Agency documentation

This page includes government documents and information from all agencies relevant to immigration, including agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

We collect any government documents and information that shed light on the tables, fields, and values in government data systems. These include:

  1. Internal documentation: The agency’s own documentation of its data systems, including data dictionaries and codebooks.
  2. Training materials: Training materials for agency staff on using data systems.
  3. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs): Documents which outline the fields collected in government data systems and how they interrelate, as required by the E-Government Act of 2002.
  4. System of Records Notices (SORNs): Similar but often distinct content to PIAs, required for public disclosure under the Privacy Act of 1974.
  5. Court documents: Documents including sworn declarations from agency staff from litigation.

Some documents were obtained via a FOIA request by the ACLU of Southern California, the National Immigration Project, and Mission Action.