what is the organizational structure of dhs

Though the independence of the DOJ and FBI has been tested in the pastduring the J. Edgar Hoover era at the FBI, for example, and across the DOJ during the past four yearsrich institutional memory supported by decades of oversight at these other law enforcement agencies has resulted in unambiguous statutory authorities and well-established norms that have helped these institutions withstand politicization and guide department behavior. DHS should play a leading role in responding to all emergencies that threaten the safety and security of Americans, even when the response will rely heavily upon expertise housed in other federal departmentssuch as the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expertise that is critical to the pandemic responseor at the state level. To meet the challenges of today, the Biden administration and Congress should reform the Department of Homeland Security around a mission that highlights safety and services alongside its traditional protecting roles. Rebalancing toward a safety and services model requiresbringingDHSs activitiesintobalance andensuring they arenot overly focused on threat-oriented priorities. In these and other areas, DHS should lead the federal governments efforts to connect nonfederal officials with their counterparts in the federal government and should use those relationships to advance safety and security. DHS has a responsibility to safeguard the information it acquires and to protect the civil liberties and privacy of U.S. personsand all personswhen permitting the use of that information for other purposes. Seizing the opportunity to reimagine what it means to keep America secure and recalibrate DHSs priorities accordingly would enable the department to refocus its efforts in areas where it can add unique value and ensure that the government fulfills its responsibility to guarantee the safety, security, and prosperity of all Americans and those who come to live, study, work, travel, and seek safety here. DHS Assistant Secretary of Operations - Dulce Quintero. CBP and the TSA are primarily focused on enabling the safe and secure movement of goods and people and have narrow law enforcement roles that enable these primary missions. In recommending this shift, CAP acknowledges that threats to Americans safety and security will continue to require a strong and coordinated response from DHS. Learn about our sister organization, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, an advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans. It would also enable DHS to further build partnerships between the federal government and counterparts in state and local government and the private sector, if properly managed with safeguards to protect civil liberties and privacy. 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. Skip to main content. Abbott announces approval of federal emergency declaration for severe winter weather, February 14, 2021, available at, Fernandez and others, People Actively Hate Us: Inside the Border Patrols Morale Crisis; Ted Hesson, Kristina Cooke, and Mica Rosenberg, U.S. DHS also has a traditional role in disaster relief services that should be expanded. Homeland Security Investigations. DHS was formally established as a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department on March 1, 2003, bringing 22 federal agencies under one umbrella to coordinate efforts to secure the homeland. DHS should prioritize service and partnerships, connecting people in the United States to federal services and providing value to the American people and those who live, study, work, travel, or seek safety here. var subscribe = document.getElementById('enSubscribeSlideUp'); The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. 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. Organizational Structure Click on any block to visit that program office's web page. 714 0 obj <>stream Finally, it would ensure that DHS is most effectively positioned to solve national challenges. The departments threat-oriented roles will, of course, remain, but this new framework will help DHS realign its focus and priorities on those areas where it can be maximally effective and provide value to the American people and those who live, study, work, travel, and seek safety here. Since its founding, there has been persistent confusion about DHSs role as well as complaints about its structure, operations, and oversight. For large organizations like the DHS, managing IT and finding ways for disparate systems to work together can be a complicated task; doing so while supporting government operations means that the stakes can be even higher and the consequences more widespread. Advancing Racial Equity and Justice, Building an Economy for All, Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Biden Administration, Foreign Policy, Immigration, National Security+4More. Who we are The Minnesota Department of Human Services is an organization of individuals with a commitment to bettering the lives of Minnesotans. An organizational structure is a system that outlines how certain activities are directed in order to achieve the goals of an organization. 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. DHS could also play an important role in countering disinformation in partnership with the State Departments Global Engagement Center. Necessary safeguards would need to be put in place to ensure that what immigration detention remains does not become wrapped up in the overall criminal carceral system. When disaster strikes, FEMA is oftenthough not often enoughthe nations first responder. 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. 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. Finally, I&A should develop intelligence from those partners to share with the rest of the IC, within the appropriate guardrails of civil liberties and privacy protections against stereotypes and biased profiling. var onSuccessSubmitenSubscribeSlideUp = function() { Many of todays most serious threats to Americas safety and prosperitynatural disasters, pandemic disease, cyberattacks, and violent white supremacyoriginate at home or are borderless by nature. } Meanwhile, DHS is missing opportunities to meet needs that other departments and agencies cannot and opportunities to lead where DHSs unique strengths would be maximally effective in solving problems. DHSs enhanced cybersecurity coordination role would need to be subject to rigorous transparency and oversight. DHS should maintain its core objective of securely, efficiently, humanely managing our air, land, and maritime borders. }. 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. Working to recruit and train CBP agents with the tools to excel at working with populations seeking protection will help create the foundations for a shift in cultural norms. endstream endobj 697 0 obj <>/Metadata 35 0 R/OCProperties<>/OCGs[702 0 R]>>/PageLabels 692 0 R/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 694 0 R/PieceInfo<>>>/StructTreeRoot 49 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 698 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 699 0 obj <>stream or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. An organizational structure is the allocation of authority and responsibility within a company. The authors understand that this would result in a further fractured immigration bureaucracy, with border enforcement staying within the department but enforcement moving out of DHS. 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. 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. Since no part of Congress authorizes the entire departmentwide functions, DHSs appropriators have largely become the subcommittees of de facto jurisdiction over the department. He began his career as a district adjudications officer before transitioning to deportation officer with the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and he was a member of one of ICE's first fugitive operations teams and an instructor at the ICE Academy. 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. HW]o6}7@`s! The combination of DHSs hasty founding, its expansive authorities, and its at once decentralized nature and yet lack of institutional independence from the executive branch has left the department susceptible to presidents using DHS and its expansive authorities for political purposes. 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. Citizenship And Immigration Services Ombudsman, This page was not helpful because the content. Because it is not the originator of most of the threat information it obtains, it has a limited ability to unilaterally disclose that information to the public, even when it may desire to do so. In doing so, DHS can uniquely enlist the private sector and the American people in protecting the nation. 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. 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. After the departments abysmal response to Hurricane Katrina, reformers pushed for DHS to take an all hazards approach and develop capacities and capabilities to respond to a wide range of potential disasters.26 Then, after the failed bombing attempt on a flight to Detroit on Christmas in 2009, the department shifted again to double down on terrorism prevention as the cornerstone of homeland security.27 More recently, the Trump administration radically reoriented DHSs focus toward the southern border and interior enforcement, shifting the headquarters-level focus toward immigration enforcement and deportation and diverting resources toward President Donald Trumps ill-conceived border wall.28 Far from clarifying the departments role and priorities, these swings have left the department fatigued and poorly aligned with any overarching strategic goal. A clear structure allows every team member to be involved. Leadership Director Congressional Relations Diversity and Civil Rights Firearms and Tactical Programs Immigration Program Evaluation Partnership and Engagement Regulatory Affairs and Policy Public Affairs Deputy Director Chief of Staff Directorates We at U.S. As a result, DHS has not invested in building its capacity to respond to borderless threats, such as natural disasters and cyberattacks against government enterprises, and those, such as the growing threat from white supremacist violence, that originate within U.S. borders. DHS also wastes energy vying over bureaucratic turf when it could be solving problems. The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. 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. At the national level, DHSs attention and political emphasis is out of balance with many of todays most serious threats. Established in 2003, the Department of Homeland Security was largely defined by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the response to those tragic events continues to shape the priorities and mission of the department today. 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. Sign Up Secretary Deputy Secretary Chief of Staff Immediate Office of the Secretary (IOS) Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (IEA) Office of the Secretary Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration (ASA) 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. CAP recommends that DHS components that are primarily or exclusively focused on enforcing federal laws should be transferred to other federal departments. Stay informed on the most pressing issues of our time. Both FPS and ICE perform primarily law enforcement functions that do not enable other safety and services functions within DHS to operate. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) is the civilian national intelligence component of the United States Department of Homeland Security and one of two statutory members of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) within DHS, the other being Coast Guard Intelligence.It is the only member of the IC tasked with providing intelligence to State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT . 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. Collections Internal Directives Strategy and Doctrinal Products Keywords Policy Topics Homeland Security Enterprise Last Updated: 01/10/2023 Was this page helpful? DHS policy has expanded the categories of records collected to include social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results.22 DHS has also launched a new system, the Customs and Border Protection Intelligence Records System (CIRS), to aggregate immigration, law enforcement, national security, and publicly available dataincluding social mediain a central database.23. 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. DHSs complicated web of roles and responsibilities also means that it plays a supporting role nearly everywhere but rarely leads. Organizational structures describe what employees do, whom they report to, and how decisions are made across the business. 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