilities. The enclosed document analyzes this second DOJ response. Based on our analysis of the DOJ's second response, we concluded that the DOJ has taken significant and responsible steps to implement the OIG's recommendations from the Detainee Report. With regard to the recommendations that are related to DHS responsibilities, the DHS OIG now is responsible for monitoring the DHS's implementation of those recommendations.

Please let us know if you have any questions about these issues.

Sincerely, Glenn A. Fine Inspector General

Enclosure

cc:	Members, Committee on the Judiciary U.S. House of Representatives