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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

23957 

Vol. 74, No. 98 

Friday, May 22, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Office of the Secretary 

6 CFR Part 5 

[Docket No. DHS–2009–0013] 

Privacy Act of 1974: Implementation of 

Exemptions; U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services 009 Compliance 

Tracking and Management System 

(CTMS) 

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) is amending its 

regulations to exempt portions of a 

system of records from certain 

provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. 

Specifically, DHS proposes to exempt 

portions of the Compliance Tracking 

and Management System (CTMS) from 

one or more provisions of the Privacy 

Act because of criminal, civil and 

administrative enforcement 

requirements. CTMS is a system of 

records that DHS will use to support the 

Verification Division of U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services (USCIS). 

CTMS collects and uses information 

necessary for DHS to support 

monitoring and compliance activities 

for researching and managing misuse, 

abuse, discrimination, breach of 

privacy, and fraudulent use of 

information obtained through two 

USCIS Verification Division programs: 

Systematic Alien Verification for 

Entitlements (SAVE); and E-Verify. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before June 22, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number [DHS– 

2009–0013] by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 703–483–2999. 

• Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, 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: Claire 

Stapleton (202–358–7777), Verification 

Division Privacy Branch Chief, or 

Donald K. Hawkins (202–272–1400), 

Citizenship and Immigration Services 

Privacy Officer, 20 Massachusetts 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20529. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services, Department of Homeland 

Security, Washington, DC 20529. For 

privacy issues please contact: Mary 

Ellen Callahan (703–235–0780), Chief 

Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security, 

Washington, DC 20528. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS), elsewhere in 

this edition of the Federal Register, 

published a Privacy Act system of 

records notice describing records in the 

Compliance Tracking and Management 

System (CTMS). This system of records 

is owned and operated by U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS). CTMS collects and uses 

information necessary to support 

monitoring and compliance for 

researching and managing misuse, 

abuse, discrimination, breach of 

privacy, and fraudulent use of USCIS 

Verification Division’s verification 

programs: (1) Systematic Alien 

Verification for Entitlements (SAVE); 

and (2) E-Verify. SAVE and E-Verify are 

both congressionally mandated 

programs for the verification of 

information about an individual based 

on documents presented to either a 

government agency or employer. EVerify, formerly known as the Basic 

Pilot Program, was established under 

the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, 

Public Law 104–208 section 401, 8 

U.S.C. 1324a note. SAVE was 

established under the Immigration and 

Control Act of 1986, Public Law 100– 

360 section 121(c).The specifics of the 

SAVE and E-Verify Program can be 

found on the DHS Web site and in the 

Verification Information System (VIS) 

System of Records Notice (SORN) and 

Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA). 

Congress further required that DHS 

provide reasonable safeguards to 

prevent these programs from misuse, 

abuse, discrimination, breach of 

privacy, and fraudulent use. 

The Verification Division of USCIS 

has established a Monitoring and 

Compliance Branch to monitor and 

research potential cases of misuse, 

abuse, discrimination, breach of 

privacy, and fraudulent use. CTMS is 

the system that supports this effort. DHS 

proposes to exempt portions of the 

Compliance Tracking and Management 

System (CTMS) from one or more 

provisions of the Privacy Act because of 

criminal, civil and administrative 

enforcement requirements. The Privacy 

Act allows Government agencies to 

exempt certain records from the access 

and amendment provisions. If an agency 

claims an exemption, however, it must 

issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(NPRM) to make clear to the public the 

reasons why a particular exemption is 

claimed. 

In this NPRM, DHS now is proposing 

to exempt CTMS, in part, from certain 

provisions of the Privacy Act. Some 

information in CTMS is shared with and 

contributes to law enforcement 

activities of DHS components and other 

Federal agencies. 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 USCIS 

monitoring and compliance processes 

and to avoid disclosure of research 

techniques, as these processes and 

techniques may inform law enforcement 

investigations. Disclosure of information 

to the subject of the inquiry could also 

permit the subject to avoid detection or 

apprehension. 

The exemptions proposed here are 

standard law enforcement and national 

security exemptions exercised by a large 

number of Federal law enforcement and 

intelligence agencies. In appropriate 

circumstances, where compliance 

would not appear to interfere with or 

adversely affect the law enforcement 

purposes of this system and the overall 


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23958 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 98 / Friday, May 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

law enforcement process, the applicable 

exemptions may be waived. 

List of Subjects in 6 CFR Part 5 

Privacy, Freedom of information. 

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 

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. 

2. Add at the end of Appendix C to 

Part 5, Exemption of Record Systems 

under the Privacy Act, the following 

new paragraph 14: 

Appendix C to Part 5—DHS Systems of 

Records Exempt From the Privacy Act 

* * * * * 

14. The Department of Homeland Security 

Compliance Tracking and Management 

System (CTMS) consists of electronic and 

paper files that will be used by DHS and its 

components. This system of records will be 

used to perform a range of information 

management and analytic functions 

involving minimizing misuse, abuse, 

discrimination, breach of privacy, and 

fraudulent use of SAVE and E-Verify. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) of the Privacy 

Act, this system is exempt from the following 

provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the 

limitations set forth in those subsections: 5 

U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), 

(e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), and (f). 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 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. 

(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 

interest 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), (H), and (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: May 15, 2009. 

Mary Ellen Callahan, 

Chief Privacy Officer, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. E9–11966 Filed 5–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 945 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–08–0062; FV08–945–1 

PR] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Certain 

Designated Counties in Idaho, and 

Malheur County, OR and Imported Irish 

Potatoes; Relaxation of Size 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

relax the size requirements for potatoes 

handled under the marketing order for 

Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes and for 

long type potatoes imported into the 

United States. This rule would revise 

the size requirements to allow: Creamer 

size (3⁄4 inch to 15⁄8 inches diameter) for 

all varieties of potatoes to be handled if 

the potatoes otherwise meet U.S. No. 1 

grade; and round type potatoes to be 

handled without regard to size so long 

as the size is specified on the container 

in connection with the grade. The 

proposed changes are intended to 

improve the handling and marketing of 

Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes and 

increase returns to producers. The 

proposed changes would also allow the 

importation of Creamer size long type 

potatoes under regulations as authorized 

by section 8e of the Agricultural 

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

July 21, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposal. Comments 

should be sent to the Docket Clerk, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Fax: (202) 720–8938; or 

Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments should reference the 

document number and the date and 

page number of this issue of the Federal 

Register and will be available for public 

inspection in the office of the Docket 

Clerk during regular business hours, or 

can be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

submitted in response to this rule will 

be included in the record and will be 

made available to the public. Please be 

advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting the 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barry Broadbent or Gary D. Olson, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, 

Suite 385, Portland, OR 97204; 

Telephone: (503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 

326–7440, or E-mail: 

Barry.Broadbent@usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 


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