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Site Policies

Thank you for visiting ICE.gov and reviewing our site policies. Please remember that if you click on a link found on the ICE website you are no longer subject to the ICE privacy policy but the privacy policy of the website on which you clicked.

Privacy Policies

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you visit the ICE website to read or download information, the following information is collected and stored about your visit:

  • The name of the Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you are connecting from a university's domain) and the IP address from which you access our site;
  • The type of browser and operating system that is used to access the ICE website;
  • The date and time the ICE site is accessed;
  • The Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the ICE website; and
  • The pages you visit and the information you request.

This information is primarily collected and used for statistical analysis and technical improvements to the ICE website. This government computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics, which may be used for such purposes as assessing what information is of the most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. In certain circumstances, however, ICE may take additional steps to identify you based on this information and ICE may share this information, including your identity, with other agencies.

If You Send ICE Personal Information

If you choose to provide ICE with personal information, such as sending email or filling out a form and submitting it through the ICE website, ICE will use that information to respond to your message or to fulfill the requested purpose of communication. Remember that e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. If your communication is sensitive or includes personal information you may prefer to send it via postal mail instead.

ICE may share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency. In other limited circumstances, such as responses to requests from Congress and private individuals, ICE may be required by law to disclose information that you submit. Before you submit any personal information, such as an online form, you may be given more specific guidance as to how your personal information may be used.

Electronically submitted information is maintained and destroyed according to the principles of the Federal Records Act, the regulations and records schedules of the National Archives and Records Administration, and in some cases may be covered by the Privacy Act and subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Cookies

"Cookies" are small bits of text that are either used for the duration of the session ("session cookies"), or saved on a user's hard drive in order to identify that user, or information about that user, the next time the user logs on to a website ("persistent cookies"). The ICE website does not use persistent cookies, but does use session cookies to provide streamlined navigation throughout the site. These session cookies are deleted from the server soon after your session ends and are not collected or saved.

Terms of Use of Other Policies

Linking Policy

The links located within the ICE website are there for the ease of users, however, it should be noted that these links may not adhere to the same privacy policy as stated by ICE. By clicking on one of the links on the ICE website you are leaving the ICE website and subject to a different privacy policy. The ICE agency is not responsible for content found on websites that link to the ICE website. These websites are maintained by both public and private entities of which ICE has no authority.

ICE maintains its right to add or remove links on the ICE website without previously contacting the site or giving a reason as to why the links are being added or removed. The ICE website does include links to other government and federal websites that may help users better understand policies. ICE will only link to websites that are not federal or government websites if the website is sponsored by a legitimate organization that is affiliated with ICE or other government agencies. ICE will review each link quarterly to ensure the link is accurate and dependable.

If ICE does link to a website then that website and information posted on that site is under no authority of ICE and ICE has no control over the content placed on that site. If the ICE website links to another site that is not an endorsement of that site by either ICE or the Department of Homeland Security. That link is there to help the user and provide convenience.

Copyright

Information presented on the ICE Website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. However, ICE does request that the use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is given to ICE.

Public Service

The ICE website is provided as a public service. Every effort is made to provide complete and accurate information. However, with the volume of documents available, often uploaded with short deadlines, ICE does not guarantee the site will be error free. ICE will do its best ensure that any errors brought to attention will be corrected as soon as possible.

Priorities and Schedule for Posting New Content

Section 207(f)(2) of the E-Government Act of 2002 requires federal agencies to develop an inventory of information to be published on their websites, establish a schedule for publishing information, make those schedules available for public comment, and post the schedules and priorities on the Web site. As a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this inventory can be found on the main DHS website.

Accessibility

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Diversity and Civil Rights (ODCR) is committed to providing individuals with disabilities the equal opportunity to access, participate in, and benefit from its programs, services, and activities, including those carried out by contracted or licensed providers, through the provision of reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures, or auxiliary aids and services, as appropriate.

Section 508

To meet this commitment, we will comply with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from us, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities (with limited exceptions). Section 508 also requires us to ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities (with limited exceptions). If the format of any material on our website interferes with your ability to access the information, due to an issue with accessibility caused by a disability as defined in the Rehabilitation Act, please contact the ICE Section 508 Coordinator for assistance. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the web address (URL) of the material with which you are having difficulty, and your contact information.

Section 504

Modifications to policies, practices, and procedures, or auxiliary aids and services are available as needed for persons with disabilities to ensure effective communication and equal access to ICE’s programs and activities in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (“Section 504”), and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) implementing regulation, 6 C.F.R. Part 15. ICE is also committed to making Electronic and Information Technology available to the public and accessible to individuals with disabilities in compliance with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Requests

To request a modification, auxiliary aid, or service in order to access ICE-conducted programs, services, or activities, please contact ICECivilLiberties@ice.dhs.gov.

Complaints

If an individual with a disability believes he or she has been denied equal access to ICE programs or activities, the individual may file a complaint alleging a violation of Section 504. Individuals with disabilities who wish to file a Section 504 or Section 508 complaint may submit their concerns to the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Individuals may also write directly to ICE by emailing ICECivilLiberties@ice.dhs.gov, and ICE will refer the complaint to DHS.

Additional Information/Questions

Additional information about ICE’s commitment to ensuring equal access to its programs, services, and activities for individuals with disabilities is available on the ICE website at: ice.gov/leadership/dcr.

For questions or concerns about equal access for individuals with disabilities, please contact the ICE Office of Diversity and Civil Rights at ICECivilLiberties@ice.dhs.gov.

For questions or concerns related to the accessibility of materials on the ICE website, please contact the ICE Section 508 Coordinator at ICE-SECTION508@ice.dhs.gov or by phone at (202) 732-7434.

Last updated: Dec. 12, 2022

Notices

For information Lyon v. ICE et al., No. 3:13-cv-5878 (N.D. Cal.), please visit ICE's Legal Notices page.

ICE Social Media Policies

ICE Facebook Privacy Policy and Notice

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE or Agency) will use this Facebook page for external relations (communications/outreach/public dialogue), to make information and services widely available to the general public, and promote transparency and accountability. ICE Office of Public Affairs serves as the executive agent for the ICE Facebook page and controls who at the Agency has access to make changes to the page.

Facebook is a third-party social networking tool and its privacy policy can be found at http://www.facebook.com/policy.php. The DHS privacy policy and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) govern the Agency's use of Facebook from a privacy perspective. The DHS privacy policy can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/xutil/gc_1157139158971.shtm#0. The DHS PIA “Use of Social Networking Interactions and Applications,” September 16, 2010, can be found at www.dhs.gov/privacy.

Users engaging the ICE Facebook page expect privacy protections while interacting with the Agency. ICE will not use this Facebook page to: 1) actively seek personally identifiable information (PII); 2) search Facebook for or by PII; and 3) ”friend” or “like” public users proactively without a waiver from the DHS Privacy Office (exclusion is made to “friending” or “liking” other U.S. federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies.) To the extent a user posts or sends PII to the Agency's Facebook page, ICE will use the minimum amount necessary to accomplish a purpose authorized by statute, executive order, or regulation.

ICE will use this Facebook page to: 1) establish user names and passwords to form profiles; 2) accept “fan” or “like” requests from public user accounts; and 3) interact on Facebook on official Agency business.

The information posted on this Facebook page is available to the individual posting and to any and all users on the ICE Facebook page who are able to access the public-facing side of the account. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not include full names, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, case numbers or any other sensitive PII of any individuals in your comments or responses.

The above content was last reviewed / modified on May 7, 2015.

ICE Facebook Comment Policy

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Facebook page welcomes your comments. Comments posted to the ICE Facebook page are subject to Facebook's usage, abuse, and comment policies at http://www.facebook.com/policy.php. Your comments are public and available to anyone visiting the ICE Facebook page.

To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not include full names, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, case numbers or any other sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) of any individuals in your comments.

ICE does not moderate comments on the ICE Facebook page prior to posting, but reserves the right to remove any materials that pose a security or privacy risk. Additionally, ICE reserves the right to review all comments and remove any that contain profanity, personal attacks of any kind, spam, refer to Federal Civil Service employees or other individuals by name, otherwise contain PII, contain offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups, promote commercial products, are geared toward the success or failure of a partisan political party, group, or candidate, incite hate, or are subject to a claim of infringement or deemed to be an infringement of intellectual property, or that is otherwise objectionable. Any opinions expressed by commentators on the ICE Facebook page, except as specifically noted, are solely those of the individual offering commentary, and do not reflect any ICE policy, endorsement, or action.

Use of a Facebook page is governed by the Facebook Privacy Policy at http://www.facebook.com/policy.php. Only ICE employees acting in their official capacity are authorized representatives to administer ICE Facebook pages. All postings and content are considered property of ICE, and ICE retains the authority to remove or limit its distribution.
Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other nongovernmental organizations or individuals that remain on the ICE Facebook page are provided solely for the information of individuals visiting the ICE Facebook page. ICE does not endorse, support, or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products, or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on the ICE Facebook page.

Any ICE Facebook page is not to be used for the following:

  • Reporting criminal activity. Individuals with information for law enforcement should contact their local law enforcement agency.
  • Reporting suspected violations of United States immigration law or suspicious activity. Individuals who wish to report suspicious activity should call ICE toll-free at 1-866-DHS-2ICE.
  • Sending questions or status inquiries about any specific case involving ICE. Instead, individuals should contact ICE directly via contact information made available on our main website at https://www.ice.gov/contact.
  • Requesting ICE services or general questions. Instead, individuals should contact ICE directly via contact information made available on our main website at https://www.ice.gov/contact to get help.
  • Submitting unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries. The ICE Facebook page is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • Submitting any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

ICE does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on the ICE Facebook page is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. ICE may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for, anything posted on the ICE Facebook page by any other person.

Members of the media are directed to send questions to ICE Office of Public Affairs through their normal channels.

The above content was last reviewed / modified on May 7, 2015.

 

ICE Twitter Privacy Policy and Notice

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE or Agency) will use this Twitter feed for external relations (communications/outreach/public dialogue), to make information and services widely available to the general public, and promote transparency and accountability. ICE Office of Public Affairs serves as the executive agent for the ICE Twitter feed and controls who at the Agency has access to make changes to the page. The ICE Twitter feed is not intended to be a means by which ICE and the general public will communicate about individual matters.

Twitter is a third-party social networking tool and its privacy policy can be found at http://twitter.com/privacy. The DHS privacy policy and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) govern the website's use of Twitter from a privacy perspective. The DHS privacy policy can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/xutil/gc_1157139158971.shtm#0. The DHS PIA “Use of Social Networking Interactions and Applications,” September 16, 2010, can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/privacy.

ICE will not use this Twitter feed to: 1) actively seek personally identifiable information (PII); 2) search Twitter for or by PII; and 3) “follow” public users proactively. ICE will use this Twitter feed to: 1) establish user names and passwords to form profiles and 2) interact on Twitter on official Agency business. Twitter users can choose to follow the ICE Twitter feed, which will provide them with the information DHS delivers on the ICE Twitter feed.

Only ICE provides content through this Twitter feed. Any other Twitter user has the ability to re-“tweet” (i.e., republish) or comment on content provided by ICE through the ICE Twitter feed. ICE does not moderate public comments which refer to comments posted in the ICE Twitter feed. Comments made on Twitter are public. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not include full names, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, case numbers or any other sensitive PII of any individuals in your tweets or comments.

This section was last reviewed / modified on May 7, 2015.

 

ICE YouTube Privacy Policy and Notice

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE or Agency) will use this YouTube feed for external relations (communications/outreach/public dialogue), to make information and services widely available to the general public, and promote transparency and accountability. ICE Office of Public Affairs serves as the executive agent for the ICE YouTube feed and controls who at the Agency has access to make changes to the page. The ICE YouTube feed is not intended to be a means by which ICE and the general public will communicate about individual matters.

YouTube is a third-party social networking tool and its privacy policy can be found at http://YouTube.com/privacy. The DHS privacy policy and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) govern the website's use of YouTube from a privacy perspective. The DHS privacy policy can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/xutil/gc_1157139158971.shtm#0. The DHS PIA “Use of Social Networking Interactions and Applications,” September 16, 2010, can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/privacy.

ICE will not use this YouTube feed to: 1) actively seek personally identifiable information (PII); 2) search YouTube for or by PII; and 3) “follow” public users proactively. ICE will use this YouTube feed to: 1) establish user names and passwords to form profiles and 2) interact on YouTube on official Agency business. YouTube users can choose to view videos on the ICE YouTube page, which will provide them with the information DHS delivers on ICE YouTube.

Only ICE provides content through ICE YouTube. The information posted on this YouTube page is available to the individual posting and to any and all users on the ICE YouTube page.

This section was last reviewed / modified on May 7, 2015.

 

ICE Instagram Privacy Policy and Notice

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will use this Instagram page for external relations (communications/outreach/public dialogue), to make photos and images widely available to the general public, and promote transparency and accountability. ICE Office of Public Affairs (OPA) serves as the executive agent for the ICE Instagram page and controls who at the Department has access to make changes to the page.

Instagram is a third-party social networking photo and image sharing tool and its privacy policy can be found at help.instagram.com/155833707900388. The ICE privacy policy governs ICE’s use of Instagram from a privacy perspective. The ICE privacy policy can be found at https://www.ice.gov/legal.

Users engaging the ICE Instagram page expect privacy protections while interacting with the agency. ICE will only post photos and images and, to the extent possible, will not allow the posting of public comments associated with these images. ICE will not use this Instagram page to: 1) actively seek PII; 2) search Instagram for or by PII; and 3) “view” public users’ photos and images proactively without a waiver from the ICE Privacy Office (exclusion is made to “viewing” other U.S. federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies.) To the extent a user posts or sends PII to ICE’s Instagram page, ICE will use the minimum amount necessary to accomplish a purpose authorized by statute, executive order, or regulation.

ICE will use this Instagram page to: 1) establish user names and passwords to form profiles; 2) accept requests from public user accounts to view ICE photos and images; and 3) post photos and images on Instagram related to official ICE business. ICE may share photos and images posted on the ICE Instagram page if there is a demonstrated need to know, and will only post photos and images after it has been appropriately approved and vetted by ICE OPA.

The photos and images posted on the ICE Instagram page is available to the individual posting and to any and all users on the ICE Instagram page who are able to access the public-facing side of the account. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not post photos and images that include your full name, date of birth, social security number, address, phone numbers, email addresses, case numbers, or any other sensitive PII.

This section was last reviewed / modified on May 7, 2015.

 

Plug-In Directory

Trouble Opening a File?

Some content on the ICE.gov website may require certain software and/or plug-ins to be viewable. Plug-ins are software that work with your browser to provide capability the browser may not otherwise have. Most software vendors offer versions of their plug-ins for each computer platform type (i.e., Windows, Macintosh, Linux, etc…) For your convenience, we have listed several plug-ins that may be used on ICE.gov and provided links to the vendor sites where they can be obtained. These links do not indicate an endorsement of the products and are provided merely for convenience. Questions on use or installation should be directed to the respective vendor.

Adobe Acrobat Reader for mobile devices
Multi-page publication viewer for files that end with .pdf

Adobe Flash Player
Movie viewer for files ending with .swf

Adobe PDF Reader
Multi-page publication viewer for files that end with .pdf

Mozilla FireFox
World Wide Web viewing software

Quick Time Media Player
Movie viewer for files ending with .mpg or .mpeg

RealOne Media Player
Movie viewer for files ending with .mpg or .mpeg

Microsoft Access Viewer
The Snapshot Viewer enables you to view a report snapshot without having the standard or run-time versions of Microsoft Access 97 through Access 2003.

Microsoft Excel Viewer
Open, view, and print Excel workbooks, even if you don't have Excel installed. This download is a replacement for Excel Viewer 97 and all previous Excel Viewer versions.

Microsoft Internet Explorer
World Wide Web viewing software

Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
Slide presentation viewer for files that end with .ppt

Microsoft Windows Media Player
Movie viewer for files ending with .mpg or .mpeg

Microsoft Word Viewer
Multi-page text viewer for files that end with .doc

 
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