These agenciesespecially CBP and ICEcenter their focus and activities around the law enforcement aspects of their functions. Official websites use .gov 8719, the DHS Reform Act of 2020, in response to perceived abuses of DHSs authorities during the Trump administration.19 Congress never passed either bill, however, and congressional oversight remains divided and largely ineffective at setting overall priorities for the department. Seizing the opportunity to bring DHSs purpose into focus and recalibrate the departments priorities could also result in a department that fills critical gaps in the current federal bureaucracy. Secretary of Homeland Security: 1. %%EOF DHS is committed to protecting and promoting the health and safety of the people of Wisconsin, making sure everyone can live their best life. Executive Office of Health and Human Services Department of Public Health Senior Managers February 23, 2023 Assistant Commissioner Administrator X (Vacant) Director, Staff Training & Development Program Manager VI Elena Nuciforo Chief Operating Officer Administrator XI Eileen Sullivan Deputy Chief Operating Family Health & Director . DHS is best suited to collect information that other agencies cannot, primarily at ports of entry, and use that information for intelligence purposes. CBP, under DHS, is charged with functions that range from countering terrorism, securing the border, and facilitating trade and travel. Meanwhile, with few exceptions, DHS has not yet found its stride in the conduct of its core responsibilities. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, enacted in December 2004, established the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to lead intelligence integration across the 17 components that make up the U.S. intelligence community (IC). DHS should continue to facilitate lawful international trade and travel, ensure that U.S. transportation services are safe, and maintain U.S waterways and maritime resources. But the benefits of removing these problematic entities would be well worth the cost in bureaucratic coordination and would help move toward significant reforms in the immigration system that are long overdue. Sarnata Reynolds, Caroline Medina, Molly Weston Williamson, Rachael Eisenberg, Brandon Tucker, Hadi Sedigh. Department leadership should work to clearly set limits on enforcement activities and constrain them appropriately to ensure past mistakes and abuses are not repeated and work with Congress to codify these restrictions. Some law enforcement functions are compatible with a safety and services model at DHS. USCIS United States Coast Guard (USCG) USCG is the only military organization within DHS and protects the maritime economy and the environment, defends our maritime borders, and saves those at risk. Recognizing the challenges DHS faces, the department remains critical to the safety and well-being of many. Yes No U.S. Threats from domestic violent extremism are rapidly growing in the United States and endanger our way of life, our values, and our democracy.52 CAP has called for a strong, coordinated response that marshals the weight of the federal government and uses the right tools, developed using fact-based evidence, to reduce the likelihood of violent attacks before they occur.53 While federal efforts to respond to domestic violent extremism primarily fall within the FBIs authority, and because there are strong arguments that some prevention efforts would be better housed in the departments of Education or Health and Human Services, there is no agency charged with taking the lead in countering disinformation, coordinating federal grantmaking programs to promote resilience (along with the DOJs Office of Justice Programs), and providing support for risk-based prevention responses. Organizational Structure Click on any block to visit that program office's web page. dhs DHS . The Center for American Progress believes that having a Cabinet agency such as DHS remains critical to the safety and well-being of Americans. Factors such as devastating hurricanes and droughts due to climate change, political unrest, and gang violence, especially in Central American countries, have translated to a high number of migrants, including large numbers of families and unaccompanied children, seeking asylum in the United States.47 Over the past several decades, every administration has struggled to manage this flow, and Congress failure to create a workable legal immigration system has turned asylum into the only viable avenue. But there is no agency that currently leads the federal governments efforts at the national level to share information, advocate for greater government transparency, or develop new communications capacities that add value to the American people. Attachment(s): DHS should reduce its TOC efforts and transfer investigative leads and other TOC activities to the DOJ. As is apparent from a quick glance at a DHS organizational chart, the department is involved in a broad range of activities and coordinates a massive workforce of more than 240,000 federal employees.55 In the 20 years since it was founded, DHSs broad authorities and short attention span have led to mission creep,56 with DHS assuming new missions and creating new programs that are untethered to any overarching strategic goal. The TSAs Federal Air Marshal Service provides additional passenger safety on commercial passenger flights. Renewing the DHS workforce also is critical to the departments long-term success. The Biden administration and Congress have the opportunity to transform DHS into an agency that provides much greater value to the American people and those who visit or seek safety or opportunity here. False and damaging disinformation about the security of the 2020 general election caused millions of Americans to question the election results and led to a violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. DHS could also develop better warning and prediction systems that enable a more proactive federal response and assistance presence. It has also faced ongoing challenges with employee morale and developing a united organizational culture across its operational elements, each of which brought its separate history to DHS. A. Efforts are underway to improve departmentwide workforce satisfaction, measured through yearly index scores such as the inclusion and employee engagement indexes. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Critical Infrastructure Sectors, available at, KHOU 11, Gov. They lent us their time and expertise over the past six months to help shape our understanding of what the mission and value proposition of DHS should be in todays world in order to address the needs, challenges, and opportunities facing the nation and to develop and refine our recommendations. In doing so, DHS can uniquely enlist the private sector and the American people in protecting the nation. hVN0/K The mission of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) is to equip the Homeland Security Enterprise with the timely intelligence and information it needs to keep the homeland safe, secure, and resilient. A lock But with shared objectives in gaining a more effective agency that can deliver for and to the American people, it can be done. DHS must recognize that many serious challenges to Americas safety and security originate at home or are largely borderless by nature. As CAP has previously argued, Congress and the administration can do more to empower the current DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). Since the creation of DHS, challenges related to the foundations of the department and its operations have inhibited its performance. But it is time for DHS to focus on the missions and activities that it is uniquely capable of carrying out, and for which it, rather than other agencies, is the natural lead. While it is beyond the scope of this report to detail where every subcomponent within DHS belongs, components that are primarily focused on investigating violations of federal laws should most naturally live within the FBI, the lead agency charged with investigating criminal activity. DHS has a key role in CBPs primary function, facilitating safely the transfer of goods and people, with its related enforcement component supporting that function. An official website of the United States government. VDSS Organizational Structure VDSS consists of: Home Office in Richmond Virginia, which houses its Divisions and Program Areas Five Regional Offices which oversee and support community and local organizations Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) District Offices Licensing Offices Organizational Structure Report Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice, A New Framework for DHS To Meet Todays Challenges, The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. Sign Up Moreover, a dedicated, proactive focus on helping the public may provide a useful shift in DHSs public perceptionsomething sorely needed after the enforcement-heavy reputation it acquired during the Trump administration. These efforts have been at some times political and at other times reactive rather than grounded in a clear articulation of DHSs role within the federal bureaucracy. And with a clear intelligence mission, DHS can redouble its efforts as originally envisioned to facilitate the communication of threat information between the federal government, state and local authorities, and the private sector, while also ensuring that its intelligence activities are not beyond the scope of its authorities or redundant to activities conducted by other intelligence agencies. DHS could become the lead for communicating threat information to the public, such as intelligence on threats to critical infrastructure, and could expand its capacity to work with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to appropriately protect sensitive intelligence while disclosing information necessary to enlist the private sector and the American people in protecting the nation. Recent steps announced by Speaker Pelosis office toward centralizing authority under the House Committee on Homeland Security by the current Congress are a welcome step but need to be further developed and have not been taken up by the Senate.85 Congress and the Biden administration should build on these important reforms to further consolidate and centralize oversight responsibilities and work toward passing an annual authorization for the department. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created nearly 20 years ago in response to catastrophic terrorist attacks on the United States. endstream endobj 700 0 obj <>stream In an era of increased movement of people and goods across borders, we need a DHS that prioritizes the rule of law, and one that protects all Americans as well as everyone who comes to live, study, work, travel, and seek safety here. During the Trump administration, however, the focus of DHS shifted squarely toward heavy-handed enforcement designed to terminate access to the country for asylum-seekers.48 The Biden administration has taken a different approach to border management and is beginning to reverse policies and repair the damage made to the immigration and asylum systems during the Trump administration.49 However, many challenges persist and demonstrate the need for a reorientation of cultural norms at DHS. HW]o6}7@`s! This fractured structure makes it nearly impossible for DHS headquarters leaders to manage the department effectively or efficiently.36 CAP has joined the Atlantic Council and the CNAS in calling for consolidated oversight of DHS.37 In addition, six former secretaries and acting secretaries of homeland security recently signed a letter to congressional leadership calling for the House and Senate to consolidate congressional oversight of DHS in a single authorizing committeeas is done for other departments such as the Department of Defense.38 A more streamlined structure under one authorizing and one appropriating committeesuch as that governing the Pentagon post-Goldwater-Nichols reform, where oversight was centralized under the Armed Services committeeswould allow lawmakers to more effectively oversee the broad range of the departments activities and ensure they are properly balanced against the agencys overall priorities.39 The recent memorandum of understanding announced by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a welcome step toward improving oversight coordination among the various committees that have jurisdiction over DHS, but more work is needed to centralize authority under the Committee on Homeland Security in the House and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the Senate.40. Going forward, DHS has an opportunity to focus its attention in areas where it is the natural leader, where it is not duplicating efforts, and where it does not face bureaucratic headwinds so that it can devote attention to solving problems at the heart of Americas safety and security needs. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Each employee's position is identified, including their function and who they report to within the firm. Operational and Support Components An expanded DHS role might focus on planned disaster response and preparedness as expectations for climate-related disasters increase. Successive reform efforts and the use of DHS to advance partisan political objectives have led to sharp swings in the departments headquarters-level focus. Xs~_7^{$}UAe5u)haU8vP6179kqZ>95[6No4%OcE6:&v+ yz Had these functions been merged under the BOP when the Obama administration announced that it would end the use of private prisons in DOJ facilities,81 it would have likely meant a similar end to some of the most problematic facilities in the immigration context as well.82. And there is no other department with the mandate and track record of playing a bridging role between state, local, tribal, and territorial officials and the federal government. An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. We are sincerely thankful for their support. And while I&A should redouble its efforts to facilitate the communication of threat information between partners, it should not conduct intelligence activities that are beyond the scope of its authorities. This means, for example, dialing up DHSs focus on disaster relief and cybersecurity and dialing down its law enforcement focus, particularly where other government agencies have or should have primary responsibility. Budget - Tiffany Blair, Director. There is no other department better suited to coordinate effective federal emergency response; communicate threat information between the public and private sectors; provide a working, humane approach to border management; facilitate an integrated cybersecurity and infrastructure capacity; and implement effective approaches to counter the threats from domestic extremism fueled by white supremacy and the rise of anti-government militias. It has also warped the public perception of migrants as well as the political debate about immigration policy and has sidelined the service provider components of DHS which encompass the equally important mission of facilitating travel, trade, and administration of immigration benefits. DHS has an uneven role in communicating threat information to the public. In a world where the public and private sectors must take independent action to ensure Americas safety and security, the government needs a trusted, effective mechanism to communicate threat information, including intelligence information, with the public and private sectors and between different levels of state, local, and federal government officials. Beyond the information the department collects and retains, DHS also has an important role to play in safeguarding the security of personal or private information from malicious cyberactors and foreign governments. Chief Financial Officer - Robert Brock. Going forward, DHS should prioritize service and partnerships, connecting people in the United States to federal services that reflect American values and are essential to Americas shared prosperity. Then, the Biden administration and Congress should work together to realign DHSs resources to support these strategic priorities and ensure they are carried out consistently with annual authorization legislation. FEMA recently covered DHS logos on vehicles used for vaccine distribution after concerns that the urban community it was targeting would refuse services from the department.69. dataLayer.push({"event": "signup_submit", "form_detail":"enSubscribeFooter"}); It is the way in which a company or organization is organized, including the types of relationships that exist between the directors . Meanwhile, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office, housed within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has ballooned to 7,100 agents in 225 cities nationwide and is now one of the largest federal investigative agencies within the U.S. government.24 HSI claims broad legal authority to investigate a wide range of domestic and international criminal activities arising from the illegal movement of people, goods, money, and contraband into and within the United States and has access to the information stored in the CIRS database. Skip to main content. Recalibrating DHSs activities to fit the safety and services model, consistent with acknowledging and addressing threats that impede safety and services, would create space for a new vision for DHS. At the same time, past mistakes in prevention-based programs have been well documented, and a more proactive government approach must carefully consider potential risks to civil rights and liberties when designing programs to counter violent extremism of any ideological bent.54. The original mandate and goal of DHS was to counter terrorism and homeland threatsbut nearly 20 years later, it is time to refocus DHSs role in counterterrorism activities. As DHS approaches its 20-year mark, the United States has an opportunity to redefine the departments value proposition for the future and to better align DHSs structure and activities with its mission. That might mean proactively engaging with American businesses, alongside CBP, to inform efforts to improve the movement of goods and people across borders or refining immigration services so that processes dignify and welcome those who seek to invest their talents here. Department of Homeland Security Organizational Chart, available at, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FY 2020 Budget in Brief (Washington: 2020), available at, Warrick and Durkovich, Future of DHS Project; Cordero, Reforming the Department of Homeland Security Through Enhanced Oversight & Accountability., Partnership for Public Service, Best Places to Work Agency Rankings (Washington: 2021), available at, Manny Fernandez and others, People Actively Hate Us: Inside the Border Patrols Morale Crisis,, Tal Kopan, Trumps executive orders dramatically expand power of immigration officers, CNN, January 28, 2017, available at, Paul J. Angelo, Why Central American Migrants Are Arriving at the U.S. Border (Washington: Council on Foreign Relations, 2021), available at, Anneliese Hermann, Asylum in the Trump Era: The Quiet Dismantling of National and International Norms (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2018), available at, Center for Migration Studies, President Bidens Executive Action on immigration, available at, Bill Whitaker, SolarWinds: How Russian Spies Hacked the Justice, State, Treasury, Energy, and Commerce Departments, CBS News, February 14, 2021, available at, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, About CISA, available at. There is no other department with DHSs range of flexible authorities and unique capacity to respond to these issues and others that fall between the gaps of responsibilities of other federal departments and agencies. The CRCL officer should lead and oversee the relevant offices within DHS which include the CRCL, the Privacy Office, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. These steps include clarifying the CRCLs statutory authority to ensure that it is involved in the policymaking process from the beginning, rather than being asked to respond or investigate once policy is already set; that its recommendations receive timely responses from the agency; and more.86 In addition, this study recommends a broader policy role for DHS in protecting personal information and privacy. It outlines the flow of information and the hierarchy of decision-making across roles and teams. Components such as the Coast Guard, the TSA, and CBP have narrow law enforcement roles that are directly tied to safety and security missions. A more ambitious approach would involve making the protection of personal information and privacy a core DHS mission, assigning DHS the lead federal agency for protecting the privacy of U.S. persons information. The recent SolarWinds hack affected an estimated 18,000 government and private computers at the departments of Justice, State, Treasury, Energy, and Commercean alarming national security attack perpetrated by the Russian government.50 One of the notable successes from the Trump administrations DHS was that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) carved out a clear and useful role for itself as the Nations risk advisor, working with partners to defend against todays threats and collaborating to build more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future.51 There is a clear need for further developing the U.S. response by expanding the indicators and mechanisms for sharing cyberthreat information. 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