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-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.
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Policy
DHS Privacy Policy directives and instructions.
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DHS/USSS/PIA-031 USSS Incident Driven Video Recording System (IDVRS)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Secret Service (Secret Service or USSS) is deploying Incident Driven Video Recording System (IDVRS) technology that provides enhanced transparency during recorded interactions between officers, special agents, and the public. In conformity with the Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety, and to ensure the smooth implementation of a full IDVRS program across the agency, the Secret Service proposes to develop and deploy IDVRS technology amongst its diverse workforce of Uniformed Division personnel, Special Agents, and Technical Law Enforcement personnel through a multi-year phased plan. IDVRS further allows personnel to safely perform their duties during encounters with the public, while also assisting in the collection of evidence for use in prosecutions. The Secret Service is publishing this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to assess the privacy risks associated with operational use of incident driven recording technology used during law enforcement interactions with the public, while also outlining the Agency’s intentions regarding footage retention and storage of information collected. This Privacy Impact Assessment discusses testing and evaluation, pending funding and future deployment, and will be updated prior to formal and final deployment. July 2023
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DHS/TSA/PIA-054 Security Threat Assessments of Certain Surface Transportation Employees
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is proposing a regulation to carry out the provisions of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Act), which require TSA to conduct security threat assessments (STAs) of frontline public transportation, railroad employees, and security coordinators for those entities and over-the-road-bus (OTRB) operators. These operators and populations are described in detail below. TSA is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) pursuant to the E-Government Act of 2002, because the proposed regulation would require these employees to submit personal information to TSA to conduct security threat assessments.