[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 9, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52593-52595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18812]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 9, 2016 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52593]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

6 CFR Part 5

[Docket No. DHS-2016-0052]


Privacy Act of 1974: Implementation of Exemptions; Department of 
Homeland Security/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-015 LeadTrac 
System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Privacy Office.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security is giving concurrent 
notice of a newly established system of records pursuant to the Privacy 
Act of 1974 for the ``Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement-015 LeadTrac System of Records'' and this 
proposed rulemaking. In this proposed rulemaking, the Department 
proposes to exempt portions of the system of records from one or more 
provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and 
administrative enforcement requirements.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 9, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2016-0052, by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-343-4010.
     Mail: Jonathan Cantor, Acting 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 notice. 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: Amber Smith, Privacy Officer, (202-
732-3300), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 500 12th Street 
SW., Mail Stop 5004, Washington, DC 20536, email: [email protected], 
or Jonathan R. Cantor (202-343-1717), Acting Chief Privacy Officer, 
Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is giving concurrent 
notice of a newly established system of records pursuant to the Privacy 
Act of 1974 for the ``DHS/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
(ICE)-015 LeadTrac System of Records'' and this proposed rule. In this 
rulemaking, the Department proposes to exempt portions of the system of 
records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of 
criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements.
    The LeadTrac System of Records describes the operation of an ICE 
information technology system of the same name, which is owned by ICE's 
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) directorate. This system 
contains a repository of data that is ingested on a routine or ad hoc 
basis from other existing sources, and an index created from that data. 
LeadTrac incorporates tools that allow the data to be queried, 
analyzed, and presented in a variety of formats that can help 
illuminate relationships among the various data elements. The purpose 
of LeadTrac is to help ICE HSI personnel conduct research and analysis 
using advanced analytic tools in support of their law enforcement 
mission.

LeadTrac Overview

    This record system allows DHS to collect and maintain information 
about foreign students, exchange visitors, and other non-immigrant 
visitors to the United Sates who overstay their period of admission or 
otherwise violate the terms of their visa, immigrant, or non-immigrant 
status (collectively, status violators), and associated organizations 
and individuals. Using LeadTrac, the Counterterrorism and Criminal 
Exploitation Unit (CTCEU) collects personally identifiable information 
(PII) from key Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases and 
analyzes it to identify individuals who are suspected status violators. 
The Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit will also use 
LeadTrac to collect information about organizations such as schools, 
universities, and exchange visitor programs being investigated by 
CTCEU, as well as information about individuals, including designated 
school officials (DSOs) and associates of suspected status violators.
    ICE collects information in LeadTrac about suspected status 
violators and organizations to help enforce compliance with U.S. 
immigration laws. Specifically, the information is collected and used 
to support the following DHS activities: Investigating and determining 
immigration status and criminal history information of individuals; 
carrying out the appropriate enforcement activity required; identifying 
fraudulent schools and/or organizations and the people affiliated with 
the school or organization; providing HSI and ICE Enforcement and 
Removal Operations (ERO) with viable lead information to further 
investigate suspected status violators; and carrying out the required 
enforcement activity.
    The CTCEU and Overstay Analysis Unit (OAU) personnel query a 
variety of DHS and non-DHS information systems and enter the results 
into LeadTrac to build a unified picture of an individual's entry/exit, 
visa, criminal and immigration history, and will comparably process 
information about associated individuals and organizations. Using this 
assembled information, CTCEU will determine which individuals or 
organizations warrant additional investigation for possible status 
violations or the operation of fraudulent institutions, and will 
request that the appropriate HSI field offices initiate investigations. 
Some of the individuals about whom ICE collects information in 
LeadTrac, such as DSOs and associates of suspected status violators, 
may have lawful permanent resident (LPR) status or be U.S. citizens.
    Consistent with the Department's information sharing mission, 
information stored in the DHS/ICE-015

[[Page 52594]]

LeadTrac System of Records may be shared with other DHS components that 
have a need to know the information to carry out their national 
security, law enforcement, immigration, intelligence, or other homeland 
security functions. In addition, DHS/ICE information may be shared with 
appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, foreign, or 
international government agencies consistent with the routine uses set 
forth in the system of records notice and as otherwise authorized under 
the Privacy Act.
    This newly established system will be included in DHS's inventory 
of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a 
statutory framework governing the means by which Federal Government 
agencies collect, maintain, use, and disseminate individuals' records. 
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 an 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 U.S. citizens and lawful 
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative 
Privacy Act protections to all individuals when systems of records 
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and 
visitors.
    The Privacy Act allows Government agencies to exempt certain 
records from the access and amendment provisions. If an agency claims 
an exemption, it must issue a rule to make clear to the public the 
reasons why a particular exemption is claimed, and provide an 
opportunity to comment.
    DHS is claiming exemptions from certain requirements of the Privacy 
Act for DHS/ICE-015 LeadTrac System of Records. Some information in 
this system of records relates to official DHS national security, law 
enforcement, and immigration activities. These exemptions are needed to 
protect information relating to DHS activities from disclosure to 
subjects or others related to these activities. Specifically, the 
exemptions are required to preclude subjects of these activities from 
frustrating these processes; to avoid disclosure of activity 
techniques; to protect the identities and physical safety of 
confidential informants and law enforcement personnel; to ensure DHS's 
ability to obtain information from third parties and other sources; and 
to protect the privacy of third parties. Disclosure of information to 
the subject of the inquiry could also permit the subject to avoid 
detection or apprehension.
    In appropriate circumstances, when compliance would not appear to 
interfere with or adversely affect the law enforcement purposes of this 
system and the overall law enforcement process, the applicable 
exemptions may be waived on a case-by-case basis.
    A system of records notice for DHS/ICE-015 LeadTrac System of 
Records is also published in this issue of the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 6 CFR Part 5

    Freedom of information; Privacy.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, DHS proposes to amend 
chapter I of title 6, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 5--DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION

0
1. The authority citation for part 5 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Pub. L. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135; (6 U.S.C. 101 et 
seq.); 5 U.S.C. 301. Subpart A also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552. 
Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552a.

0
2. Add paragraph 74 to Appendix C to read as follows:

Appendix C to Part 5--DHS Systems of Records Exempt From the Privacy 
Act

* * * * *
    74. The DHS/ICE-015 LeadTrac System of Records consists of 
electronic and paper records and will be used by ICE investigative 
and homeland security personnel. The DHS/ICE-015 LeadTrac System of 
Records contains aggregated data from ICE and DHS law enforcement 
and homeland security IT systems, as well as data uploaded by ICE 
personnel for analysis from various public, private, and commercial 
sources during the course of an investigation or analytical project. 
This information may include some or all of the following types of 
personally identifiable information: Identifying and biographic data 
such as name and date of birth; citizenship and immigration data; 
border crossing data; customs import-export history; criminal 
history; contact information; criminal associates; family 
relationships; photographs and other media; and employment and 
education information. The records also include tips received by ICE 
from the public concerning suspicious or potentially illegal 
activity, as well as telephone call detail records, which contain 
call transactions and subscriber data, obtained via lawful process 
during the course of an investigation. This information is 
maintained by ICE for analytical and investigative purposes and is 
made accessible to ICE personnel via the LeadTrac system interface. 
The system is used to conduct research supporting the production of 
law enforcement activities; provide lead information for 
investigative inquiry and follow-up; assist in the conduct of ICE 
criminal and administrative investigations; assist in the disruption 
of terrorist or other criminal activity; and discover previously 
unknown connections among existing ICE investigations.
    The Secretary of Homeland Security, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
552a(j)(2), has exempted this system from the following provisions 
of the Privacy Act: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (c)(4); (d); (e)(1), 
(e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), (e)(5), (e)(8); 
(f); and (g). Additionally, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), has exempted this system from the 
following provisions of the Privacy Act: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), 
(c)(4); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I); and (f). When 
a record received from another system has been exempted in that 
source system under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) or (k)(2), DHS will claim 
the same exemptions for those records that are claimed for the 
original primary systems of records from which they originated and 
claims any additional exemptions set forth here.
    Exemptions from these particular subsections are justified, on a 
case-by-case basis to be determined at the time a request is made, 
for the following reasons:
    (a) From subsection (c)(3) and (4) (Accounting for Disclosures) 
because release of the accounting of disclosures could alert the 
subject of an investigation of an actual or potential criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violation to the existence of that 
investigation and reveal investigative interest on the part of DHS 
as well as the recipient agency. Disclosure of the accounting would 
therefore present a serious impediment to law enforcement efforts 
and/or efforts to preserve national security. Disclosure of the 
accounting would also permit the individual who is the subject of a 
record to impede the investigation, to tamper with witnesses or 
evidence, and to avoid detection or apprehension, which would 
undermine the entire investigative process. Disclosure of 
corrections or notations of dispute may impede investigations by 
requiring DHS to inform each witness or individual contacted during 
the investigation of each correction or notation pertaining to 
information provided them during the investigation.
    (b) From subsection (d) (Access to Records) because access to 
the records contained in this system of records could inform the 
subject of an investigation of an actual or potential criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violation to the existence of that 
investigation and reveal investigative interest on the part of DHS 
or another agency. Access to the records could permit the individual 
who is the subject of a record to impede the investigation, to 
tamper with witnesses or evidence, and to avoid detection or 
apprehension. Amendment of the records could interfere with ongoing 
investigations and law enforcement activities and would impose an 
unreasonable administrative burden by requiring investigations to be 
continually reinvestigated. In addition, permitting access and 
amendment to such information could disclose classified and

[[Page 52595]]

other security-sensitive information that could be detrimental to 
homeland security.
    (c) From subsection (e)(1) (Relevancy and Necessity of 
Information) because in the course of investigations into potential 
violations of federal law, the accuracy of information obtained or 
introduced occasionally may be unclear, or the information may not 
be strictly relevant or necessary to a specific investigation. In 
the interests of effective law enforcement, it is appropriate to 
retain all information that may aid in establishing patterns of 
unlawful activity.
    (d) From subsection (e)(2) (Collection of Information from 
Individuals) because requiring that information be collected from 
the subject of an investigation would alert the subject to the 
nature or existence of the investigation, thereby interfering with 
that investigation and related law enforcement activities.
    (e) From subsection (e)(3) (Notice to Subjects) because 
providing such detailed information could impede law enforcement by 
compromising the existence of a confidential investigation or reveal 
the identity of witnesses or confidential informants.
    (f) From subsections (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), and (e)(4)(I) (Agency 
Requirements) and (f) (Agency Rules), because portions of this 
system are exempt from the individual access provisions of 
subsection (d) for the reasons noted above, and therefore DHS is not 
required to establish requirements, rules, or procedures with 
respect to such access. Providing notice to individuals with respect 
to existence of records pertaining to them in the system of records 
or otherwise setting up procedures pursuant to which individuals may 
access and view records pertaining to themselves in the system would 
undermine investigative efforts and reveal the identities of 
witnesses, and potential witnesses, and confidential informants.
    (g) From subsection (e)(5) (Collection of Information) because 
with the collection of information for law enforcement purposes, it 
is impossible to determine in advance what information is accurate, 
relevant, timely, and complete. Compliance with subsection (e)(5) 
would preclude DHS agents from using their investigative training 
and exercise of good judgment to both conduct and report on 
investigations.
    (h) From subsection (e)(8) (Notice on Individuals) because 
compliance would interfere with DHS's ability to obtain, serve, and 
issue subpoenas, warrants, and other law enforcement mechanisms that 
may be filed under seal and could result in disclosure of 
investigative techniques, procedures, and evidence.
    (i) From subsection (g)(1) (Civil Remedies) to the extent that 
the system is exempt from other specific subsections of the Privacy 
Act.

    Dated: August 3, 2016.
Jonathan R. Cantor,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.

[FR Doc. 2016-18812 Filed 8-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-28-P