As the threat of terrorism has grown, civilian agencies are increasingly thrust into the national security conversation. The laws and regulations that govern aviation, immigration, and international trade have become key parts of the national security apparatus. Debates over no-fly lists, border security, and the protection of airplane technology now take place alongside those over the military’s rules of engagement or the value of NSA programs. These new debates seem no less likely to disappear.
Latest in Homeland Security
On Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on threats to the homeland.
What’s going on with the top positions in the Department of Homeland Security?
What insights does the 9/11 Commission Report have for the current era?
New documents shed light on how the intelligence and analysis unit at DHS was unleashed.
Who is running the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today? Nobody really seems to know.
The Department of Homeland Security announced a policy that would force international students to leave the country or transfer if their universities went fully online. A week later, the rule was rescinded. What happened?
In responding to the coronavirus, the U.S. should apply lessons learned from past transnational threats—but unfortunately, in important respects, the federal government is moving in the wrong direction.
Homeland security issues have emerged as among the most critical facing our country. Massive hurricanes devastated large swaths of the United States in 2017, the recovery from which is not over. Hostile governments and criminal groups have targeted American cyber and critical infrastructure, including U.S. elections. Ebola and Zika originated abroad but emerged at America’s shores. Central American asylum seekers have overwhelmed U.S. border authorities, while Washington has been paralyzed over disputes about how to respond.
On April 1, AT&T announced that the Navy and the Marine Corps had signed up to the FirstNet public safety broadband network, which prioritizes public safety communications over other types of traffic. A policy directive from the secretary of the Navy provides guidance on how the Navy and the Marine Corps should procure and deploy FirstNet devices and services.
To quote Yogi Berra, “it’s like déjà vu all over again.” For at least the fourth time in just over two years, a dispute has arisen over the president’s authority to name “acting” agency heads under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) of 1998. This time around, the debate involves the Department of Homeland Security—and the resignation/firing/un-resignation/ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.