This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

81371 

Vol. 75, No. 248 

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Office of the Secretary 

6 CFR Part 5 

[Docket No. DHS–2010–0088] 

Privacy Act of 1974: Implementation of 

Exemptions; Department of Homeland 

Security/United States Citizenship and 

Immigration Services–012 Citizenship 

and Immigration Data Repository 

System of Records 

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security is issuing a final rule to amend 

its regulations to exempt portions of a 

newly established system of records 

titled ‘‘Department of Homeland 

Security/United States Citizenship and 

Immigration Services–012 Citizenship 

and Immigration Data Repository 

System of Records’’ from certain 

provisions of the Privacy Act. 

Specifically, the Department exempts 

portions of the ‘‘Department of 

Homeland Security/United States 

Citizenship and Immigration Services– 

012 Citizenship and Immigration Data 

Repository System of Records’’ from one 

or more provisions of the Privacy Act 

because of criminal, civil, and 

administrative enforcement 

requirements. 

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is 

effective December 28, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general questions please contact: Donald 

K. Hawkins (202–272–8000), Privacy 

Officer, U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services, 20 Massachusetts 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20529. 

For privacy issues please contact: Mary 

Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, 

Privacy Office, Department of Homeland 

Security, Washington, DC 20528. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) United States 

Citizenship and Immigration Service 

(USCIS) published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking in the Federal Register, 75 

FR 54528, September 8, 2010, proposing 

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 system of records is 

the DHS/USCIS–012 Citizenship and 

Immigration Data Repository (CIDR) 

System of Records. The DHS/USCIS– 

012 CIDR System of Records notice was 

published concurrently in the Federal 

Register, 75 FR 54642, September 8, 

2010. Comments were invited on both 

the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(NPRM) and System of Records Notice 

(SORN). 

Public Comments 

DHS received six comments on the 

NPRM. Of the six comments, one was 

submitted in duplicate. No comments 

were received on the SORN. 

Three of the five original comments 

received were generally in support of 

the proposed rule. Two commentors 

expressed opposition generally to DHS’ 

collection and use of personally 

identifiable information (PII) for any 

reason other than to investigate 

individuals who may have violated the 

law. The Privacy Act of 1974 permits a 

federal agency, including DHS, to 

collect information pertaining to 

individuals provided that it has the 

requisite statutory authority to do so. 

The Privacy Act requires federal 

agencies to publish in the Federal 

Register a description denoting the type 

and character of each system of records 

that the agency maintains including the 

authority, purpose, category of records, 

and routine uses in order to make 

agency recordkeeping practices 

transparent, to notify individuals 

regarding the uses to which PII is put, 

and to assist individuals to more easily 

find such files within the agency. DHS 

met these requirements with the 

publication of the DHS/USCIS–012 

CIDR SORN on September 10, 2010 in 

the Federal Register. As noted in DHS/ 

USCIS–012 CIDR SORN, the authority to 

collect information within CIDR is 

§§ 101 and 103 of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 

1101 and 1103), and the regulations 

issued pursuant thereto; § 451 of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 

107–296); E.O. 12958; E.O. 13356; E.O. 

13388; and E.O. 12333. 

In addition, as set forth in the DHS/ 

USCIS–012 CIDR SORN, the CIDR 

system will not collect any new 

information, but rather, is a mirror copy 

of USCIS’s major immigrant and nonimmigrant benefits databases combined 

into a single user interface and 

presented in an updated, searchable 

format on the classified network. This 

system takes existing USCIS data and 

recompiles them into a system for the 

following three purposes: (1) Vetting 

USCIS application information for 

indications of possible immigration 

fraud and national security concerns; (2) 

detecting possible fraud and misuse of 

immigration information or position by 

USCIS employees, for personal gain or 

by coercion; and (3) to respond to 

requests for information (RFIs) from the 

DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis 

(I&A) and/or the federal intelligence and 

law enforcement community members 

that are based on classified criteria. 

After consideration of public 

comments, the Department will 

implement the rulemaking as proposed. 

List of Subjects in 6 CFR Part 5 

Freedom of information; Privacy. 

■ For the reasons stated in the preamble, 

DHS amends Chapter I of Title 6, Code 

of Federal Regulations, as follows: 

PART 5—DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS 

AND INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 5 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.; Pub. L. 

107–296, 116 Stat. 2135; 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. 

■ 2. Add at the end of Appendix C to 

part 5, the following new paragraph 

‘‘53’’: 

Appendix C to Part 5—DHS Systems of 

Records Exempt From the Privacy Act 

* * * * * 

53. The DHS/USCIS–012 CIDR System of 

Records consists of electronic and paper 

records and will be used by DHS and its 

components. The DHS/USCIS–012 CIDR 

System of Records is a repository of 

information held by DHS in connection with 

its several and varied missions and functions, 

including, but not limited to the enforcement 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES
81372 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the proposed rule and the comments 

we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0060. 

of civil and criminal laws; investigations, 

inquiries, and proceedings thereunder; 

national security and intelligence activities; 

and protection of the President of the U.S. or 

other individuals pursuant to Section 3056 

and 3056A of Title 18. The DHS/USCIS–012 

CIDR System of Records contains information 

that is collected by, on behalf of, in support 

of, or in cooperation with DHS and its 

components and may contain PII collected by 

other federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or 

international government agencies. The 

Secretary of Homeland Security has 

exempted this system from the following 

provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to 

limitations set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); 

(d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I); and (f) 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(1) and (k)(2). 

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) (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 the 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 could 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. 

(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 the 

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 impossible administrative burden 

by requiring investigations to be 

continuously reinvestigated. In addition, 

permitting access and amendment to such 

information could disclose 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 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. 

Dated: December 14, 2010. 

Mary Ellen Callahan, 

Chief Privacy Officer, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32540 Filed 12–27–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0060] 

RIN 0579–AD13 

Hass Avocados From Mexico; 

Importation Into the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico and Other Changes 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations governing the importation of 

fruits and vegetables to provide for the 

importation of Hass avocados from 

Mexico into Puerto Rico under the same 

systems approach currently required for 

the importation of Hass avocados into 

all States of the United States from 

Michoaca ́n, Mexico. The systems 

approach requirements include 

trapping, orchard certification, limited 

production area, trace back labeling, 

pre-harvest orchard surveys for all pests, 

orchard sanitation, post-harvest 

safeguards, fruit cutting and inspection 

at the packinghouse, port-of-arrival 

inspection, and clearance activities. 

This action will allow for the 

importation of Hass avocados from 

Michoaca ́n, Mexico, into Puerto Rico 

while continuing to provide protection 

against the introduction of quarantine 

pests. In addition, we are amending the 

regulations to provide for the Mexican 

national plant protection organization to 

use an approved designee to inspect 

avocados for export and to suspend 

importation of avocados into the United 

States from Michoaca ́n, Mexico, only 

from specific orchards or packinghouses 

when quarantine pests are detected, 

rather than suspending imports from the 

entire municipality where the affected 

orchards or packinghouses are located. 

These changes will provide additional 

flexibility in operating the export 

program while continuing to provide 

protection against the introduction of 

quarantine pests. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 28, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David B. Lamb, Import Specialist, 

Regulatory Coordination and 

Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 734–0627. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–50, referred to below as 

the regulations), the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

prohibits or restricts the importation of 

fruits and vegetables into the United 

States from certain parts of the world to 

prevent plant pests from being 

introduced into and spread within the 

United States. 

The requirements for importing Hass 

avocados into the United States from 

Michoaca ́n, Mexico, are described in 

§ 319.56–30. Those requirements 

include pest surveys and pest riskreducing practices, treatment, 

packinghouse procedures, inspection, 

and shipping procedures. 

On May 14, 2010, we published in the 

Federal Register (75 FR 27225–27227, 

Docket No. APHIS–2008–0060) a 

proposal 1 to amend the regulations to: 

• Allow the importation of Hass 

avocados from Michoaca ́n, Mexico, into 

Puerto Rico, under the same conditions 

required for importation into the 50 

States; 

• Provide for the Mexican national 

plant protection organization (NPPO) to 

use an approved designee to inspect 

avocados for export; and 

• Limit the scope of suspension of 

export certification to the orchard or 

packinghouse in which pests are found, 

rather than the municipality in which 

the orchard or packinghouse is located. 

We solicited comments concerning 

our proposal for 60 days ending July 13, 

2010. We received four comments by 

that date. They were from associations 

of avocado producers and 

representatives of State and foreign 


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