Privacy Progress

I am pleased to announce the publication of the fourth DHS Privacy Office Annual Report to Congress, which covers the reporting period from July 2007 – July 2008. It is the office’s fourth annual report and the third issued under my tenure as Chief Privacy Officer.

As we predicted in our 2007 report, this year afforded the Department a “significant opportunity” to expand the presence of Privacy Officers and Privacy Points of Contact (PPOCs) within DHS components. We’ve added Privacy Officers in USCIS, ICE, and E-Verify to name a few components and programs. I am proud of our achievements during the last year, and there are a few more I would like to highlight.

The Office continues to grow to meet increasing responsibilities at the Department, doubling in size from Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 to FY08, increasing from 16 positions to 32, and from a budget of $4.55 million to one of $5.5 million. At the close of the reporting period, the Office was recruiting and hiring additional staff and continues to promote growth in component privacy programs as a critical means of addressing privacy requirements throughout the Department.

We are reviewing over 200 legacy agency Privacy Act Systems of Records Notices (SORN) and retiring or revising them, as necessary. This task supports Secretary Chertoff’s priority goal # 5: Strengthen and Unify DHS Operations and Management by utilizing the already established resources in the PPOC network, and communication with component Privacy Officers, program managers, and system owners to streamline and consolidate legacy SORNs. Additionally, this effort supports the Department’s objective to become "One-DHS" by using the resources of every DHS component to streamline processes and ensure that DHS complies with the Privacy Act. It is critical that the Department continues to uphold public trust in daily operations to secure the homeland while protecting the privacy the public’s personal information.

Additional activities undertaken by my office this year include

• New Congressional requirements to build the Department privacy processes
• Increased outreach and collaboration within the Department and with the intelligence community, federal, state, local, and international communities, Congress, and the public
• Increased responsibilities and authorities of the Chief Privacy Officer and the Department as defined by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
• DHS Privacy Office support of the State and Local Fusion Centers
• Management of privacy complaints received by the Department
• The first year of implementing the Privacy Incident Handling Guidance (PIHG), and privacy incident management
• Expanded focus on technology to protect the homeland
• Expansion of required and optional privacy training, including targeted workshops and training as needed throughout the Department.

The privacy professionals in my office work hard every day to build privacy protections into the activities of the Department. It has been a pleasure working with these individuals over the past two years. Together, we have strengthened the culture of privacy throughout the Department. I encourage you to read our report.

Hugo Teufel
Chief Privacy Officer

State of Immigration

Earlier today I delivered the fourth of a series of regular updates regarding the state of immigration in our country. Rather than bombard you with a laundry list of metrics that indicate our progress, let me share just a few concrete examples.

This year, apprehensions of illegal immigrants along our southern border decreased 17 percent; last year, apprehensions decreased 20 percent – a clear indication of reduced crossing attempts. Remittances to Mexico and Latin America are also down for the year, another indicator of successful enforcement. Perhaps even more telling, a recent report from the Pew Hispanic Center found that for the first time in a decade, the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States dropped below the number of those legally entering the country. Pew also estimated that last year, for the first time since WW II, there was no increase in the number of illegal migrants in the U.S. Among the factors credited for this turnaround was "a heightened focus on enforcement of immigration laws."

By all indications – decreased apprehensions, remittances, and statistical data showing more legal than illegal immigrants – we are slowly but surely turning the tide of unchecked illegal immigration that has occurred for decades in our country. We’ve done this by adding more than 370 miles of fence to the border, nearly doubling the size of the Border Patrol, and deploying new technology. Through targeted interior enforcement actions, we've also identified and removed dangerous illegal alien gang members and fugitives in record numbers while sending an unambiguous message to employers who violate the law that we will not turn a blind eye toward illegality.

As part of this, we finalized our no-match regulation, which will give businesses clear guidance to respond to letters they may receive from the Social Security Administration notifying them that an employee's name and Social Security number doesn't match government records. This of course, could be the result of a simple clerical error; or it could indicate that the employee is working illegally – either way, this rule will give employers the guidance they need to respond appropriately and avoid legal ramifications.

My hope is that by re-establishing the government's credibility through these actions, we will not only begin to address one of our nation's greatest challenges, but we will leave a strong enforcement operation in place for the next Homeland Security Secretary to use as leverage to push Congress to comprehensively reform our nation's immigration laws. Until this happens, our country will never fully solve this problem.

Michael Chertoff

A Better, Not Harder Citizenship Test

On October 1, 2008, USCIS began administering a new naturalization test. The need for a standardized and meaningful test has been the source of study and discussion for more than a decade. I’m proud of the new test and the commitment we’ve made to giving applicants a meaningful and consistent testing experience across the board.

The purpose of the redesign was twofold: to make sure we have uniform testing experiences nationwide; and to develop a civics test that can effectively assess an applicant’s knowledge of U.S. history and government as the law requires. Naturalization applicants deserve a fair and standardized testing experience no matter where they take the test.

USCIS has made every effort to minimize the impact of this change by allowing one full year for preparation and by working closely with national and local immigrant-serving organizations along the way. Since announcing the test in September 2007, we have trained more than 2,000 educators and service providers, launched a variety of new study materials, and embarked on an unprecedented outreach campaign. You can see the study materials and judge for yourself their quality by going to http://www.uscis.gov/. I believe that the result is an effort all Americans can be proud of and one immigrants need not fear.

I would like to take this opportunity to let applicants know that what we have is a better, not harder test. The format is the same, just standardized across our offices. The civics test has been revamped and improved; and our 2007 pilots showed that those who study for the new test should pass. As for the English test, applicants now know exactly how to prepare through publicly released vocabulary lists. Also, all naturalization applicants now receive a new English and civics study booklet when they are fingerprinted at one of our Application Support Centers.

The new test was designed to serve as a tool to encourage civic learning and attachment to the country. Our pilot studies and research have shown that better content and a consistent format have not made the test more difficult. Through proper preparation and study, eligible candidates will be successful in achieving their dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. We will, however, monitor the results of the new test carefully and make this information public.

I want to commend those of you preparing for U.S. citizenship. The decision to apply is a very personal one. As you take this important step, it is my hope that the naturalization process helps strengthen your attachment to the United States and the democratic ideals that make this nation great. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen
Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Cyber Security Awareness Month

Today marks the beginning of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is a good opportunity to remind our readers of the importance of protecting yourselves and your businesses against the growing threat of cyber attacks.

Worldwide, cyber attacks are increasing in sophistication and frequency every day. We have seen stories in the news recently of countries engaging outright in cyber warfare. Over the summer, authorities also uncovered the largest case of identity theft in U.S history, involving the theft of more than 40 million credit card numbers stolen from the computer systems of several major U.S. retailers. These acts have very real consequences for ordinary Americans, as any victim of identity theft can attest.

We take the threat of cyber attacks seriously at the Department. Working with other agencies, we have embarked on a major effort across the government to protect federal systems and networks. This includes reducing the number of external access points to our systems and improving our intrusion detection capabilities. We’ve established a new National Cyber Security Center to improve coordination and information sharing. We are expanding our 24-hour watch and warning system – the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team – and hiring new cyber professionals. And we’re taking steps to prevent compromised computer products and electronics from entering the global supply chain and reaching our country.

But the reality is we can’t meet these challenges by ourselves. We don’t own the Internet or our nation’s IT or communications infrastructure. Most of our nation’s cyber assets are in private sector hands. Protecting them will require a new level of partnership with businesses and companies of all sizes, as well as individual citizens.

What can you do to help? Start by making sure you are practicing good cyber security in your home or office. This means ensuring your antivirus software is properly functioning and up-to-date. Change your computer passwords regularly, and when you do, make sure you don’t write them down or leave them near your computer where someone can easily exploit them. Don’t open suspicious e-mail or visit suspicious websites. And make sure you know exactly what you’re downloading.

These are all common-sense recommendations, but unfortunately too many Americans fail to take even these basic steps. I hope over the next month you’ll do your part to increase our nation’s cyber defenses from the ground up and help us mitigate the impact of a major cyber attack. The alternative could be a very serious disruption of a vital part of our society and our nation’s economy. Like other areas of homeland security, the time to prepare is now.

Michael Chertoff

The Next Chapter in Bio-Readiness

I am pleased to report that we opened a first-of-its kind biosurveillance center today that gives the nation the ability to see fast-moving, potential health threats in a new way – before it’s too late.

Patterns in illnesses usually are only seen after enough people get sick or die to sound alarms. Investigators then retrace the steps of the victims to determine the source of trouble, but it’s often too late for those who have already been unknowingly exposed.

Whether it’s food contaminated with Salmonella, the first waves of illness from a pandemic flu, or an anthrax attack by terrorists, spotting biological threats sooner means that thousands of lives might be saved.

Traditional methods of detecting such threats often take too long. Our National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) will change that.

The center will combine all sorts of information – from classified material shared in a secure environment, to transportation and border data, to local media reports – so that events around the country and the world can be connected and analyzed more closely and quickly, and threats bubbling up can be detected earlier than ever before.

This 24-hour operation brings together experts from some agencies that may be obvious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, for instance, both monitor health patterns. And the Departments of Agriculture, State and Commerce all play critical roles in preventing the global spread of avian flu or Foot-and-Mouth disease while protecting the nation’s economy.

But there is more to the center than a collection of agency representatives.

Through the center’s secure computer network, DHS has now created a whole new level of daily cooperation among private sector partners, health officials and government agencies who now all work together to hunt for early signs of trouble.

The center is developing a clearer picture of what typical health patterns look like so that even a small blip can be investigated before large clusters of people get sick.

Being able to identify emerging threats earlier was one of the key recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. As the Japanese learned in 1995 when the Aum Shinrikyo religious sect released sarin nerve gas on subway lines killing 12 and injuring 5,500, biological attacks are a modern global reality.

Our new surveillance builds on another one of our programs, BioWatch, an environmental early detection program which uses monitors in over 30 urban areas to sniff the air for biological threats.

Dr. Jon R. Krohmer
Acting Assistant Secretary/Chief Medical Officer