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United States federal executive department From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.[3]
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 Flag of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security | |
.jpg) Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington D.C. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 25, 2002 |
| Jurisdiction | U.S. federal government |
| Headquarters | St. Elizabeths West Campus, Washington, D.C., U.S. 38.8547°N 77.0000°W |
| Employees | 240,000 (2018)[1] |
| Annual budget | $51.672 billion (FY 2020)[2] |
| Agency executives | |
| Child agency |
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| Website | dhs.gov |
"The DHS March" | |
It began operations on March 1, 2003, after being formed as a result of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, enacted in response to the September 11 attacks. With more than 240,000 employees,[1] DHS is the third-largest Cabinet department, after the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.[4] Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy.
In response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. The office was headed by former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, who assumed the title of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. The official announcement states:
The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States.[5]
Ridge began his duties as OHS director on October 8, 2001.[6] On November 25, 2002, the Homeland Security Act established the Department of Homeland Security to consolidate U.S. executive branch organizations related to "homeland security" into a single Cabinet agency. The Gilmore Commission, supported by much of Congress and John Bolton, helped to solidify further the need for the department. The DHS incorporated the following 22 agencies.[7]
| Original agency | Original department | New agency or office after transfer |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Customs Service | Treasury | U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
| Immigration and Naturalization Service | Justice | U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services |
| Federal Protective Service | General Services Administration | Management Directorate |
| Transportation Security Administration | Transportation | Transportation Security Administration |
| Federal Law Enforcement Training Center | Treasury | Federal Law Enforcement Training Center |
| Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (part) | Agriculture | U.S. Customs and Border Protection |
| Federal Emergency Management Agency | none | Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) |
| Strategic National Stockpile | Health and Human Services | Originally assigned to FEMA, Returned to HHS, July 2004 |
| National Disaster Medical System | Health and Human Services | Originally assigned to FEMA, Returned to HHS, August 2006 |
| Nuclear Incident Response Team | Energy | Responsibilities distributed within FEMA |
| Domestic Emergency Support Team | Justice | Responsibilities distributed within FEMA |
| Center for Domestic Preparedness | Justice (FBI) | Responsibilities distributed within FEMA |
| CBRN Countermeasures Programs | Energy | Science & Technology Directorate |
| Environmental Measurements Laboratory | Energy | Science & Technology Directorate |
| National Biological Warfare Defense Analysis Center | Defense | Science & Technology Directorate |
| Plum Island Animal Disease Center | Agriculture | Science & Technology Directorate |
| Federal Computer Incident Response Center | General Services Administration | US-CERT, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications National Programs and Preparedness Directorate (now CISA) |
| National Communications System | Defense | Office of Cybersecurity and Communications National Programs and Predaredness Directorate |
| National Infrastructure Protection Center | Justice (FBI) | Office of Operations Coordination Office of Infrastructure Protection |
| Energy Security and Assurance Program | Energy | Office of Infrastructure Protection |
| U.S. Coast Guard | Transportation | U.S. Coast Guard |
| U.S. Secret Service | Treasury | U.S. Secret Service |
According to political scientist Peter Andreas, the creation of DHS constituted the most significant government reorganization since the Cold War[8] and the most substantial reorganization of federal agencies since the National Security Act of 1947 (which had placed the different military departments under a secretary of defense and created the National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency). Creation of DHS constitutes the most diverse merger ever of federal functions and responsibilities, incorporating 22 government agencies into a single organization.[9] The founding of the DHS marked a change in American thought towards threats. Introducing the term "homeland" centers attention on a population that needs to be protected not only against emergencies such as natural disasters but also against diffuse threats from individuals who are non-native to the United States.[10]
Prior to the signing of the bill, controversy about its adoption was focused on whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency should be incorporated in part or in whole (neither was included). The bill was also controversial for the presence of unrelated "riders", as well as for eliminating certain union-friendly civil service and labor protections for department employees. Without these protections, employees could be expeditiously reassigned or dismissed on grounds of security, incompetence or insubordination, and DHS would not be required to notify their union representatives. The plan stripped 180,000 government employees of their union rights.[11] In 2002, Bush officials argued that the September 11 attacks made the proposed elimination of employee protections imperative.[12]
In an August 5, 2002, speech, President Bush said: "We are fighting ... to secure freedom in the homeland."[13] Prior to the creation of DHS, U.S. Presidents had referred to the U.S. as "the nation" or "the republic" and to its internal policies as "domestic".[14] Also unprecedented was the use, from 2002, of the phrase "the homeland" by White House spokespeople.[14]
Congress ultimately passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and President Bush signed the bill into law on November 25, 2002. It was the largest U.S. government reorganization in the 50 years since the United States Department of Defense was created.
Tom Ridge was named secretary on January 24, 2003, and began naming his chief deputies. DHS officially began operations on January 24, 2003, but most of the department's component agencies were not transferred into the new department until March 1.[5]
After establishing the basic structure of DHS and working to integrate its components, Ridge announced his resignation on November 30, 2004, following the re-election of President Bush. Bush initially nominated former New York City Police Department commissioner Bernard Kerik as his successor, but on December 10, Kerik withdrew his nomination, citing personal reasons and saying it "would not be in the best interests" of the country for him to pursue the post.
On January 11, 2005, President Bush nominated federal judge Michael Chertoff to succeed Ridge. Chertoff was confirmed on February 15, 2005, by a vote of 98–0 in the U.S. Senate and was sworn in the same day.[5]
In February 2005, DHS and the Office of Personnel Management issued rules relating to employee pay and discipline for a new personnel system named MaxHR. The Washington Post said that the rules would allow DHS "to override any provision in a union contract by issuing a department-wide directive" and would make it "difficult, if not impossible, for unions to negotiate over arrangements for staffing, deployments, technology and other workplace matters".[12] In August 2005, U.S. District judge Rosemary M. Collyer blocked the plan on the grounds that it did not ensure collective-bargaining rights for DHS employees.[12] A federal appeals court ruled against DHS in 2006; pending a final resolution to the litigation, Congress's fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for DHS provided no funding for the proposed new personnel system.[12] DHS announced in early 2007 that it was retooling its pay and performance system and retiring the name "MaxHR".[5] In a February 2008 court filing, DHS said that it would no longer pursue the new rules, and that it would abide by the existing civil service labor-management procedures. A federal court issued an order closing the case.[12]
A 2017 memo by Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly directed DHS to disregard "age as a basis for determining when to collect biometrics."[15]
On November 16, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 into law, which elevated the mission of the former DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate and established the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.[16] In fiscal year 2018, DHS was allocated a net discretionary budget of $47.716 billion.[2]
In 2021, the Department of Justice began carrying out an investigation into white supremacy and extremism in the DHS ranks.[17]
DHS also halted large-scale immigration raids at job sites, saying in October 2021 that the administration was planning "a new enforcement strategy to more effectively target employers who pay substandard wages and engage in exploitative labor practices."[18]
In 2023, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began using an app which requires asylum seekers to submit biometric information before they enter the country.
In June 2024 John Boyd, the head of the DHS Office of Biometric Identity Management, announced at a conference that the agency "is looking into ways it might use facial recognition technology to track the identities of migrant children." According to Boyd, the initiative is intended to advance the development of facial recognition algorithms. A former DHS official said that every migrant processing center he visited engaged in biometric identity collection, and that children were not separated out during processing. DHS denied collecting the biometric data of children under 14.[15]
Whereas the Department of Defense is charged with military actions abroad, the Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.[19] On March 1, 2003, DHS absorbed the U.S. Customs Service and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. The investigative divisions and intelligence gathering units of the INS and Customs Service were merged forming Homeland Security Investigations, the primary investigative arm of DHS. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, including the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Federal Protective Service falls under the National Protection and Programs Directorate.[citation needed]
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The Department of Homeland Security is headed by the secretary of homeland security with the assistance of the deputy secretary. DHS contains operational components, executing specific missions under the purview of the DHS; support components, supporting the mission of the DHS and operational components; and components in the Office of the Secretary, supporting department leadership, DHS components, and the secretary by overseeing and establishing policy.[20]
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) oversees lawful immigration into the United States.[21] Note that Passports for U.S. citizens are issued by the U.S. Department of State, not the Department of Homeland Security.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.[22] It is under the Department of Homeland Security during times of peace, and under the U.S. Department of the Navy during wartime.[23]
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the U.S. border against illegal entry, illicit activity, and other threats; combatting transnational crime and terrorism that's a threat to the economic and national security of the United States; and facilitating lawful trade and lawful entry into the United States.[24]
The United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is the leading entity of the U.S. federal government in understanding, managing, and reducing risk to cyber and physical infrastructure across the United States.[25]
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) invests in, improves, and supports capabilities to respond to, mitigate, protect against, recover from, and to prepare for all hazards that may threaten the security of the United States and its citizens, such as natural disasters.[26]
The United States Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) provides training services to U.S. law enforcement.[27]
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration.[28]
The United States Secret Service (USSS) is charged with the protection of the President of the United States and other government officials and persons designated by law. It also safeguards U.S. financial infrastructure and fights against counterfeiting.[29]
The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) protects U.S. transportation systems (e.g. airport security) and ensures freedom of movement for people and commerce.[30] It was created as a result of the September 11 attacks in the United States by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001.[31]
The Department of Homeland Security Management Directorate (MGMT) manages department finance, appropriations, accounting, budgeting, expenditures, procurement, human resources and personnel, information technology systems, biometric identification services, facilities, property, equipment, other material resources, protection of department personnel, information and resources, performance metrics, and the security of federal infrastructure.[32]
Executives
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is the department's research and development arm.[33]
Executives
The Department of Homeland Security Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) works to prevent chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological attacks against the United States.[34]
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) is the department's intelligence arm, and disseminates timely information across the DHS enterprise and to local, state, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners.[35]
The Office of Homeland Security Situational Awareness (OSA) provides operations coordination, information sharing, situational awareness, common operating picture, and executes the Secretary's responsibilities across the homeland security enterprise.[36]
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Health Security (OHS) is the principal medical, workforce health and safety, and public health authority for DHS.[37]
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) provides independent oversight and promotes excellence, integrity, and accountability within DHS.[38]
The Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security oversees the Department of Homeland Security's execution of its mission to safeguard the nation.[39]
DHS advisory panels and committees provide advice and recommendations on mission-related topics from academic engagement to privacy.[40]
In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security phased out the old Homeland Security Advisory System, replacing it with a two-level National Terrorism Advisory System. The system has two types of advisories: alerts and bulletins. NTAS bulletins permit the secretary to communicate critical terrorism information that, while not necessarily indicative of a specific threat against the United States, can reach homeland security partners or the public quickly, thereby allowing recipients to implement necessary protective measures. Alerts are issued when there is specific and credible information of a terrorist threat against the United States. Alerts have two levels: elevated and imminent. An elevated alert is issued when there is credible information about an attack but only general information about timing or a target. An Imminent Alert is issued when the threat is very specific and impending in the very near term.[citation needed]
On March 12, 2002, the Homeland Security Advisory System, a color-coded terrorism risk advisory scale, was created as the result of a Presidential Directive to provide a "comprehensive and effective means to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities and to the American people". Many procedures at government facilities are tied into the alert level; for example a facility may search all entering vehicles when the alert is above a certain level. Since January 2003, it has been administered in coordination with DHS; it has also been the target of frequent jokes and ridicule on the part of the administration's detractors about its ineffectiveness. After resigning, Tom Ridge said he did not always agree with the threat level adjustments pushed by other government agencies.[41]
In January 2003, the office[clarification needed] was merged into the Department of Homeland Security and the White House Homeland Security Council, both of which were created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Homeland Security Council, similar in nature to the National Security Council, retains a policy coordination and advisory role and is led by the assistant to the president for homeland security.[5]
The seal was developed with input from senior DHS leadership, employees, and the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts. The Ad Council – which partners with DHS on its Ready.gov campaign – and the consulting company Landor Associates were responsible for graphic design and maintaining heraldic integrity.
The seal is symbolic of the Department's mission – to prevent attacks and protect Americans – on the land, in the sea and in the air. In the center of the seal, a graphically styled white American eagle appears in a circular blue field. The eagle's outstretched wings break through an inner red ring into an outer white ring that contains the words "U.S. DEPARTMENT OF" in the top half and "HOMELAND SECURITY" in the bottom half in a circular placement. The eagle's wings break through the inner circle into the outer ring to suggest that the Department of Homeland Security will break through traditional bureaucracy and perform government functions differently. In the tradition of the Great Seal of the United States, the eagle's talon on the left holds an olive branch with 13 leaves and 13 seeds while the eagle's talon on the right grasps 13 arrows. Centered on the eagle's breast is a shield divided into three sections containing elements that represent the American homeland – air, land, and sea. The top element, a dark blue sky, contains 22 stars representing the original 22 entities that have come together to form the department. The left shield element contains white mountains behind a green plain underneath a light blue sky. The right shield element contains four wave shapes representing the oceans alternating light and dark blue separated by white lines.
- DHS June 6, 2003[42]
Since its inception, the department's temporary headquarters had been in Washington, D.C.'s Nebraska Avenue Complex, a former naval facility. The 38-acre (15 ha) site, across from American University, has 32 buildings comprising 566,000 square feet (52,600 m2) of administrative space.[43] In early 2007, the department submitted a $4.1 billion plan to Congress to consolidate its 60-plus Washington-area offices into a single headquarters complex at the St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Anacostia, Southeast Washington, D.C.[44]
The move was championed by District of Columbia officials because of the positive economic impact it would have on historically depressed Anacostia. The move was criticized by historic preservationists, who claimed the revitalization plans would destroy dozens of historic buildings on the campus.[45] Community activists criticized the plans because the facility would remain walled off and have little interaction with the surrounding area.[46]
In February 2015 the General Services Administration said that the site would open in 2021.[47] DHS headquarters staff began moving to St. Elizabeths in April 2019 after the completion of the Center Building renovation.[48][49]
During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the reauthorization of DHS, Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke said there is a weariness and anxiety within DHS about the repeated congressional efforts to agree to a long-term spending plan, which had resulted in several threats to shut down the federal government. "Shutdowns are disruptive", Duke said. She said the "repeated failure on a longtime spending plan resulting in short-term continuing resolutions (CRs) has caused "angst" among the department's 240,000 employees in the weeks leading up to the CRs."[50] The uncertainty about funding hampers DHS's ability to pursue major projects and takes away attention and manpower from important priorities. Seventy percent of DHS employees are considered essential and are not furloughed during government shutdowns.[50]
Soon after formation, the department worked with the Ad Council to launch the Ready Campaign, a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural and man-made disasters. With pro bono creative support from the Martin Agency of Richmond, Virginia, the campaign website "Ready.gov" and materials were conceived in March 2002 and launched in February 2003, just before the launch of the Iraq War.[51][52][53] One of the first announcements that garnered widespread public attention to this campaign was one by Tom Ridge in which he stated that in the case of a chemical attack, citizens should use duct tape and plastic sheeting to build a homemade bunker, or "sheltering in place" to protect themselves.[54][55] As a result, the sales of duct tape skyrocketed, and DHS was criticized for being too alarmist.[56]
On March 1, 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was absorbed into the DHS and in the fall of 2008 took over coordination of the campaign. The Ready Campaign and its Spanish-language version Listo.gov asks individuals to build an emergency supply kit,[57] make a family emergency plan[58] and be informed about the different types of emergencies that can occur and how to respond.[59] The campaign messages have been promoted through television, radio, print, outdoor and web PSAs,[60] as well as brochures, toll-free phone lines and the English and Spanish language websites Ready.gov and Listo.gov.
The general campaign aims to reach all Americans, but targeted resources are also available via "Ready Business" for small- to medium-sized business and "Ready Kids" for parents and teachers of children ages 8–12. In 2015, the campaign also launched a series of PSAs to help the whole community,[61] people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs prepare for emergencies, which included open captioning, a certified deaf interpreter and audio descriptions for viewers who are blind or have low vision.[62]
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On March 1, 2004, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was created. The stated purpose was to provide a consistent incident management approach for federal, state, local, and tribal governments. Under Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, all federal departments were required to adopt the NIMS and to use it in their individual domestic incident management and emergency prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation program and activities.
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In December 2005, the National Response Plan (NRP) was created, in an attempt to align federal coordination structures, capabilities, and resources into a unified, all-discipline, and all-hazards approach to domestic incident management. The NRP was built on the template of the NIMS.
On January 22, 2008, the National Response Framework was published in the Federal Register as an updated replacement of the NRP, effective March 22, 2008.
The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act directs the DHS Secretary to designate employees from throughout the department to staff a Surge Capacity Force (SCF). During a declared disaster, the DHS Secretary will determine if SCF support is necessary. The secretary will then authorize FEMA to task and deploy designated personnel from DHS components and other Federal Executive Agencies to respond to extraordinary disasters.[63]
The DHS National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) is responsible for the response system, risk management program, and requirements for cyber-security in the U.S. The division is home to US-CERT operations and the National Cyber Alert System.[64][65] The DHS Science and Technology Directorate helps government and private end-users transition to new cyber-security capabilities. This directorate also funds the Cyber Security Research and Development Center, which identifies and prioritizes research and development for NCSD.[65] The center works on the Internet's routing infrastructure (the SPRI program) and Domain Name System (DNSSEC), identity theft and other online criminal activity (ITTC), Internet traffic and networks research (PREDICT datasets and the DETER testbed), Department of Defense and HSARPA exercises (Livewire and Determined Promise), and wireless security in cooperation with Canada.[66]
On October 30, 2009, DHS opened the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. The center brings together government organizations responsible for protecting computer networks and networked infrastructure.[67]
In January 2017, DHS officially designated state-run election systems as critical infrastructure. The designation made it easier for state and local election officials to get cybersecurity help from the federal government. In October 2017, DHS convened a Government Coordinating Council (GCC) for the Election Infrastructure Subsection with representatives from various state and federal agencies such as the Election Assistance Commission and National Association of Secretaries of State.[68]
To date there have been seven confirmed secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security:[69]
The department has been dogged by persistent criticism over excessive bureaucracy, waste, ineffectiveness and lack of transparency. Congress estimates that the department has wasted roughly $15 billion in failed contracts (as of September 2008[update]).[70] In 2003, the department came under fire after the media revealed that Laura Callahan, Deputy Chief Information Officer at DHS with responsibilities for sensitive national security databases, had obtained her bachelor, masters, and doctorate computer science degrees through Hamilton University, a diploma mill in a small town in Wyoming.[71] The department was blamed for up to $2 billion of waste and fraud after audits by the Government Accountability Office revealed widespread misuse of government credit cards by DHS employees, with purchases including beer brewing kits, $70,000 of plastic dog booties that were later deemed unusable, boats purchased at double the retail price (many of which later could not be found), and iPods ostensibly for use in "data storage".[72][73][74][75]
A 2015 inspection of IT infrastructure found that the department was running over a hundred computer systems whose owners were unknown, including Secret and Top Secret databases, many with out of date security or weak passwords. Basic security reviews were absent, and the department had apparently made deliberate attempts to delay publication of information about the flaws.[76]
On September 5, 2007, the Associated Press reported that the DHS had scrapped an anti-terrorism data mining tool called ADVISE (Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight and Semantic Enhancement) after the agency's internal inspector general found that pilot testing of the system had been performed using data on real people without required privacy safeguards in place.[77][78] The system, in development at Lawrence Livermore and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 2003, has cost the agency $42 million to date. Controversy over the program is not new; in March 2007, the Government Accountability Office stated that "the ADVISE tool could misidentify or erroneously associate an individual with undesirable activity such as fraud, crime or terrorism." Homeland Security's Inspector General later said that ADVISE was poorly planned, time-consuming for analysts to use, and lacked adequate justifications.[79]
Fusion centers are terrorism prevention and response centers, many of which were created under a joint project between the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs between 2003 and 2007. The fusion centers gather information from government sources as well as their partners in the private sector.[80][81]
They are designed to promote information sharing at the federal level between agencies such as the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice, U.S. military and state and local level government. As of July 2009[update], DHS recognized at least seventy-two fusion centers.[82] Fusion centers may also be affiliated with an Emergency Operations Center that responds in the event of a disaster.
There are a number of documented criticisms of fusion centers, including relative ineffectiveness at counterterrorism activities, the potential to be used for secondary purposes unrelated to counterterrorism, and their links to violations of civil liberties of American citizens and others.[83]
David Rittgers of the Cato Institute notes:
a long line of fusion center and DHS reports labeling broad swaths of the public as a threat to national security. The North Texas Fusion System labeled Muslim lobbyists as a potential threat; a DHS analyst in Wisconsin thought both pro- and anti-abortion activists were worrisome; a Pennsylvania homeland security contractor watched environmental activists, Tea Party groups, and a Second Amendment rally; the Maryland State Police put anti-death penalty and anti-war activists in a federal terrorism database; a fusion center in Missouri thought that all third-party voters and Ron Paul supporters were a threat ...[84]
In 2006, MSNBC reported that Grant Goodman, "an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words "by Border Protection" and carrying the official Homeland Security seal."[85] The letter was sent by a devout Catholic Filipino woman with no history of supporting Islamic terrorism.[85] A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection "acknowledged that the agency can, will and does open mail coming to U.S. citizens that originates from a foreign country whenever it's deemed necessary":
All mail originating outside the United States Customs territory that is to be delivered inside the U.S. Customs territory is subject to Customs examination," says the CBP Web site. That includes personal correspondence. "All mail means 'all mail,'" said John Mohan, a CBP spokesman, emphasizing the point.[85]
The department declined to outline what criteria are used to determine when a piece of personal correspondence should be opened or to say how often or in what volume Customs might be opening mail.[85]
Goodman's story provoked outrage in the blogosphere,[86] as well as in the more established media. Reacting to the incident, Mother Jones remarked "unlike other prying government agencies, Homeland Security wants you to know it is watching you."[87] CNN observed "on the heels of the NSA wiretapping controversy, Goodman's letter raises more concern over the balance between privacy and security."[88]
In July 2006, the Office of Personnel Management conducted a survey of federal employees in all 36 federal agencies on job satisfaction and how they felt their respective agency was headed. DHS was last or near to last in every category including;
The low scores were attributed to concerns about basic supervision, management and leadership within the agency. Examples from the survey reveal most concerns are about promotion and pay increase based on merit, dealing with poor performance, rewarding creativity and innovation, leadership generating high levels of motivation in the workforce, recognition for doing a good job, lack of satisfaction with various component policies and procedures and lack of information about what is going on with the organization.[89][90]
DHS is the only large federal agency to score below 50% in overall survey rankings. It was last of large federal agencies in 2014 with 44.0% and fell even lower in 2015 at 43.1%, again last place.[91] DHS continued to rank at the bottom in 2019, prompting congressional inquiries into the problem.[92] High work load resulting from chronic staff shortage, particularly in Customs and Border Protection, has contributed to low morale,[93] as have scandals and intense negative public opinion heightened by immigration policies of the Obama administration.[94]
DHS has struggled to retain women, who complain of overt and subtle misogyny.[95]
In 2009, the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) made news for targeting supporters of third party candidates (such as Ron Paul), anti-abortion activists, and conspiracy theorists as potential militia members.[96] Anti-war activists and Islamic lobby groups were targeted in Texas, drawing criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union.[97]
According to DHS:[98]
The Privacy Office has identified a number of risks to privacy presented by the fusion center program:
- Justification for fusion centers
- Ambiguous Lines of Authority, Rules, and Oversight
- Participation of the Military and the Private Sector
- Data Mining
- Excessive Secrecy
- Inaccurate or Incomplete Information
- Mission Creep
In the Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data), the Department of Homeland Security earned a D+ by scoring 69 out of a possible 100 points, i.e. did not earn a satisfactory overall grade. It also had not updated its policies since the 2007 FOIA amendments.[99]
In 2018, the DHS was accused of referencing the white nationalist Fourteen Words slogan in an official document, by using a similar fourteen-worded title, in relation to unlawful immigration and border control:[100]
We Must Secure The Border And Build The Wall To Make America Safe Again.[101]
Although dismissed by the DHS as a coincidence, both the use of "88" in a document and the similarity to the slogan's phrasing ("We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children"), drew criticism and controversy from several media outlets.[102][103]
While abolishing the DHS has been proposed since 2011,[104] the idea was popularized when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested abolishing the DHS in light of the abuses against detained migrants by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agencies.[105]
In 2020, the DHS was criticized for detaining protesters in Portland, Oregon. It even drew rebuke from the department's first secretary Tom Ridge who said, "It would be a cold day in hell before I would consent to an uninvited, unilateral intervention into one of my cities".[106]
On August 10, 2020, in an opinion article for USA Today by Anthony D. Romero, the ACLU called for the dismantling of DHS over the deployment of federal forces in July 2020 during the Portland protests.[107]
In December 2020, ACLU filed a lawsuit against the DHS, U.S. CBP and U.S. ICE, seeking the release of their records of purchasing cellphone location data. ACLU alleges that this data was used to track U.S. citizens and immigrants and is seeking to discover the full extent of the alleged surveillance.[108]
The DHS came under fire from pro-Israel politicians in October 2023 for employing Nejwa Ali, who supported Hamas following its deadly terror attack against Israel. Her social media posts were first reported on by the Daily Wire and the Washington Examiner reported on Ali being placed on administrative leave.[109]
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