var onSuccessSubmitenSubscribeSlideUp = function() { Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country. DHSs role in countering terrorism and domestic extremism has never been clear or without controversy. 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. DHS also has a traditional role in disaster relief services that should be expanded. The organizational chart for DHS suggests that the secretary and deputy secretary are responsible for overseeing 23 separate bureaus and agencies ranging in size from the Office of Public Affairs to the entire U.S. Coast Guard to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which has 65,000 employees.41 Yet the resources for the secretary of DHS pale in comparison to those of other federal agencies: The State Departments Office of the Secretary had some $57 million for FY 2019 and 75 employees to oversee a bureaucracy of 70,000 personnel while DHSs had just $19 million for FY 2018 and 68 employees for a bureaucracy of 240,000.42 Studies by the Atlantic Council and the CNAS recently proposed the creation of an associate secretary position to improve coordination and management at the highest levels of the department.43 While more bureaucracy is not always the answer, the current secretarys office does not have the personnel, resources, or authority to effectively lead a department of DHSs size today. 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. The dominating focus on counterterrorism comes at the expense of other activities that DHS is uniquely positioned to execute among federal agencies such as providing efficient, safe, and respectful immigration services; facilitating international trade and travel; serving as the nations risk adviser for critical infrastructure; and proactively responding to disasters that do not fall within the missions of other parts of the federal bureaucracy. These dangers will require DHS to step up its efforts in areas that have not been its primary focus, prioritizing its missions differently than it has over the past two decades. Organization Chart | Office of Inspector General Consistent with CDC guidance, most Office of Inspector General employees are currently serving the American people remotely. About. It is time to reimagine what it means to keep America safe, secure, and prosperous in todays world and to recalibrate the priorities of the department charged with doing so. This study makes the case that DHS should be more active in the areas where it is the most effective player within the federal bureaucracy and less so where its efforts are duplicative of other agencies. Establishing a clear, narrowly tailored intelligence mission for DHS would help ensure that DHSs intelligence activities are lawful and useful, are shaped to achieve congressionally authorized goals, and are not violating the rights ofor being used to unfairly targetmarginalized or at-risk populations. 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. Organizational structures describe what employees do, whom they report to, and how decisions are made across the business. HT]VBi#BPmd=3;gN3AMA:D(]H.Jp! I&A reportedly compiled dossiers on journalists covering the 2020 protests in Oregon, under a theory of expanded intelligence activities that DHS lawyers argued were necessary to mitigate the significant threat to homeland security that such activites posed.21 DHS has also ramped up the collection and retention of expanded categories of records during customs and immigration processing, including the collection of data on U.S. persons. 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. 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). 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. Going forward, DHS should reorganize its activities around roles in connecting, communicating, facilitating, welcoming, and helpingin addition to a recalibrated role for protecting, securing, preventing, and enforcing. A better-managed system would also plan for shifting flows of migrants and asylum-seekers at the border, anticipate the infrastructure needed to safely and humanely process and screen them, and cultivate a welcoming culture of front-line service agents. At present, DHS is the nations largest law enforcement agency, with roughly 80,000 law enforcement agents and officers.77 Yet many of the enforcement functions that the department pursues overlap with, are duplicative of, or would be better suited being integrated into the work of other government entities. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Critical Infrastructure Sectors, available at, KHOU 11, Gov. He directs CBP's three core missions of counterterrorism, border security, and trade . As extreme weather events and changing environments become more common, DHS should quarterback incident response, leading coordination with state and local officials, leveraging its flexible and responsive capabilities, and drawing on capacity within other federal departments and agencies. The initiative should consider what changes might be needed in human capital and launch programs to realign the future workforce accordingly. This would require new interpretations on current legal constraints in this area, 62 close collaboration with civil society groups to ensure communications do not violate civil rights and liberties or unfairly target vulnerable communities, as well as a more amplified role for the officer of civil rights and civil liberties. Service orientation and safety need not be in tension; the Coast Guard provides a good model for how the two can be well balanced within a single organization. Homeland Security Investigations. The Office of the Secretary oversees DHSs work to enhance security, protect cyberspace, administer immigration and respond to disasters. A full list of supporters is available, Taking Migration Seriously: Real Solutions to Complex Challenges at the Border, 3 Things to Know Now that President Biden Has Canceled At Least $10,000 in Student Debt, Rising Anti-China Sentiment in South Korea Offers Opportunities To Strengthen US-ROK Relations, Why the United States Must Stay the Course on Ukraine, Paid Leave Policies Must Include Chosen Family, The Killing of Tyre Nichols Must Serve as a Catalyst to Root Out Racial Injustice in Policing, 5 Ways Governors and Mayors Can Leverage Federal Investments. In the absence of a clear and well-defined mission, DHS has too often tried to make itself a utility player on every issue, arguing that it has authorities and capabilities that others lack. While the department still has an important role to play in preventing attacks against the United States from abroad, many of todays most serious risks to Americas safety and prosperityincluding natural disasters, pandemic disease, cyberattacks, and domestic extremism fueled by white supremacyoriginate at home or are borderless by nature. At the same time, DHS should step back from roles where it is neither needed nor best suited. 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. hb```b``f% cf`apeXbh`xIIQXsr`Sd` Q Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is the principal investigative component of DHS and is responsible for investigating, disrupting, and dismantling transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and terrorist networks that threaten or seek to exploit the customs and immigration laws of the United States. DHS has the potential to meet todays moment. An organizational structure is the allocation of authority and responsibility within a company. The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. This project and report reflect the contributions of many stakeholders, including former and current government officials, policy experts, and civil society members. Citizenship and Immigration Services align our organizational structure to achieve the greatest efficiency and accomplish our mission. HHS Organizational Charts Office of Secretary and Divisions Select an office to see its organizational chart. When disaster strikes, FEMA is oftenthough not often enoughthe nations first responder. What does DHS need to do, and what is better left to, or better done by, other departments and agencies? Establishing the protection of civil liberties and privacy as a core DHS mission would fill a critical gap in executive branch roles that is not currently being comprehensively addressed by other departments and agencies. Compared with executive branch agencies with longer histories and institutional protections and normssuch as the DOJ, founded in 1870, or the FBI, founded in 1908DHS lacks a history and culture of independence from political influence. Critics offer competing ideas about the sources of DHSs challenges. Some law enforcement functions are compatible with a safety and services model at DHS. Mr. Price has more than two decades of federal law enforcement experience. Hiring surges in the DHS workforceincluding recently during the Trump administrations expansion of the law enforcement officer rankshave led to significant workforce growth at DHS in a short period of time.59 In some cases, this growth was accompanied by poor quality control in hiring: Investigations following hiring surges in ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have shown that following these large influxes of new hires, cases of corruption and misconduct spiked.60 Going forward, DHS has the opportunity to better align its human capital to meet current needs. And new findings reveal other factors hindering DHSs performance which have dramatically worsened over the past few years, pointing to additional challenges for DHS that should be addressed. Recent examples include DHSs yearslong battle with the DOJ over which agency has the lead for transnational organized crime; tensions with the FBI and the IC over foreign influence and election interference roles and responsibilities;57 turf battles over cybersecurity jurisdiction between DHSs CISA and the National Security Agency;58 and persistent questions about the focus and utility of DHSs intelligence unit. A recent report by DHSs Office of the Inspector General found that while DHS had the legal authority to deploy in Portland, not all officers were properly trained and used inconsistent uniforms, devices, and operational tactics.76 This history of violations and persistent doubts about DHSs capacity to carry out a humane enforcement mission demands a serious recalibration of DHS enforcement activities moving forward. In cases where special expertise is required, DHS can serve as an emergency response quarterback, identifying resources and making them available to the departments and agencies that need them. It might mean working with public and private sector stakeholders to deliver better information about risks to critical infrastructure. Citizenship And Immigration Services Ombudsman, This page was not helpful because the content. Organization Organization The list of all Operational and Support Components that make up the Department along with our organization chart and the list of senior leadership. (LockA locked padlock) Future enforcement activities need to be balanced within broader department goals of safety and service and focused exclusively where DHS is the lead actor rather than in areas in which other federal agenciessuch as, for example, the DOJplay a leading role. To effectively manage the bureaucracy and oversee the recalibration of the department mission, the Biden administration should work with Congress to increase resources to the DHS secretary and move away from the hyperdecentralization that characterizes its current structure. DHS still has an important role to play in preventing attacks against the United States and Americans at home and abroad. These law enforcement roles enable the safety and services model to operate. 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. The Center for American Progress believes that having a Cabinet agency such as DHS remains critical to the safety and well-being of Americans. Natural disaster-related losseshuman, ecosystem, and economicwill become more frequent and catastrophic due to climate change. Recalibrating the DHS mission would empower the agency and its workforce to play a more effective role in the federal bureaucracy. 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. Carrie Cordero from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) has written extensively on the need for enhanced oversight and accountability to address the growth in size and scope of DHSs activities.32 As Cordero argued, there is a persistent mismatch between DHSs foundational statutory mission and its day-to-day operations. In the future, DHS should continue to play a growing role in communicating with the American public about threats, dispelling disinformation, and serving as a reliable source of information. Rob Ries is the Health and Human Services Commission's deputy executive commissioner of Compliance and Quality Control. Monday, June 13, 2022. In part because of the disparate nature of DHS authorizing and appropriating entities, Congress has never passed an authorization bill for the department. Six former secretaries and acting secretaries of DHS recently advocated for consolidation under a single authorizing committee in each chamber, warning that achieving other needed reforms to the department is not possible with fragmented jurisdiction.83 Congressionally driven efforts to improve oversight coordination, such as the Goldwater-Nichols reforms of the Pentagon,84 significantly improved that departments functioning and enabled better oversight to secure U.S. national interests. endstream
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c)m1sm4`8RD? Most notably, DHSs vetting activitiesincluding the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), viewed by many as a Muslim registry29have faced persistent claims of religious and racial bias. A. The current administration and Congress will need to work together for longer-term changes to institutionalize reforms. 8791, the Department of Homeland Security Reform Act of 2020 As Introduced by Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), available at, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, available at, Steve Vladeck and Benjamin Wittes, DHS Authorizes Domestic Surveillance to Protect Statues and Monuments, Lawfare, July 20, 2020, available at, Federal Register, Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, September 18, 2017, available at, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Privacy Act of 1974; DHS/CBP-024 Intelligence Records System (CIRS) System of Records,, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, available at, U.S. National Archives, Executive Order 12333 United States intelligence activities, December 4, 1981, available at, Mitch Lortz, What is the All-Hazards Approach to Emergency Preparedness?, Everbridge, January 9, 2018, available at, For example, a 2010 fact sheet released a year after the bombing highlighted department reforms aimed at enhancing counterterrorism efforts and claimed, Protecting the United States from terrorism is the cornerstone of homeland security. Press Office, Department of Homeland Security 2010 Accomplishments & Reforms (Washington: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2010), available at, Nick Miroff, Trump shifting DHS focus from counterterrorism to immigration,, Kaveh Waddell, America Already Had a Muslim Registry,, Sari Horwitz and Jerry Markon, Racial profiling will still be allowed at airports, along border despite new policy,, American Civil Liberties Union, National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, available at, Carrie Cordero, Reforming the Department of Homeland Security Through Enhanced Oversight & Accountability (Washington: Center for a New American Security, 2020), available at, Richard Gonzales, ICE Detains Alleged Victim Of Domestic Abuse At Texas Courthouse, NPR, February 16, 2017, available at, American Civil Liberties Union, ICE and Border Patrol Abuses, available at, Ryan Brooks, ICE Deported A Survivor Of The El Paso Walmart Shooting Who Was Assisting In The Investigation, Her Lawyers Says, Buzzfeed News, January 30 2021, available at, Donald J. Mihalek, Congressional committee power erodes homeland security,, The Atlantic Council, The Future of DHS project: Time to reform Congressional oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, December 17, 2020, available at, Atlantic Council, Former and Acting Secretaries of Homeland Security sign open letter on consolidating congressional jurisdiction over DHS, Press release, November 9, 2020, available at, Carrie Cordero and Katrina Mulligan, Modernizing the Department of Homeland Security, Lawfare, December 9, 2020, available at, Office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi Announces Agreement on Committee Jurisdiction Regarding Department of Homeland Security, Press release, January 25, 2021, available at, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Helpful because the content together for longer-term changes to institutionalize reforms and human services &... And launch programs to realign the future workforce accordingly and trade, border security, protect,! 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