DHS News
The Daily Signal covers Department of Homeland Security (DHS) news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on immigration, security, and policy decisions.
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news
County Sheriffs Push Back Against Homeland Security’s ‘Not-So Veiled Threat’
Hundreds of miles from the nation’s capital, local sheriffs are feeling reverberations from Congress’ fight over Department of Homeland Security funding. This week, Secretary Jeh Johnson delivered what one sheriff views as a “not-so veiled threat” on what could happen if an agreement isn’t reached. Johnson’s statement, released Tuesday, explains why Congress needs to pass… -
opinion
Congressional Oversight of the DHS: Time for a Change
What happens when a federal agency must answer to over 100 different congressional committees and subcommittees? Duplication, contradiction, inefficiency—and more duplication. That has been the fate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since its creation in 2002 following 9/11. Congress created the DHS from 22 different agencies or parts of agencies that each had… -
opinion
What’s Really Happening: Democrats Are Blocking Homeland Security Funding
The headline in one Washington newspaper read: “Senate Dems block legislation reversing immigration actions.” That’s one way to see it. A more accurate headline would have been: “Senate Democrats block debate over legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security.” The latter is exactly what all 44 Senate Democrats (and two Independents) did Tuesday and again… -
news
‘Clock Is Ticking’: Homeland Security Chief Warns Congress to Fund His Agency
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson urged Congress today to stop using his agency’s budget as “political football,” warning that without more funding soon, it would make the job of securing the border more difficult. "The clock to Feb. 27 is ticking," he said in a speech at the Wilson Center in Washington, referring… -
news
Watch Homeland Security Chief Struggle to Explain How ‘Amnesty’ for Illegals Is Good for Americans
Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., asked Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson a seemingly simple question yesterday in a House hearing: How will President Obama’s move to grant “de facto amnesty and work permits” to up to 5 million illegal immigrants affect the 20 million American citizens who are unemployed or underemployed? Johnson, author and champion of… -
opinion
As DHS Morale Continues to Fall, Congress Should Fix the Way It Handles Oversight
Employee morale at the Department of Homeland Security has sunk to new lows, despite new leadership under Secretary Jeh Johnson and other senior DHS officials. The 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey found that only 21 percent of employees in the DHS Science and Technology Directorate had confidence in their leadership’s ability to “generate high levels… -
news
Former Homeland Security Chief: US Can’t Take ‘Chainsaw’ to Visa Policy Because of Terrorists
A program that allows citizens from allied European countries to visit the U.S. without a visa has drawn new concerns from lawmakers who worry that radicalized Western Muslims will easily travel here to commit acts of terror. But Michael Chertoff, the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who helped expand the program,… -
news
Did Terrorists Try to Cross the Border? Congressman Presses Homeland Security Chief for Answers
At a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing yesterday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, asked Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about a report that four men with ties to terrorist organizations tried to cross the Texas border Sept. 10. “We have a porous border,” @JasonInTheHouse told Fox News’ @MegynKelly. Johnson neither confirmed nor denied the the… -
opinion
Excessive Oversight Harms U.S. Homeland Security
On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 Commission report, the former commission members released a new analysis of U.S. homeland security that listed Congress as the greatest obstacle to homeland security. Excessive congressional oversight hinders the ability of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect the American people. On Sunday, distinguished homeland security experts… -
news
Homeland Security Secretary Won’t Say If Illegal Children Will Be Deported
“Meet the Press” host David Gregory had a simple question for Department of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson: Do the children flooding the U.S. border need to be deported? What followed was a testy exchange between Gregory and Johnson. “I’m trying to get an answer,” Gregory said at one point. He eventually moved on, but not…