[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 144 (Friday, July 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43457-43462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17123]
[[Page 43457]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket Number: DHS-2007-0040]
Privacy Act of 1974; U.S. Customs and Border Protection--Border
Crossing Information, Systems of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office; Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) gives
notice that it is establishing a distinct System of Records, Border
Crossing Information (BCI). BCI will receive and maintain border
crossing information on travelers who are admitted or paroled into the
United States, this information includes: Certain biographical
information; a photograph; certain itinerary information provided by
air and sea carriers and any other forms of passenger transportation,
including rail, which is or may subsequently be mandated, or is or may
be provided on a voluntary basis; and the time and location of the
border crossing. Previously, maintenance of this border crossing
information was covered by the Treasury Enforcement Communications
System (TECS) ``system of records notice.'' See 66 FR 52984, dated
October 18, 2001. As part of DHS's ongoing effort to increase
transparency regarding the collection of information at the Department,
as well as its efforts to specifically review the personally
identifiable information maintained on the TECS information technology
platform, DHS and CBP have identified different data sets that call for
individual notice so as to provide appropriate routine uses, retention,
and exemptions to the Privacy Act.
This system of records notice does not identify or create any new
collection of information, rather, the Department is providing
additional notice and transparency with respect to the handling of an
existing collection of information, by separately noticing its
collection as a distinct system of records.
DATES: Comments must be provided prior to August 25, 2008. The new
system of records will be effective August 25, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2007-0040 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-866-466-5370.
Mail: Hugo Teufel III, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact:
Laurence E. Castelli (202-572-8790), Chief, Privacy Act Policy and
Procedures Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of
International Trade, Regulations & Rulings, Mint Annex, 1300
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20229. For privacy issues
contact: Hugo Teufel III (703-235-0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The priority mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is
to prevent terrorists and terrorists' weapons from entering the country
while facilitating legitimate travel and trade. BCI will maintain
border crossing information on travelers who are admitted or paroled
into the United States, this information includes: Certain biographical
information; a photograph (if available); certain itinerary information
provided by air and sea carriers and any other forms of passenger
transportation, including rail, which is or may subsequently be
mandated, or is or may be provided on a voluntary basis; and the time
and location of the border crossing. Previously, maintenance of this
information was covered by the Treasury Enforcement Communications
System (TECS) ``system of records notice.'' See 66 FR 52984, dated
October 18, 2001. As part of DHS's ongoing effort to increase
transparency regarding the collection of information at the Department,
as well as its efforts to specifically review the personally
identifiable information maintained on the TECS information technology
platform, DHS and CBP have identified different data sets that call for
individual notices so as to provide appropriate routine uses,
retention, and exemptions to the Privacy Act.
This system of records notice does not identify or create any new
collection of information; rather, the Department is providing
additional notice and transparency with respect to the handling of an
existing collection of information, by separately noticing it as a
distinct system of records.
CBP is the agency responsible for collecting and reviewing border
crossing information from travelers entering and departing the United
States. This is consistent with CBP's overall border security and
enforcement missions. Upon arrival in the United States, all
individuals crossing the border are subject to CBP processing. As part
of this clearance process, each traveler entering the United States
must first establish his or her identity, nationality, and
admissibility to the satisfaction of a CBP officer. Additionally, CBP
creates a record of the fact that the individual has been admitted or
paroled into the United States at a particular time and port of entry.
This record was previously covered by TECS system of records notice and
will now be maintained in accordance with the privacy rules of this
newly created Privacy Act System of Records Notice, BCI.
The border crossing information identified below may be collected
in a number of different ways. For example, information may be
collected: (1) From the travel documents presented by the individual at
CBP Ports of Entry, such as foreign passports, where no advance notice
of the border crossing has been provided to CBP; (2) from carriers who
submit information in advance of travel, through the Advance Passenger
Information System (APIS) (See DHS/CBP-005, August 23, 2007, 72 FR
48346); (3) from a DHS system that validates a Trusted Traveler Program
card, I-551 Permanent Resident Card, or immigration document; (4) from
non-federal governmental authorities that have issued valid travel
documents approved by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security, such as an Enhanced Driver's License (EDL); or (5) from
another Federal Agency that has issued a valid travel document, such as
Department of State Visa, Passport including Passport Card, or Border
Crossing Card data. When a traveler is admitted or paroled into the
U.S., a traveler's biographical information, photograph, where
available, and crossing details (time and location) will be maintained
in accordance with this BCI system of records. The information
collected in BCI is authorized pursuant
[[Page 43458]]
to the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L.
107-173), Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (Pub. L.
107-71), the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
(Pub. L. 108-458), the Immigration and Naturalization Act, as amended
(8 U.S.C. 215), and the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 66,
1433, 1454, 1485, 1624 and 2071) and much of the information can be
found on routine travel documents that persons, passengers, and
crewmembers currently provide to CBP when entering and departing the
United States.
BCI shall contain border crossing information, as that term is
explained above, for all individuals who are admitted or paroled into
the United States, regardless of method or conveyance, and information
for all individuals who depart the United States by air or sea and, in
certain circumstances, by land. In certain circumstances in the land
environment, CBP will collect the individual's biographic data, either
directly from an approved travel document presented by the traveler
and/or by verifying the traveler's border crossing information against
electronic records supporting certain documents, such as EDLs,
determined by the Secretary of DHS to denote citizenship and identity
in conformance with IRTPA. For certain air and sea carriers and any
other forms of passenger transportation, including rail, which are or
may subsequently be mandated to provide APIS, or provide such
information on a voluntary basis, CBP will confirm the individual's
data against such information previously submitted by carriers.
For information collected from certain travel documents, for
example a foreign or U.S. Passport, the CBP Officer will swipe the
Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) to populate the border crossing record for
an individual.
For records first collected through APIS, the BCI record will
contain all the data of the APIS record (including complete name, date
of birth, travel document type (e.g., passport), travel document number
and travel document country of issuance) as well as information
pertaining to the instance of the border crossing (for example, airport
or place of embarkation, where the person began their travel to the
United States; for persons destined for the U.S., the location where
the person underwent CBP clearance). Such data will also be maintained
in accordance with the APIS SORN, DHS/CBP-005 August 23, 2007 72 FR
48349.
For records first collected through the Non-Federal Entity Data
System (NEDS), a new system of records being published concurrently in
today's Federal Register, biographic data elements and photographs
collected by the authority issuing the travel document will be
transferred from NEDS, displayed in TECS, and then recorded in BCI as
border crossing information at the time an individual is admitted or
paroled into the United States. In the instance of data being
transferred from NEDS, the biographical data and photograph will be
first collected from the traveler by the issuing authority of the
respective travel document and then provided to CBP, which will store a
copy of that data in the system of records described by the NEDS SORN.
At the time of arrival at the border, the travel document, either
through a CBP Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Reader reading a
unique RFID number from the RFID chip contained in the travel document,
or through the CBP Machine Reader reading the MRZ of the travel
document, will be used to retrieve the biographical data and photograph
associated with the travel document from NEDS and populate a record in
BCI, following admission/parole, to permit CBP to electronically verify
identity and citizenship, to perform law enforcement queries to
identify security risks to the United States and to expedite CBP
processing upon arrival in and prior to departure from the United
States. Upon admission/parole of the individual by CBP at the United
States border or its functional equivalent, a record of the crossing
will be created in BCI. Prior to admission/parole and during the
process of inspecting the individual, information relating to identity
and citizenship is compiled by the CBP in TECS, as part of the
screening process to determine admissibility.
For records where traveler-specific information is accessed from a
non-federal authority's travel document database at the time of the
traveler's crossing, the biographical data and photograph will be first
collected from the traveler by the issuing authority of the respective
travel document and the issuing authority will maintain its own travel
document database; the data from such issuing authorities will not
reside in NEDS. At the time of arrival at the border, the travel
document, either through a CBP RFID Reader reading the RFID number from
the RFID chip contained in the travel document, or through the CBP
Machine Reader reading the MRZ of the travel document, will be used to
access that traveler's biographic data and photograph, displaying it in
TECS; upon admission to the United States, that data will be recorded
in BCI. CBP also uses this information to perform law enforcement
queries to identify security risks to the United States and to expedite
CBP border processing.
For records where the information is provided by another component
of DHS or another federal government authority, such as the State
Department's Visa and Passport database or USCIS Permanent Resident
Card data, the information will be transferred from the federal
authority's or DHS's system of records, displayed in TECS, and then
used to create a record in BCI at the time of admission or parole into
the United States. Technically, in the case of information obtained
from the Department of State and Citizenship and Immigration Services
(CIS), the information is maintained on the TECS IT Platform to improve
the efficiency of the processing time at the border, but the
information follows the State Department's or USCIS's system of records
notices until the individual is admitted or paroled into the United
States, at which point the information will by handled consistent with
the BCI system of records notice, or that of any other DHS systems
(such as TECS) in which it may be recorded.
BCI does not constitute a new collection of biographic information
by DHS or CBP. DHS and CBP are providing additional notice and
transparency with respect to the functionality of an existing
operational process. The information storage functions of BCI were
previously handled as a sub-module within TECS and covered by the TECS
``system of records notice.'' See 66 FR 52984.
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 identifying particular assigned to the individual. In
the Privacy Act, an individual is defined to encompass United States
citizens and lawful permanent residents. DHS extends administrative
Privacy Act protections to all persons where information is maintained
in the same system on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
non-immigrant aliens. BCI involves the
[[Page 43459]]
collection of information that will be maintained in a system of
records.
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that apply
to each system to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent, to
notify individuals regarding the uses to which personally identifiable
information is put, and to assist the individual to more easily find
such files within the agency.
DHS is hereby publishing a description of the Border Crossing
Information, system of records. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), a
report concerning this record system has been sent to the Office of
Management and Budget and to the Congress.
DHS/CBP-007
SYSTEM NAME:
Border Crossing Information (BCI).
SYSTEM LOCATION:
This computer database is located at the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) National Data Center currently, but will move to a DHS
Data Center in the future. Access to the border crossing data is
available from locations throughout the Department of Homeland Security
and other locations at which DHS authorized personnel may be posted to
facilitate DHS's mission. Terminals may also be located at appropriate
facilities for other participating government agencies, which have
obtained system access pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals covered by BCI consist of persons, including U.S.
Citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and non-immigrant aliens who
lawfully cross the United States border by air, land or sea, regardless
of method of transportation or conveyance.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The database is comprised of personally identifiable information
pertaining to persons, including travelers and crew members who arrive
in and are admitted/paroled, and, in certain circumstances, depart from
(when departure information is available) the United States (including
those entering the United States only for purposes of transiting
through the country). The information that may be stored in BCI
includes:
Full name (First, Middle, and Last)
Date of birth
Gender
Travel document type (e.g., passport information,
permanent resident card, Trusted Traveler Program card, etc.), number,
issuing country or entity, and expiration date
Photograph (where available)
Country of citizenship
RFID tag number(s) (if land/sea border crossing)
Date/time of crossing
Lane for clearance processing
Location of crossing
Secondary Examination Status
License Plate number (or Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN), if no plate exists; only for land border crossings)
Where applicable, information derived from an associated APIS
transmission, will be stored with an individual's border crossing
record including: The airline carrier code, flight number, vessel name,
vessel country of registry/flag, International Maritime Organization
number or other official number of the vessel, voyage number, date of
arrival/departure, foreign airport/port where the passengers and crew
members began their air/sea transportation to the United States; for
passengers and crew members destined for the United States, the
location where the passenger and crew members will undergo customs and
immigration clearance by CBP; and for passengers and crew members that
are transiting through (and crew on flights over flying) the United
States and not clearing CBP, the foreign airport/port of ultimate
destination, and status on board (whether an individual is crew or non-
crew); and for passengers and crew departing the United States, the
final foreign airport/port of arrival. To the extent APIS may be
transmitted by private aircraft operators and carriers operating in the
land border environment, either voluntarily or pursuant to a future
legal mandate, similar information may also be recorded in BCI with
regard to such travel. In the land border environment for both arrival
and departure (when departure information is available), the License
Plate number of the conveyance (or VIN number where no plate exists) is
also collected.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
The legal authority for BCI is the Enhanced Border Security and
Visa Reform Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-173, 116 Stat. 543 (2002),
Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-71,
115 Stat. 597 (2001), Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638 (2004), The Immigration
and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1185 and 1354 and The Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended, 19 U.S.C. 66, 1433, 1454, 1485, 1624 and 2071.
PURPOSE:
CBP collects and maintains this information to assist in screening
persons arriving in or departing from the United States to determine
identity, citizenship, and admissibility and identify persons who may
be or are suspected of being a terrorist or having affiliations to
terrorist organizations, have active warrants for criminal activity,
are currently inadmissible or have been previously deported from the
United States, or have been otherwise identified as potential security
risks or raise a law enforcement concern. For non-immigrant aliens, the
information is also collected and maintained in order to ensure that
the information related to a particular border crossing is available
for providing any applicable benefits related to immigration or other
enforcement purposes. Lastly, CBP maintains this information in BCI to
retain a historical record of persons crossing the border for law
enforcement, counterterrorism, and benefits processing.
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 outside DHS as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. 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, or
license, where CBP believes the information would assist enforcement of
civil or criminal laws or regulations;
B. To a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement
negotiations, or in response to a subpoena, or in connection with
criminal proceedings;
C. To third parties during the course of a law enforcement
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent
to the investigation, provided disclosure is appropriate to the proper
performance
[[Page 43460]]
of the official duties of the officer making the disclosure;
D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purposes 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.
E. To a Congressional office, for the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that Congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains;
F. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and
others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative
agreement, or other assignment for the Federal government, when
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of
records. Individuals provided information under this routine use are
subject to the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on
disclosure as are applicable to DHS officers and employees;
G. To an organization or individual in either the public or private
sector, either foreign or domestic, where there is a reason to believe
that the recipient is or could become the target of a particular
terrorist activity or conspiracy, to the extent the information is
relevant to the protection of life or property and disclosure is
appropriate to the proper performance of the official duties of the
person making the disclosure;
H. To the United States Department of Justice (including United
States Attorney offices) or other Federal agency conducting litigation
or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative
body, when it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following
is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation: (1)
DHS, or (2) any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity, or (3)
any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or DHS has
agreed to represent said employee, or (4) the United States or any
agency thereof;
I. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other
Federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. Sections 2904 and
2906;
J. To an appropriate Federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or
international agency, 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 and when disclosure is
appropriate to the proper performance of the official duties of the
person making the request;
K. To appropriate Federal, state, local, tribal, or foreign
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations, for
purposes of assisting such agencies or organizations in preventing
exposure to or transmission of a communicable or quarantinable disease
or for combating other significant public health threats;
L. To Federal and foreign government intelligence or
counterterrorism agencies or components where CBP becomes aware of an
indication of a threat or potential threat to national or international
security, or where such use is to assist in anti-terrorism efforts and
disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of the official
duties of the person making the disclosure;
M. To appropriate Federal, state, local, tribal, or foreign
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations, under
the terms of a memorandum of understanding or agreement, where CBP is
aware of a need to utilize relevant data for purposes of testing new
technology and systems designed to enhance border security or identify
other violations of law;
N. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) It is
suspected or confirmed that the security or confidentiality of
information in the system of records has been compromised; (2) the
Department has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property
interests, identity theft or fraud, harm to the security or integrity
of this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by CBP
or another agency or entity), or harm to the individual that rely upon
the compromised information; and (3) the disclosure is made to such
agencies, entities, and persons who are reasonably necessary to assist
in connection with the CBP's efforts to respond to the suspected or
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm;
O. To the news media and the public and as appropriate, when there
exists a legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the
information or when disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in
the integrity of or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of
officers, employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to
the extent it is determined that release of the specific information in
the context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
The data is stored electronically at the CBP Data Center and in the
future at a DHS Data Center for current data and offsite at an
alternative data storage facility for historical logs and system
backups.
RETRIEVABILITY:
The data is retrievable by name or personal identifier from an
electronic database.
SAFEGUARDS:
All BCI records are protected from unauthorized access through
appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. These
safeguards include all of the following: Restricting access to those
with a ``need to know''; using locks, alarm devices, and passwords;
compartmentalizing databases; auditing software; and encrypting data
communications.
BCI information is secured in full compliance with the requirements
of the DHS IT Security Program Handbook as part of the TECS information
technology platform. This handbook establishes a comprehensive program,
consistent with federal law and policy, to provide complete information
security, including directives on roles and responsibilities,
management policies, operational policies, and application rules, which
will be applied to component systems, communications between component
systems, and at interfaces between component systems and external
systems.
One aspect of the DHS comprehensive program to provide information
security involves the establishment of rules of behavior for each major
application, including BCI, which is maintained on the TECS IT
platform. These rules of behavior require users to be adequately
trained regarding the security of their systems. These rules also
require a periodic assessment of technical, administrative and
managerial controls to enhance data integrity and accountability.
System users must sign statements acknowledging that they have been
trained and understand the
[[Page 43461]]
security aspects of their systems. System users must also complete
annual privacy awareness training to maintain current access.
BCI transactions are tracked and can be monitored. This allows for
oversight and audit capabilities to ensure that the data is being
handled consistent with all applicable federal laws and regulations
regarding privacy and data integrity. Data exchange, which will take
place over an encrypted network between CBP and other DHS components
that have access to the BCI data, is limited and confined only to those
entities that have a need for the data in the performance of official
duties. These encrypted networks comply with standards set forth in the
Interconnection Security Agreements required to be executed prior to
external access to a CBP computer system.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
BCI data is subject to a retention requirement. CBP will be working
with NARA to develop the appropriate retention schedule based on the
information below. The information, as collected and maintained in BCI,
is used for the purposes described above. For persons CBP determines to
be U.S. Citizens (USC) and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR),
information in BCI that is related to a particular border crossing is
maintained for fifteen years from the date that the traveler was
admitted or paroled into the U.S., at which time it is deleted from
BCI. For non-immigrant aliens, the information will be maintained for
seventy-five (75) years from the date of admission/parole into the U.S.
in order to ensure that the information related to a particular border
crossing is available for providing any applicable benefits related to
immigration or for other law enforcement purposes. For non-immigrant
aliens who become United States citizens or LPRs following a border
crossing that leads to the creation of a record in BCI, the information
related to border crossings prior to that change in status will follow
the 75-year retention period, but all information regarding border
crossing by such persons following their change in status will follow
the 15-year retention period applicable to USCs and LPRs. However, for
all travelers, BCI records that are linked to active law enforcement
lookout records, CBP matches to enforcement activities, and/or
investigations or cases will remain accessible for the life of the
primary records for the law enforcement activities to which they may be
or become related, to the extent retention for such purposes exceeds
the normal retention period for such data in BCI.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Director, Office of Automated Systems, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Headquarters, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20229.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
DHS allows persons (including foreign nationals) to seek
administrative access under the Privacy Act to information maintained
in BCI. To determine whether BCI contains records relating to you,
write to the CBP Customer Service Center (Rosslyn, VA), 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229; Telephone (877) 227-
5511; or through the ``Questions'' tab at http://www.cbp.gov.xp.cgov/travel/customerservice.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address, date of birth, and travel document (type and number)
used for the crossing. You must sign your request, and your signature
must either be notarized or submitted by you under 28 U.S.C. 1746, a
law that permits statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a
substitute for notarization. While no specific form is required, you
may obtain forms for this purpose from the Director, Disclosure and
FOIA, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition you should
provide the following:
An explanation of why you believe the Department would
have information on you,
Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe
may have the information about you,
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created,
Provide any other information that will help the FOIA
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records,
and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the component(s) will not be able
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Requests for notification or access must be in writing and should
be addressed to the CBP Customer Service Center (Rosslyn VA), 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229; Telephone (877) 227-
5511; or through the ``Questions'' tab at http://www.cbp.gov.xp.cgov/travel/customerservice. Requests should conform to the requirements of
6 CFR part 5, subpart B, which provides the rules for requesting access
to Privacy Act records maintained by DHS and can be found at http://www.dhs.gov. The envelope and letter should be clearly marked ``Privacy
Act Access Request.'' The request should include a general description
of the records sought and must include the requester's full name,
current address, and date and place of birth. The request must be
signed and either notarized or submitted under penalty of perjury.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Requests to amend a record must be in writing and should be
addressed to the CBP Customer Service Center (Rosslyn VA), 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229; Telephone (877) 227-
5511; or through the ``Questions'' tab at http://www.cbp.gov.xp.cgov/travel/customerservice. Requests should conform to the requirements of
6 CFR part 5, subpart B, which provides the rules for requesting access
to Privacy Act records maintained by DHS and can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia. The envelope and letter should be clearly marked
``Privacy Act Access Request.'' The request should include a general
description of the records sought and must include the requester's full
name, current address, and date and place of birth. The request must be
signed and either notarized or submitted under penalty of perjury.
If individuals are uncertain what agency handles the information,
they may seek redress through the DHS Traveler Redress Program
(``TRIP'') (See 72 FR 2294, dated January 18, 2007). DHS TRIP is a
single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek
resolution regarding difficulties they experienced during their travel
screening at transportation hubs--like airports, seaports and train
stations or at U.S. land borders. Through DHS TRIP, a traveler can
request correction of erroneous data in other DHS databases through one
application. Redress requests should be sent to: DHS Traveler Redress
Inquiry Program (TRIP), 601 South 12th Street, TSA-901, Arlington, VA
22202-4220 or online at http://www.dhs.gov/trip.
[[Page 43462]]
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
The system contains certain data received concerning individuals
who arrive in, depart from, or transit through the United States. This
system also contains information collected from carriers that operate
vessels, vehicles, aircraft and/or trains that enter or exit the United
States, including private aircraft operators.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
No exemption shall be asserted with respect to information
maintained in the system at it relates to the border crossing, to the
extent that such information was provided by the individual or carrier
or an issuing authority in connection with a border crossing.
This system, however, may contain records or information pertaining
to the accounting of disclosures made from BCI to other law enforcement
or intelligence agencies (Federal, State, Local, Foreign, International
or Tribal) in accordance with the published routine uses or statutory
basis for disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 5(b). For the accounting of these
disclosures only, in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), and (k)(2),
DHS will claim the original exemptions for these records or information
from subsection (c)(3), (e)(8), and (g) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, as necessary and appropriate to protect such information.
Dated: July 18, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-17123 Filed 7-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-P