DHS/ICE/PIA-032 FALCON Search & Analysis System (FALCON-SA)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is establishing a consolidated information management system called FALCON Search & Analysis System (hereafter, FALCON-SA). This system enables ICE law enforcement and homeland security personnel to store, search, analyze, and visualize volumes of existing information in support of ICE’s mission to enforce and investigate violations of U.S. criminal, civil, and administrative laws. FALCON-SA assisted research is used by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, criminal research specialists, and intelligence analysts to produce law enforcement intelligence products; provide lead information for investigative inquiry and follow-up; to assist in the conduct of ICE criminal, civil, and administrative investigations; to assist in the disruption of terrorist or other criminal activity; and to discover previously unknown connections among existing ICE investigations. ICE’s use of the system is always predicated on homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence activities. FALCON-SA is an internal system used only by ICE.

The FALCON-SA PIA, originally published in February 2011, is being republished in full with minor changes that more completely and accurately describe the system and its expanded tool set and data storage capabilities. The Appendix is also being updated to reflect the inclusion of new data and the creation of a mobile application. This PIA update is being completed to ensure that the privacy documentation for the system reflects its current configuration and because FALCON-SA accesses and stores personally identifiable information (PII) retrieved from DHS, other government agencies, and commercially available databases. This PIA update also provides public notice of the privacy protections that are in place for the system.

Updated Note (January 22, 2021): ICE is updating information in this PIA to clarify that the user base of FALCON-SA is limited to only HSI personnel. The changes also clarify the scope and the purposes for which FALCON-SA may be used, which is limited to HSI missions. This Updated Note also corresponds with a new System of Records Notice (SORN) titled, DHS/ICE-018 Analytical Records, which will be published contemporaneously in the Federal Register. While the SORN provides consolidated notice for records processed by multiple analytical systems and user groups, this Updated Note serves to clarify FALCON-SA’s functions, users, and purposes as limited to HSI missions and functions. The impacts of the system to individual privacy remains unchanged.

Associated SORN(s)

DHS/ICE-016 FALCON Search and Analysis (FALCON-SA) System of Records