Created in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a sprawling agency of more than 240,000 employees with a wide array of responsibilities ranging from counterterrorism to physical security to cybersecurity to emergency response. Of heightened current interest are DHS's responsibilities concerning border security, immigration, and law enforcement. As the implementation of these critical functions has grown in complexity, the oversight and accountability mechanisms for these specific DHS activities by the executive and legislative branches have struggled to keep pace.
Recognizing these challenges, CNAS, beginning in 2019, initiated a project on DHS oversight and accountability that produced analysis and recommendations that remain relevant. The project's work began with a task force that reviewed and provided guidance for the development of recommendations concerning three main aspects of DHS functions. The result of that effort was published in the project's foundational report in 2020, Reforming the Department of Homeland Security Through Enhanced Oversight and Accountability. Over the next several years, CNAS produced additional deep dives into DHS components, provided congressional testimony, produced a scholarly journal article, and published numerous short-form commentaries and op-eds. Engagement on legal and policy issues related to DHS oversight and accountability remains an area of policy engagement.
Highlights
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From Mardi Gras to the Philippines: A Review of DHS Homeland Security Investigations
Reports
As it approaches 20 years since its creation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is due for substantial updates in order to improve its ability to adapt to current and ...
By Carrie Cordero & Katie Galgano
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Reassessing Homeland Security Intelligence
Reports
The discipline of intelligence has been a central element of the homeland security enterprise over the past two decades since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The ...
By Christian Beckner
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Reforming the Department of Homeland Security Through Enhanced Oversight & Accountability
Reports
In a new report, Carrie Cordero outlines the pressures placed on DHS's immigration enforcement, border security, and law enforcement components....
By Carrie Cordero
