DHS/CBP/PIA-018 Aircraft Systems

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employs several types of aircraft, including manned helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for border surveillance and law enforcement purposes. These aircraft may be equipped with video, radar, and sensor technologies to assist CBP in patrolling the border, conducting surveillance for law enforcement investigations or tactical operations, or gathering data to assist in disaster relief and emergency response. In addition, the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) operates Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in support of its border security mission. CBP is publishing this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) update to provide notice of CBP’s use of Tethered Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TsUAS) not addressed in the August 2019 Privacy Impact Assessment update, and to assess the privacy impacts of its use of this technology. The distinction between the previously documented sUAS and the new TsUAS is that TsUAS are hard wired via a tether line to the Ground Control System. May 2024