This recalibration of department activities will better fulfill the unmet needs of Americans and those who live, study, work, travel, and seek safety here. To maximize its value and effectiveness in today's environment, DHS should organizeand articulate its missionaround a balanced set of activities that prioritize safety and services roles more. 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. However, the DHS secretary should launch an initiative specifically to study the departments recruitment, retention, and training efforts to further identify areas of success and for improvement. Choosing to focus DHSs prevention efforts where it can make unique contributions does not compromise U.S. security but rather helps ensure that the federal response is well coordinated and not duplicative. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Threat Assessment (Washington: 2020), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/2020_10_06_homeland-threat-assessment.pdf. A well-managed border will be safe and secure while also efficiently offering different services needed to travel, trade, or seek asylum in the United States. Advancing Racial Equity and Justice, Building an Economy for All, Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Biden Administration, Foreign Policy, Immigration, National Security+4More. CBP would still retain its law enforcement functions, but it would operate with a better understanding of the broader agendaas well as the border communitiesit serves. 701 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<5EEF0153778AD54CAE0095CB4026917C>]/Index[696 19]/Info 695 0 R/Length 49/Prev 83899/Root 697 0 R/Size 715/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Sign Up 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. 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). var onSuccessSubmitenSubscribeSlideUp = function() { A list of all Operational and Support Components that make up DHS. 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. Katrina Mulligan is the acting vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center. 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. 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. Joel Martinez is the Mexico policy analyst for National Security and International Policy at the Center. The current administration and Congress will need to work together for longer-term changes to institutionalize reforms. 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. var subscribe = document.getElementById('enSubscribeSlideUp'); 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. 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. As then-nominee Alejandro Mayorkas argued in his confirmation hearing, DHS is and should be fundamentally, a department of partnerships.5 He is right. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created nearly 20 years ago in response to catastrophic terrorist attacks on the United States. The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) helps provide essential services to Minnesota's most vulnerable residents. But with shared objectives in gaining a more effective agency that can deliver for and to the American people, it can be done. These recommendations include: 1) provide experts for all five missions of the QHSR as part of homeland security personnel, 2) improve information sharing, 3) acquire closer relationships between local, state . Consistent with this emphasisand with the affirmative vision that CAP previously put forth of a more fair, humane, and workable immigration system that would rebalance immigration enforcementICE is primarily a law enforcement agency, and as such its responsibilities should be transferred out of DHS.87. ] 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. 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. In recommending this shift, CAP acknowledges that threats to Americans safety and security will continue to require a strong and coordinated response from DHS. DHS already plays a pivotal role in connecting nonfederal officials with their counterparts in the federal system and serves as the primary connection between state, local, tribal, and territorial officials and the federal government and its resources, as well as between the private and public sectors, including civil society organizations. A shift toward a more service-driven department that treats immigration as an asset to be managed rather than a crime to be enforced against would go a long way in building a rational border management apparatus that facilitates the secure, efficient movement of people and goods while also ensuring a humane approach toward refugees requesting protection under U.S. asylum laws. If policymakers want to improve the work of DHS, they must start with a focus on todays homeland security needs, defining the departments role and identifying what value it should provide today. Or it might mean partnering with technology companies to thwart domestic extremist messaging on online platforms. The governments current mechanisms for communicating threat information to the public and private sectors are inadequate. But viewing immigration law violations, which are often civil in nature, through a punitive lens has resulted in a heavy-handed approach at the border and in the interior. Skip to main content. DHS must recognize that many serious challenges to Americas safety and security originate at home or are largely borderless by nature. Though it will be hard, the potential outcome would be well worth the effort; the entire system would start moving toward being more fair, humane, and workable. Together, these efforts produced the most significant government reorganization since the National Security Act of 1947. DHS should reduce its TOC efforts and transfer investigative leads and other TOC activities to the DOJ. The initiative should consider what changes might be needed in human capital and launch programs to realign the future workforce accordingly. 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. Since its founding, there has been persistent confusion about DHSs role as well as complaints about its structure, operations, and oversight. The Department of Homeland Security should play an important role in addressing the challenges and threats of today and tomorrow, and it should do so in a way that upholds American ideals and provides value to those who live, study, work, travel, and seek shelter here. HHS Organizational Charts Office of Secretary and Divisions Select an office to see its organizational chart. DHSs enhanced cybersecurity coordination role would need to be subject to rigorous transparency and oversight. 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. DHS is best positioned among the federal bureaucracy to cross the private-public divide at the state and local level to help municipalities mitigate anticipated climate effects. The House approved the original bill on July 26, but the Senate was slower to consider the legislation due to partisan jurisdiction claims, parliamentary factors, and the deliberation of a few highly contentious issues.12 It was not until after the November 2002 elections that Congress reconvened and passed a compromise bill. Successive reform efforts and the use of DHS to advance partisan political objectives have led to sharp swings in the departments headquarters-level focus. To bring its law enforcement and service provision roles into similar balance, CBP must understand and embrace its important role in providing service to asylum-seekers at the border. Atlantic Council, Former and Acting Secretaries of Homeland Security sign open letter on consolidating congressional jurisdiction over DHS., Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, Public Law 433, 99th Congress, 2nd sess. Field offices that manage disaster response and recovery in disaster locations. 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. Even the Secret Service, which focuses largely on protecting elected leaders, plays an important role in ensuring public safety at National Special Security Events, playing a safety and services role that is critical to working with local communities across the nation on events of critical or high-visibility importance.78, In contrast, components such as the FPS and ICE are examples of DHS components that are primarily focused on enforcing federal laws and should not remain in a reimagined DHS. Border Patrol agents, for example, would be focused on addressing border issues rather than being deployed in places such as Portland as Federal Protective Service (FPS) personnel. Mara Rudman is the executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress. or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. To maximize its value and effectiveness in todays environment, DHS should organizeand articulate its missionaround connecting, communicating, facilitating, welcoming, and helping, in addition to protecting, securing, preventing, and enforcing. DHSs development of programs that facilitate customer interactionssuch as TSA Precheck and Global Entry, which facilitate quicker screening at airports for U.S. domestic and international flightsare innovations that provide better services and security.64 The department must also clearly delimit its own power over travelers, visitors, and residents by prohibiting implementation of past problematic programs such as the NSEERS and Secure Communities.65, To put America on the strongest foundation, DHS should emphasize its unique role in welcoming the people who visit, immigrate to, or seek refuge in the United States. Founding, there has been persistent confusion about DHSs role as well as about. 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