[Federal Register: August 23, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 48349-48353]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23au07-92]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[DHS-2007-0041]
Privacy Act of 1974; Customs and Border Protection Advanced
Passenger Information System Systems of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office; DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
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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 new system of records for collecting
certain biographical information on all passenger and crew members who
arrive in or depart from, or transit through (and crew that over fly)
the United States on a covered air or vessel carrier, and, in the case
of crew members, those who continue domestically on a foreign air or
vessel carrier. The system of records is the Advance Passenger
Information System.
Previously, this information was maintained within the Treasury
Enforcement Communications System and was covered by a system of
records notice published for the Treasury Enforcement Communications
System. CBP is publishing a new system of records notice in order to
permit the traveling public greater access to individual information
and a more complete understanding of how and where information
pertaining to them is collected and maintained.
DATES: The new system of records will be effective September 24, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number DHS-
2007-0041 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 Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) was originally
developed as a voluntary program by the former U.S. Customs Service
(Customs Service) in 1988 in cooperation with the former U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the airline industry.
Previously, this information was maintained within the Treasury
Enforcement Communications System (TECS) and was covered by a system of
records notice published for TECS. The most recent TECS SORN was
published at 66 FR 52984 (Oct 18, 2001). In the original APIS
regulation, commercial air and vessel carriers collected passengers'
biographical data and transmitted the data to the Customs Service while
the flight or the vessel was en route to the United States. The Customs
Service Data Center used APIS data to perform a check against CBP's law
enforcement databases, as well as information from the Federal Bureau
of Investigations Terrorist Screening Center's Terrorist Screening
Database (TSDB), information on individuals with outstanding wants or
warrants, and information from other government agencies regarding high
risk parties. Through the legacy voluntary APIS data program, checks
were performed in advance of the arrival of the aircraft or vessel. The
results were referenced by Customs agents or inspectors once the
passengers arrived. This resulted in a significant time savings for the
clearance of passengers and carriers.
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 and the
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 provided
specific authority for the mandatory collection of certain information
on all passenger and crewmembers that arrive in or depart from the
United States on a commercial air or vessel carrier. The information is
required to be collected and submitted to CBP as APIS data.
The information that is required to be collected and submitted to
the APIS can be found on routine arrival/departure documents that
passengers and crewmembers must provide to CBP, when entering or
departing the United States. APIS includes complete name, date of
birth, gender, country of citizenship, passport/alien registration
number and country of issuance, passport expiration date, country of
residence, status on board the aircraft, travel document type, United
States destination address (except for U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent
residents, crew and those in transit), place of birth and address of
permanent residence (flight crew only), pilot certificate number and
country of issuance (flight crew only, if applicable) and the Passenger
Name Record (PNR) locator number. The PNR locator number allows CBP to
access PNR consistent with its regulatory authority under 19 CFR
122.49d.
Additionally, air and vessel carriers must provide 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 passengers 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.
CBP will collect the passengers' and crewmembers' information that
is supplied by the air or vessel carriers in advance of a passenger's
and crewmember's arrival in or departure from (and, for crew on flights
over flying) the United States and maintains this information in the
Advance Passenger Information System. The information will be used to
perform counterterrorism, law enforcement, and public security queries
to identify risks to the aircraft or vessel, to its occupants, or to
the United States and to expedite CBP processing.
Under the Final Rule revision to APIS (70 FR 17820 (Apr. 7, 2005)),
CBP mandates that air and vessel carriers collect personally
identifiable information about passengers and crewmembers (including
``non-crew'' as defined in the 2005 APIS Final Rule) traveling by air
or sea, and arriving in,
[[Page 48350]]
or departing from (and, in the case of crew, flights overflying), the
United States from the respective carriers--this information is often
collected and maintained on what is referred to as the manifest. The
information that is required to be collected and submitted to APIS can
be found on routine travel documents that passengers and crewmembers
must provide when processed into or out of the United States (and most
of the information is included on the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) of
most passports).
The purpose of the information collection is to screen passengers
and crew members arriving from foreign travel points and departing the
United States to identify those persons who may pose a risk to border,
aviation or public security, may be a terrorist or suspected terrorist
or affiliated with or suspected of being affiliated with terrorists,
may be inadmissible, may be a person of interest, or may otherwise be
engaged in activity in violation of U.S. law, or the subject of wants
or warrants. The system allows CBP to facilitate effectively and
efficiently the entry and departure of legitimate travelers into and
from the United States. Using APIS, DHS officers can quickly reference
the results of the advanced research that has been conducted through
CBP's law enforcement databases, including information from the TSDB
and information on individuals with outstanding wants or warrants,
confirm the accuracy of that information by comparison with information
obtained from the traveler (passenger and crew) and from the carriers,
and make immediate determinations as to a traveler's security risk,
admissibility and other determinations bearing on CBP's inspectional
and screening processes.
Information collected in APIS is maintained for a period of no more
than twelve months from the date of collection at which time the data
is erased from APIS. Following CBP processing, a copy of certain
information is transferred to the Border Crossing Information System, a
subsystem of TECS. During physical processing at the border, primary
inspection lane and ID inspector are added to APIS and the APIS
information is verified. This information derived from APIS includes:
complete name, date of birth, gender, date of arrival, date of
departure, time arrived, means of arrival (air/sea), travel document,
departure location, airline code, flight number, and the result of the
CBP processing. Additionally, for individuals subject to US-VISIT
requirements, a copy of certain APIS data is transferred to the Arrival
and Departure Information System (ADIS) for effective and efficient
tracking of foreign nationals, including to help identify lawfully
admitted non-immigrants who remain in the United States beyond the
period of authorized stay. US-VISIT currently applies to all visitors
(with limited exemptions). The SORN for ADIS was last published on
December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69412). The information transferred from APIS
to ADIS includes: Complete name, date of birth, gender, citizenship,
country of residence, status on board the vessel, U.S. destination
address, passport number, expiration date of passport, country of
issuance (for non-immigrants authorized to work), alien registration
number, port of entry, entry date, port of departure, and departure
date.
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. APIS involves the 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 are
contained in 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. Below is
the description of system of records referred to as the Advanced
Passenger Information System.
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-005
SYSTEM NAME:
Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS)
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
This computer database is located at U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) National Data Center in Washington, DC. Computer
terminals are located at customhouses, border ports of entry, airport
inspection facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) 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.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Categories of individuals covered by this notice consist of:
A. Passengers who arrive and depart the United States by air or
sea, including those in transit through the United States or beginning
or concluding a portion of their international travel by flying
domestically within the United States,
B. Crew members who arrive and depart the United States by air or
sea, including those in transit through the United States or beginning
or concluding a portion of their international travel by flying
domestically within the United States, and
C. Crew members on aircraft that overfly the United States.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The records in the database are comprised of the following
information: complete name, date of birth, gender, country of
citizenship, passport/alien registration number and country of
issuance, passport expiration date, country of residence, status on
board the aircraft, travel document type, United States destination
address (except for U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents, crew and
those in transit), place of birth and address of permanent residence
(flight crew only), pilot certificate number and country of issuance
(flight crew only, if applicable), the PNR locator number, primary
inspection lane, ID inspector, and records containing the results of
comparisons of individuals to information maintained in CBP's law
enforcement databases, as well as information from the TSDB,
information on individuals with outstanding wants or warrants, and
information from other government agencies regarding high risk parties.
In addition, carriers or operators covered by the APIS rules must
transmit
[[Page 48351]]
to CBP the following information: 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 passengers 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 for passengers and crew departing the United
States, the final foreign airport/port of arrival.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, the Enhanced
Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002, and the Intelligence
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, also the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended, including 19 U.S.C. 58b, 66, 1431, 1433, 1436, 1448,
1459, 1590, 1594, 1623, 1624, 1644, and 1644a.
Purpose(s):
The purpose of the collection is to screen passengers and crew
arriving in, transiting through and departing from (and in the case of
crew, overflying) the United States to identify those passengers and
crew who may pose a risk to border, aviation or public security, may be
a terrorist or suspected terrorist or affiliated with or suspected of
being affiliated with terrorists, may be inadmissible, may be a person
of interest, or may otherwise be engaged in activity in violation of
U.S. law, or the subject of wants or warrants.
APIS allows CBP to facilitate more effectively and efficiently the
entry of legitimate travelers into the United States and the departure
of legitimate travelers from the United States. As travelers prepare to
depart for or from the United States, DHS officers, using APIS, can
quickly cross-reference the results of the advanced research that has
been conducted through CBP's law enforcement databases, as well as
using information from the TSDB, information on individuals with
outstanding wants or warrants, and information from other government
agencies regarding high risk parties, confirm the accuracy of that
information by comparison of it with information obtained from the
traveler and from the carriers, and make immediate determinations with
regard to the traveler's security risk, admissibility and other
determinations bearing on CBP's inspectional and screening processes.
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 DHS believes the information would assist enforcement of
civil or criminal laws;
B. 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.
C. 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, property or other vital interests
of a data subject and disclosure is proper and consistent with the
official duties of the person making the disclosure;
D. To appropriate Federal, state, local, tribal, or foreign
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations, for
the purpose of protecting the vital interests of a data subject or
other persons, including to assist such agencies or organizations in
preventing exposure to or transmission of a communicable or
quarantinable disease or for combating other significant public health
threats; appropriate notice will be provided of any identified health
threat or risk;
E. 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 law proceedings;
F. To third parties during the course of an law enforcement
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent
to the investigation, provided disclosure is appropriate in the proper
performance of the official duties of the officer making the
disclosure;
G. 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;
H. 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;
I. To an appropriate Federal, state, local, tribal, territorial,
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;
J. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, 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, in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended;
K. To the U. S. Department of Justice (including U.S. 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;
L. 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;
[[Page 48352]]
M. To appropriate Federal, state, local, tribal, or foreign
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations 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) CBP 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, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or
other systems or programs (whether maintained by CBP or another agency
or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; and (3) the
disclosure is made to such agencies, entities, and persons when
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 carrier, who submitted traveler, passenger, or crew
information to CBP, but only to the extent that CBP provides a message
indicating that the individual is ``cleared'' or ``not cleared'' to
board the aircraft or depart on the vessel in response to the initial
transmission of information, or is identified as a ``selectee''.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Storage:
The data is stored electronically at the CBP 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 other unique personal identifier
from an electronic database.
Safeguards:
Information in this system is safeguarded in accordance with
applicable laws, rules, and policies. All records are protected from
unauthorized access through appropriate administrative, physical, and
technical safeguards. These safeguards include role-based access
provisions, restricting access to authorized personnel who have a need-
to-know, using locks, and password protection identification features.
DHS file areas are locked after normal duty hours and the facilities
are protected from the outside by security personnel.
The system manager, in addition, has the capability to maintain
system back-ups for the purpose of supporting continuity of operations
and the discrete need to isolate and copy specific data access
transactions for the purpose of conducting security incident
investigations.
All communication links with the CBP datacenter are encrypted. The
Databases are fully Certified and Accredited in accordance with the
requirements of the Federal Information Security Management Act
(FISMA).
Although separate notice is being provided for APIS, it continues
to operate within the TECS information technology system architecture;
therefore APIS's technical infrastructure is covered by the approved
TECS Certification and Accreditation under the National Institute of
Standards and Technology. The last certification was in January 2006.
Retention and Disposal:
Information collected in APIS is maintained in this system for a
period of no more than twelve months from the date of collection at
which time the data is erased from APIS. As part of the vetting and CBP
clearance (immigration and customs screening and inspection) of a
traveler, information from APIS is copied to the Border Crossing
Information System, a subsystem of TECS. Additionally, for individuals
subject to US-VISIT requirements, a copy of certain APIS data is
transferred to the Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS) for
effective and efficient processing of foreign nationals. The SORN for
ADIS was last published on December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69412). Different
retention periods apply for APIS data contained in those systems.
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 APIS. Persons may only seek access to APIS data that has been
provided by the carrier and of which they are the subject. To determine
whether APIS contains records relating to you, write to the FOIA/
Privacy Act Branch, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Room 5.5-C, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20229 (phone: (202) 344-1850 and fax: (202) 344-2791).
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Requests for notification or access must be in writing and should
be addressed to the FOIA/Privacy Act Branch, Office of Field
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Room 5.5-C, 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229. 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 Fed. Reg. 2294, dated January 18, 2007). Individuals
who believe they have been improperly denied entry, refused boarding
for transportation, or identified for additional screening by CBP may
submit a redress request through the TRIP. 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 TRIP, a traveler can request correction of
erroneous stored 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.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Individuals may seek redress and/or contest a record through
several different means that will be handled in the same fashion. If
the individual is aware the information is specifically handled by CBP,
requests may be sent directly to CBP at the FOIA/Privacy Act Branch,
Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Room
5.5-C, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229 (phone:
(202) 344-1850 and fax: (202) 344-2791). If the individual is uncertain
what agency is responsible for maintaining the information, redress
requests may be
[[Page 48353]]
sent to DHS TRIP at DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP), 601
South 12th Street, TSA-901, Arlington, VA 22202-4220 or online at
http://www.dhs.gov/trip.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
The system contains data received from aircraft operators/carriers
and vessel carriers regarding passengers and crewmembers who arrive in,
depart from, transit through or overfly (in the case of flight crew
only) the United States on an air or vessel carrier covered by APIS
regulations. During physical processing at the border, primary
inspection lane and ID inspector are added to APIS, and the APIS
information is verified using the travel documents. Additionally,
records contain the results of comparisons of individuals to
information maintained in CBP law enforcement databases, as well as
information from the TSDB, information on individuals with outstanding
wants or warrants, and information from other government agencies
regarding high risk parties.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
No exemption shall be asserted with respect to information
maintained in the system that is collected from a person and submitted
by that person's air or vessel carrier, if that person, or his or her
agent, seeks access or amendment of such information.
This system, however, may contain records or information recompiled
from or created from information contained in other systems of records,
which are exempt from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. For these
records or information only, in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a (j)(2),
and (k)(2), DHS will also claim the original exemptions for these
records or information from subsections (c)(3) and (4); (d)(1), (2),
(3), and (4); (e)(1), (2), (3), (4)(G) through (I), (5), and (8); (f),
and (g) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, as necessary and
appropriate to protect such information.
Dated: August 8, 2007.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-15976 Filed 8-22-07; 8:45 am]
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