The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued updates in its privacy impact assessment of a geospatial imaging tool built to provide information such as land ownership limits at the southern border.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a document that the Enterprise Geospatial Information Services platform collects mapping information and other data to monitor operations along the U.S. border. The web-based eGIS application also visualizes current and historical information from DHS source systems for situational awareness purposes.
According to the notice, Border Patrol deploys the technology for surveillance and interdiction functions to secure against threats at various points of entry.
DHS noted that it seeks to evaluate CBP’s use of landowner parcel and contact information, which are meant to inform the procurement and installation of assets such as command-and-control systems, sensors and relay towers.
The department said that information collated from eGIS will serve as records that “can be obtained or accessed from public sources”.
