USCIS to ‘mirror’ unclassified data on immigrants in a new classified data base

In order to make it easier to handle classified requests for information from the federal law enforcement and intelligence communities concerning immigrants resident in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security intends to create a classified data base that “mirrors” the information contained in several different existing unclassified data bases.

The new classified data base, which will be known as the Citizenship and Immigration Data Repository system of records, or CIDR, would make it easier for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unit of DHS to respond to intelligence and law enforcement inquiries that necessitate searches based on classified criteria.

“To facilitate a more efficient and secure environment in which to conduct these queries and to store their results, DHS determined that creating mirror copies of its unclassified data sets on the classified side would be the most appropriate solution,” said USCIS in a notice it published in the Federal Register on September 8. “Copying unclassified data from the unclassified systems to a classified site does not render this information classified, only the search parameters and their results.”

USCIS identified several unclassified data bases it would “mirror” in a classified environment, including a data base with applications for benefits filed by immigrants, another data base containing applications for asylum, a third containing information on pending fraud investigations, and others.

As is common with a great deal of the security-related information that DHS collects, the department is expecting to exempt much of this data from Freedom of Information Act disclosure requests submitted by individuals and organizations. “USCIS is proposing to exempt classified information in CIDR from disclosure to a requestor to preserve the integrity of ongoing counterterrorism, intelligence, or other homeland security activities…” says the DHS notice.

Information shifted to the classified data base would not remain there indefinitely, says the notice. “CIDR simply mirrors these [unclassified] data sets,” says USCIS. “Information will be removed from CIDR after it has been removed in the source system.”

The public is invited to comment on this DHS plan until October 8, the day on which the new systems of records will become effective. Comments can be submitted by visiting www.regulations.gov and citing docket number DHS-2010-00068.

Further information is available from Donald Hawkins, privacy officer at USCIS, at 202-272-8000.