Privacy Act of 1974: ICE Pattern Analysis and Information Collection (ICEPIC) System of Records, 5577-5581 [E8-1556]

Agencies

• Office of the Secretary
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5577-5581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1556]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2007-0020]


Privacy Act of 1974: ICE Pattern Analysis and Information 
Collection (ICEPIC) System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Privacy Act System of Records.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is 
publishing this notice of system of records for the Department's ICE 
Pattern Analysis and Information Collection (ICEPIC) system. A proposed 
rulemaking is also published in this issue of the Federal Register in 
which the Department proposes to exempt portions of this system of 
records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of 
criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements. Due to 
urgent homeland security and law enforcement mission needs, ICEPIC is 
currently in limited operation. Recognizing that ICE is publishing a 
notice of system of records for an existing system, ICE will carefully 
consider public comments, apply appropriate revisions, and republish 
the ICEPIC notice of system of records within 180 days of receipt of 
comments. Additionally, a Privacy Impact Assessment will be posted on 
the Department's privacy Web site. (See https://www.dhs.gov/privacy and 
follow the link to ``Privacy Impact Assessments.'')

DATES: The established system of records will be effective February 29, 
2008. A revised ICEPIC notice of system of records that addresses 
public comments, responds to OMB direction, and includes other ICE 
changes will be published not later than August 27, 2008 and will 
supersede this notice of system of records.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number DHS 
2007-0020 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-866-466-5370.
     Mail: Hugo Teufel III, Chief Privacy Officer, Department 
of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For system related questions please 
contact Steven W. Cooper, Executive Information Unit, Office of 
Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 425 I Street, 
NW, Washington, DC 20536. For privacy issues please contact: Hugo 
Teufel III, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Part of ICE's mission is to investigate possible violations of U.S. 
immigration law. Many times this involves hours of analysis regarding a 
particular case or operation. As part of the investigative

[[Page 5578]]

process analysts must identify and understand the relationships among 
individuals, places, and items that are the subject of investigation.
    The ICEPIC Tool builds on earlier ICE initiatives to verify the 
identity of Special Interest Aliens (SIAs), as designated by the 
Department of State. In 2003 ICE implemented the National Security 
Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS) to manage the growing 
collection of over 500,000 SIA records. National and international 
terrorist threats in the 2004 and 2005 timeframe resulted in ICE 
reviewing not only the SIA records in NSEERS, but also the records of 
aliens registered with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information 
System (SEVIS) and entered into the United States Visitor and Immigrant 
Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT) system as well. Since 2005, 
ICE's expanding law enforcement role has demanded increasingly 
sophisticated tools to detect potential violations of immigration and 
criminal law and terrorist threats.
    ICE analyzes relationships among individuals using conventional 
database queries and link analysis tools; however, traditional link 
analysis tools rely on the consistency of key data, such as names and 
addresses, to establish relationships. If the source data is of poor 
quality or an individual seeks to conceal his/her identity through 
intentional, but subtle, changes to names, addresses, and other 
biographic information, then conventional tools are less effective at 
recognizing relationships. As a result, investigators and analysts may 
miss important relationships among suspects, family members, other 
associates, organizations, addresses, and vehicles.
    ICEPIC allows ICE law enforcement agents and analysts to look for 
non-obvious relationship patterns among individuals and organizations 
that are indicative of violations of the customs and immigration laws 
that are enforced by DHS agencies, as well as possible terrorist 
threats and plots. From these relationships, ICE agents can develop 
specific leads and law enforcement intelligence for active and new 
investigations. Identified relationships can also be recorded for reuse 
in subsequent investigative analyses. The information processed by 
ICEPIC comes from existing ICE investigative and apprehension records 
systems, as well as immigration and alien admission records systems. 
All ICEPIC activity is predicated on ongoing and valid law enforcement 
investigations.
    ICEPIC includes capabilities that assist investigators to record 
results of analyses performed in support of investigations and to 
capture additional relevant information obtained from outside sources. 
The information collected by, on behalf of, in support of, or in 
cooperation with DHS and its components may contain personally 
identifiable information collected by other Federal, state, local, 
tribal, foreign, or international government agencies or organizations.
    ICEPIC assists ICE investigators by automating five business 
processes:
    A. Analysis of leads, law enforcement and intelligence reports, 
referrals, and processing of queries of ICE and DHS information to 
locate relevant records and produce reports;
    B. Integration and resolution of information from multiple ICE and 
DHS databases to provide leads for law enforcement investigations and 
disruption of potential terrorist activities;
    C. Initiation of analyses that support investigative cases in DHS 
and field offices and recording the results of beneficial analyses;
    D. Production and dissemination of target indicator profiles and 
other law enforcement intelligence; and
    E. Management of analysis workflows and information resources.
    Information that is produced or maintained by ICEPIC is used by ICE 
agents in headquarters and field offices to identify potential 
violations of customs or immigration law, confirm suspected violations, 
or investigate potential terrorist threats. ICEPIC is used to identify 
relationships among different individuals or among records for the same 
individual from multiple sources when an individual or individuals have 
been identified as subjects, leads, or associates in an investigative 
case. In cases where DHS determines that the information would assist 
in the enforcement of civil or criminal laws, ICE may share the 
information with the appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, or 
foreign governmental agencies or multilateral governmental 
organizations. Information may also be used by national intelligence 
community agencies where analysis of the records indicates a potential 
or confirmed threat of terrorist activity justifying further analysis 
or investigation. ICE may also share this information with the FBI when 
ICE becomes aware of information that may be related to an individual 
in the Terrorist Screening Database.
    The Department of Justice (DOJ) and other Federal agencies may use 
reports generated through ICEPIC in the review, settlement, and 
prosecution of claims, complaints, and lawsuits involving matters over 
which ICE exercises jurisdiction or when conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative, or administrative body. 
This includes any litigation matters where ICE, DOJ, or an employee in 
his or her official capacity in support of ICE, the United States, or 
any agency thereof is involved.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory 
framework governing the means by which the United States Government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates personally identifiable 
information. The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained 
in a ``system of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any 
records under the control of an agency from which information is 
retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, 
symbol, or other particular assigned to the individual. Individuals may 
request access to their own records that are maintained in a system of 
records in the possession or under the control of DHS by complying with 
DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR part 5.21 and DHS will review each 
request on a case-by-case basis in light of exemptions taken by ICEPIC.
    The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal 
Register a description of the type and character of each system of 
records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are 
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping 
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses to 
which personally identifiable information is put, and to assist 
individuals in finding such files within the agency.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget 
and to the Congress.

System of Records

DHS-ICE-002

System name:
    ICE Pattern Analysis and Information Collection.

Security Classification:
    Sensitive But Unclassified

System Location:
    U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement Headquarters data facilities are located in the Virginia 
suburbs of Washington, DC, with continuity of operations sites in 
remote locations within the continental United States.

[[Page 5579]]

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    A. Individuals or entities who are associated with investigations, 
inspections, apprehensions, detentions, patrols, removals, 
examinations, naturalizations, intelligence production, legal 
proceedings, or other operations that implement and enforce the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) and 
related treaties, statutes, orders, and regulations.
    B. Individuals or entities who are associated with investigations, 
inspections, apprehensions, detentions, law enforcement intelligence 
production, legal proceedings or other operations that implement and 
enforce immigration- and customs-related laws, specifically those found 
in Titles 8, 19, and 31 of the United States Code.
    C. Individuals who are respondents, representatives, or witnesses 
in administrative, civil penalty, or forfeiture proceedings, or 
defendants, representatives or witnesses in criminal prosecution or 
extradition proceedings under immigration or customs-related laws or 
regulations.
    D. Associates of the above individuals and entities who are sources 
of information relevant to an investigation.
    E. Individuals wanted by other law enforcement agencies, including 
Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign and international, or 
individuals who are the subject of inquiries, lookouts, or notices by 
another agency or a foreign government.
    F. Individuals, including U.S. Citizens, Lawful Permanent 
Residents, immigrants and non-immigrants who apply for immigration 
benefits and/or any form of automated or other expedited inspection for 
verifying eligibility to cross the borders into the United States.
    G. Non-United States citizens and Non-Lawful Permanent Residents 
who present themselves for entry into and/or exit from the United 
States, including individuals subject to the requirements and processes 
of US-VISIT. Individuals covered under US-VISIT include those who are 
not United States citizens at the time of entry or exit or who are 
United States citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents who have not 
identified themselves as such at the time of entry or exit.
    H. Individuals unlawfully present in the United States to include 
persons who have failed to maintain a valid immigration status as well 
as persons who are otherwise unlawfully present in the United States.
    I. Nationals of countries that threaten to wage war, or are at war 
with the United States, and individuals required to register as agents 
of foreign governments in the United States.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Records come directly from information collected from individuals 
during DHS or federal enforcement encounters, from information provided 
by individuals when applying for U.S. immigration benefits or temporary 
admission to the U.S., or from persons entering or leaving the U.S. 
Analyzed records include biographical data; biometric identifiers, 
including fingerprints and photographs; and information or data related 
to the individual subject's case, including immigration history, alien 
registration, and other identification or record numbers. The system 
maintains records used to show relationships across all categories of 
records. These records include:
    A. Information collected from individuals during a DHS enforcement 
encounter or investigation, including, but not limited to: Names, 
aliases, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, nationality, 
identification numbers such as A-File Number, Social Security Number, 
or driver's license number, and physical characteristics. This 
information is maintained in the Treasury Enforcement Communications 
System (TECS), last published October 18, 2001, 66 FR 52984 and in the 
DHS Enforcement Operational Immigration Records (ENFORCE) system, last 
published DHS/ICE-CBP-CIS-001-03, ENFORCE/IDENT March 20, 2006, 71 FR 
13987;
    B. Information collected about individuals during a DHS enforcement 
encounter or investigation, or provided by other State, local, tribal 
Federal, or foreign law enforcement or other relevant agencies, 
including, but not limited to: Names, aliases, nationality, dates of 
birth, phone numbers, addresses, affiliations, identification numbers 
such as A-File Number, Social Security Number, or driver's license 
number, or physical characteristics. This information is maintained in 
TECS;
    C. Biographic information such as names, aliases, dates of birth, 
phone numbers, addresses, nationality, identification numbers such as 
A-File Number, Social Security Number, or driver's license number, and 
immigration violation information obtained from the DHS ENFORCE or 
successor systems;
    D. Biographic information such as names, aliases, dates of birth, 
phone numbers, addresses, nationality, identification numbers such as 
A-File Number, Social Security Number, or driver's license number, and 
descriptive information obtained from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) immigration benefits applications and application 
review findings;
    E. Information obtained from other Federal or foreign law 
enforcement agencies about individuals known or reasonably suspected to 
be or to have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, 
in aid of, or related to terrorism;
    F. Biographic information and other information such as name, 
address, and phone number obtained from commercial data providers for 
individuals identified as prospective leads or suspects in active 
investigations; and
    G. Biographic information such as names, aliases, dates of birth, 
phone numbers, addresses, nationality, identification numbers such as 
A-File Number, Social Security Number, or driver's license number, and 
descriptive information obtained from U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) encounters at Ports of Entry during border crossings.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    5 U.S.C. Sec.  301; 8 U.S.C. Sec.  1103; 8 U.S.C. Sec.  1225(d)(3); 
8 U.S.C. Sec.  1324(b)(3); 8 U.S.C. Sec.  1357(a); 8 U.S.C. Sec.  
1360(b); 19 U.S.C. Sec.  1; and 19 U.S.C. Sec.  1509.

Purpose:
    The purpose of the ICEPIC system is to provide the information 
technology infrastructure products and services that enable 
investigators and analysts within ICE and other DHS components to 
recognize non-obvious person, address, and organizational relationships 
within existing DHS records systems, and to develop timely, actionable 
leads needed to accomplish ICE law enforcement and counter-terrorism 
mission objectives. All ICEPIC activity is predicated on ongoing and 
valid law enforcement investigations. Current manual and automated 
processes for research, collation, organization, validation, and 
analysis of the information in numerous DHS alien registration, entry, 
intelligence, lookout, and enforcement systems can accomplish similar 
objectives, but are cumbersome, time-consuming, and error-prone. ICEPIC 
will provide a reliable, responsive, and secure system to support 
production of actionable leads and law enforcement intelligence for DHS 
components and other Federal entities, as appropriate and in 
conformance with this system of records notice.

[[Page 5580]]

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed to authorized 
entities, as is determined to be relevant and necessary, outside DHS as 
a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ) or other Federal agency in 
the review, settlement, defense, and prosecution of claims, complaints, 
and lawsuits involving matters over which ICE exercises jurisdiction, 
or when conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court, 
adjudicative or administrative body, when: (a) DHS; or (b) any employee 
of DHS in his/her official capacity; or (c) any employee of ICE in his/
her individual capacity, where DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent the 
employee; or (d) the United States, or any agency thereof, is a party 
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS 
determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to the 
litigation and the use of such records is compatible with the purpose 
for which DHS collected the records.
    B. To appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, or foreign 
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations 
responsible for investigating or prosecuting the violations of, or for 
enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, order, license, 
or treaty where DHS determines that the information would assist in the 
enforcement of domestic and foreign civil or criminal laws.
    C. To U.S. agencies of the national intelligence community or 
through established liaison channels to selected foreign governments 
where analysis of the records indicates a potential or confirmed threat 
of terrorist activity justifying further analysis or investigation.
    D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of 
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only 
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or 
oversight function. Those provided information under this routine use 
are subject to the same Privacy Act limitations as are applicable to 
DHS officers and employees.
    E. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or 
other Federal agencies pursuant to records management inspections being 
conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. Those 
provided information under this routine use are subject to the same 
Privacy Act limitations as are applicable to DHS officers and 
employees.
    G. To appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, or foreign law 
enforcement, intelligence, and regulatory agencies, foreign 
governments, and international law enforcement organizations, for 
example: the Department of Defense; the Department of State; the 
Department of the Treasury; the Central Intelligence Agency; the 
Selective Service System; the United Nations; and INTERPOL; as well as 
to other individuals and organizations during the course of an 
investigation by DHS or the processing of a matter under DHS' 
jurisdiction, or during a proceeding within the purview of the 
immigration and nationality laws, when DHS deems that such disclosure 
is necessary to elicit information required to accomplish the purposes 
described in this paragraph.
    H. To an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, or foreign 
government agency or organization, or international organization, 
lawfully engaged in collecting law enforcement intelligence, whether 
civil or criminal, or charged with investigating, prosecuting, 
enforcing or implementing civil or criminal laws, related rules, 
regulations or orders, to enable these entities to carry out their law 
enforcement responsibilities, including the collection of law 
enforcement intelligence, but only when the disclosure is appropriate 
to the proper performance of the official duties of the person 
receiving the disclosure.
    I. To an appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, or foreign 
government agency, international organization, or private organization 
where the President or the Secretary of Department of Homeland Security 
has declared an event to be a National Special Security Event, if the 
information is relevant and necessary to a requesting agency's decision 
concerning the hiring or retention of an individual, or issuance of a 
security clearance, license, contract, grant, or other benefit, or if 
the information is relevant and necessary to a DHS decision concerning 
the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security 
clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the 
letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant or other 
benefit, but only when disclosure is appropriate to the proper 
performance of the official duties of the person making the request.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records are stored electronically at one or more ICE data centers 
that are located in secure facilities. The records are stored on 
magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and optical media, and may also be 
retained in hard copy format in secured file folders.

Retrievability:
    Data are retrievable by an individual's name, Social Security 
Number, A-File Number, or other unique identifier, as well as by non-
identifying information such as address or date of entry into the 
United States.

Safeguards:
    Information in this system is safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable laws and policies, including the DHS information technology 
security policies and the Federal Information Security Management Act 
(FISMA). All records are protected from unauthorized access through 
appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. These 
safeguards include restricting access to authorized personnel who have 
a need-to-know, using locks, and password protection features. The 
system is also protected through a multi-layer security approach. The 
protective strategies are physical, technical, administrative and 
environmental in nature, which provide access control to sensitive 
data, physical access control to DHS facilities, confidentiality of 
communications, authentication of sending parties, and personnel 
screening to ensure that all personnel with access to data are screened 
through background investigations commensurate with the level of access 
required to perform their duties.
    The system also maintains a real-time auditing log of individuals 
who access and update the system. Audit logs are reviewed and analyzed 
for unauthorized and inappropriate system usage. DHS will investigate 
instances of unauthorized or inappropriate access or use of the system 
and take appropriate disciplinary actions where violations have 
occurred.

[[Page 5581]]

Retention and Disposal:
    The National Archives Records Administration has not yet approved a 
retention schedule for this system of records. Because a history of 
Federal law enforcement interactions with persons and organizations is 
essential to detecting criminal and terrorist patterns of behavior and 
locating leads in current investigations, ICE has proposed to retain 
records in ICEPIC for ten (10) years from ICE's last use of the 
individual's data, and then archive the information for an additional 
five (5) years. After the five (5) year period, information will be 
destroyed unless it has become relevant to a legal action, at which 
point the retention schedule would reset.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Steven W. Cooper, Executive Information Unit, Office of 
Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 425 I St., 
NW., Washington, DC 20536, telephone: (202) 616-7571.

Notification Procedures:
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (j) and (k), this system of records may 
not be accessed by members of the public for purposes of determining if 
the system contains a record pertaining to a particular individual. 
Nonetheless persons may seek access to records maintained in ICEPIC as 
outlined in the Record Access Procedures section below. Requests for 
such access will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Record Access Procedures:
    ICEPIC is exempt from record access procedures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
552a (j) and (k). Nonetheless persons may seek access to records 
maintained in ICEPIC by contacting FOIA/Privacy Act request to the 
Office of Investigations, Information Disclosure Unit, 425 I St., NW., 
Washington, DC 20536 and using the form found at https://www.ice.gov/
doclib/g-639.pdf. Requests for such access will be reviewed on a case-
by-case basis to ensure that the records meet the requirements set out 
by the Privacy Act.

Contesting Record Procedures:
    This system is exempt from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4) 
(G) and (H), and (f) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), (k)(2); however, 
requests for amendment of records may be reviewed on a case-by-case 
basis. Follow the ``Record Access Procedures'' noted above.

Record Source Categories:
    Information contained in the system is obtained from DHS 
investigators, other DHS law enforcement officers, other Federal, 
State, foreign and tribal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, 
public records, commercial data aggregators, and immigration and alien 
admission records systems.

Exemptions Claimed for the System:
    Pursuant to exemption 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) of the Privacy Act, 
portions of this system are exempt from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c) (3) and (4); 
(d); (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(5) and (e)(8); 
(f), and (g). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(2), this system is exempt 
from the following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the 
limitations set forth in those subsections: 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (d), 
(e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), and (f). In addition, to the extent a 
record contains information from other exempt systems of records, ICE 
will rely on the exemptions claimed for those systems.

Issued in Arlington, VA.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-1556 Filed 1-29-08; 8:45 am]
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