Privacy
The DHS Privacy Office is responsible for evaluating the Department programs, systems, and initiatives for potential privacy impacts, and providing strategies to reduce the privacy impact.
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DHS/CBP/PIA-079 Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program
In general, nonimmigrant visitors to the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are required to obtain a visa from the U.S. Department of State before being admitted. CBP created the Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (G-CNMI) Visa Waiver Program (VWP) which allows certain nonimmigrant visitors to seek admission to Guam and/or the CNMI without a visa for a period of authorized stay not to exceed 45 days. Nonimmigrants use the Form I-736, Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Information, to determine eligibility to travel under the G-CNMI Visa Waiver Program. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is publishing this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to provide notice and assess the privacy risks associated with the G-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, including the newly created restricted sub-program CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP), and the newly established electronic Form I-736, which is used to grant travel authorization to nonimmigrants prior to their embarkation to Guam or the CNMI. January 2024
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Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), published on August 15, 2013. 1 The purpose of this update is to discuss changes to Form I-821D, Consideration for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, primarily in support of the DACA renewal requests. USCIS has revised Form I-821D to allow for both initial and renewal DACA requests.
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Centralized Area Video Surveillance System
The Centralized Area Video Surveillance System (CAVSS) — a system of cameras and separate microphones recording video and audio, respectively— furthers the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) mission by collecting and maintaining video images and audio recordings of persons involved in any incidents or disturbances related to DHS/CBP law enforcement at the border, including inspection areas, while seeking entry or admission into the United States. CAVSS uses information technology to collect, maintain, and disseminate personally identifiable information (PII) in the form of video and audio recordings.
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DHS/CBP/PIA-076 Collection of Advance Information from Certain Undocumented Individuals on the Land Border
CBP is conducting this new standalone PIA to provide full transparency on this initiative and fully assess the risks associated with this collection.
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DHS/TSA/PIA-046 Travel Document Checker Automation Using Facial Identification
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will enhance the identity verification of passengers by using facial verification technology at airports. In a previous proof of concept, TSA used a Credential Authentication Technology (CAT) device equipped with a camera (CAT-C) to validate that the identity document presented by the passenger was authentic and to compare the passenger’s live facial image against the image from the passenger’s identity document. Building on its previous work, TSA will now network the CAT-C to the TSA Secure Flight system so that passenger boarding pass information can be passed from Secure Flight to the CAT-C. This will provide improved real-time boarding pass instructions with improved identity matching and reduced physical handling of travel documents to limit unnecessary exposure, such as during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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DHS/ICE/PIA-063 ICE Noncitizen Portal
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of the Chief Information Officer, (OCIO), in coordination with the Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), is launching the ICE Noncitizen Portal, a public-facing agency website that provides noncitizens and other immigration partners with access to digital services and search tools to interact with ICE. The purpose of the ICE Noncitizen Portal is to offer individuals with information about immigration proceedings, and provide other digital services designed to streamline the process. ICE is implementing the ICE Noncitizen Portal features in a phased approach. This initial Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and the attached appendices discuss and evaluate the privacy risks and mitigations associated with collection, use, and maintenance of personally identifiable information (PII) accessed and displayed via the ICE Noncitizen Portal and its digital services. ICE will update the Privacy Impact Assessment appendices when new digital services become accessible through the ICE Noncitizen Portal. November 2023
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DHS/ALL/PIA-097 Use of Conditionally Approved Commercial Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools
In accordance with the Secretary of Homeland Security’s recent announcement on the Department’s use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer, in coordination with the Science and Technology Directorate, Privacy Office, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Office of the General Counsel, is leading the Department’s efforts to ensure responsible use of AI while fulfilling the Department’s mission and supporting its workforce. As part of this effort, the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer is working to advance specific mission applications of AI across the Department, and address ways in which the workforce may use conditionally approved commercially available generative AI (Gen AI) tools (i.e., tools not procured for use for specific Department missions) for certain aspects of their work. “Gen AI” is the class of AI models that emulate the structure and characteristics of input data to generate novel synthetic content (i.e., outputs). This can include images, videos, audio, text, code, and other types of digital content. This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) analyzes the Department’s use of conditionally approved Gen AI tools.
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DHS/USCIS/PIA-090 USCIS ArcGIS Enterprise System
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) developed the USCIS ArcGIS1 Enterprise System (AES), a Geographic Information System (GIS), which creates maps and geographic data to enable mapping as a common visual language promoting analysis and decision-making. The USCIS ArcGIS Enterprise System allows USCIS to efficiently analyze geographic data about where USCIS-related operations occur and their connections through high-level statistical aggregated reports. The ArcGIS Enterprise System is also used to geospatially display USCIS information via web-based maps to assist with decision-making across the agency and better serve its stakeholders. It will be used in operations to include evaluating office workloads, resource allocation, determining trends of potential fraud, locating current and potential USCIS assets, and identifying employees and facilities that may be at risk from natural disasters. This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) documents the potential privacy implications associated with the collection, use, and maintenance of personally identifiable information (PII) by the ArcGIS Enterprise System. October 2023
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DPIAC November Meeting Materials
Materials for the November 7, 2023, DPIAC meeting
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DHS/USCIS/PIA-089 USCIS Outreach and Engagement Program
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), External Affairs Directorate, Digital Services Division conducts outreach and engagement activities aimed at individuals who have applied for immigration benefits through traditional outreach measures such as emails, text messages, third party outreach service providers (e.g., GovDelivery.com), and postcard mailings. USCIS plans to enhance and expand these activities to include outreach through online filing and accounts and web-based tools. These activities will also involve new outreach and engagement avenues and population-specific outreach to promote immigration and naturalization (e.g., noncitizens who have applied for an immigration status or benefit, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), asylees, and refugees). These activities will also include outreach via individual notices/letters, interagency focus groups and studies, advertisement campaigns, outreach to non-profit and public organizations, and potentially television and/or radio broadcasts to increase interest in applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.