The United States Secret Service’s (USSS or Secret Service) Special Operations Division (SOD) is conducting a pilot, in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), to test and evaluate technologies used to detect, identify, and mitigate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) that may pose a potential threat to “covered facilities” and assets at the September 2019 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). These protective technologies are referred to as Counter-UAS (C-UAS) systems. This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) discusses measures taken to mitigate privacy risks and the impact to protect personally identifiable information (PII) during the deployment of C-UAS technologies in an urban setting under operational circumstances.

On September 15, 2017, the DHS Chief Privacy Officer issued a tasking requesting that the DPIAC provide guidance on how best to disseminate statistical data from the Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) in order to strengthen the Department’s ability to analyze the immigration enforcement and immigration benefits lifecycles, and provide real-time access to relevant immigration data needed to support operations, analysis, reporting, and strategic decision making. This integrated immigration data system will also support the Department’s ability to disseminate statistics and to permit public access to statistical information that will inform key stakeholders and promote transparency.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate established the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Apex Program (Program), a research, development, testing, evaluation, (RDT&E) and standards program, adapting existing technologies, developing new capabilities, and working with the private sector to enhance capabilities for first responders across the nation. More than 60 individual RDT&E projects “align” to the NGFR Apex Program. Program activities include technology integration demonstrations and/or operational experimentations (OpEx) and the development of knowledge products, such as facts sheets and case studies. DHS S&T is conducting the NGFR Apex Program Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) because the Program involves the use of personally identifiable information (PII) as well as technologies that raise potential privacy concerns.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Infrastructure Security (IS) Division plans to incorporate the use of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) into its program offering exercises to critical infrastructure protection stakeholders to train for, assess, practice, and improve performance in prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery capabilities for natural or man-made attacks. Uses during exercises include capturing photographic and video images of the exercise activities and to use the sUAS as a simulated payload delivery mechanism for certain exercise scenarios. CISA is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment to address the privacy impacts of the sUAS image-capturing capabilities.

The DHS Privacy Office launched a Privacy Compliance Review (PCR) on July 27, 2018, under the Chief Privacy Officer’s authority in accordance with Section 222 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as a result of growing concerns that the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) privacy compliance process, particularly for those programs involving social media and volunteers, did not meet requirements under DHS policies.  The PCR reviewed DHS S&T’s privacy compliance and privacy practices from October 1, 2016, through July 28, 2018.

This instruction mandates a reduction in the use of the SSN in DHS programs, systems, and forms.

Memo to DHS employees from Acting Secretary McAleenan providing information regarding first amendment protected activities.

Beginning in 2016, the former DHS Office of Community Partnerships and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) managed the Countering Violent Extremism Grant Program (CVEGP) to fulfill a congressional mandate to help states and local communities prepare for, prevent, and respond to emergent threats from violent extremism.  The CVEGP Privacy Impact Assessment  (PIA) discussed the privacy risks of the first iteration of this grant program. The PIA noted that the DHS Privacy Office (PRIV) would initiate a Privacy Compliance Review  (PCR) to provide recommendations for improving the privacy protections inherent in deploying a security review process as part of the grant application process. While the CVEGP was not renewed from its initial 2016 funding, the findings reflected in this report serve as lessons learned that the Office of Terrorism Prevention Partnerships and the Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention should carefully consider for any future CVEGP iterations, if applicable.  Further, the FEMA Grant Programs Directorate, as the administrator and manager of DHS grants, should fully implement PRIV recommendations to improve privacy protections for any future grant program that includes a security review.

Records released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to the Sierra Club concerning the construction of border fencing sections O-1, O-2, and O-3 in the vicinity of the communities of Roma, Rio Grande City, and Los Ebanos, Texas and their impact on the Rio Grande Valley floodplain.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) takes steps to ensure the safety of its facilities and personnel from natural disasters, threats of violence, and other harmful events and activities. In support of these efforts, designated CBP personnel monitor publicly available, open source social media to provide situational awareness and to monitor potential threats or dangers to CBP personnel and facility operators. Authorized CBP personnel may collect publicly available information posted on social media sites to create reports and disseminate information related to personnel and facility safety. CBP is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) because, as part of this initiative, CBP may incidentally collect, maintain, and disseminate personally identifiable information (PII) over the course of these activities.

Associated SORNs:

• DHS/CBP-024 Intelligence Records System (CIRS) System of Records