U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Government Website

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Safely connect using HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Breadcrumb

  1. Office of Homeland Security Statistics
  2. About Reports and Data

About Reports and Data

The Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) oversees the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) statistical reporting standards and ensures consistency in reporting to the public. To fulfill our responsibilities, OHSS reports and data must:

  • Meet rigorous data quality standards, reflecting consistent reporting methodologies and definitions;
  • Be credible and free from political influence;
  • Be published on a regular and predictable schedule; and
  • Be available in digital formats and released with the greatest possible granularity, consistent with appropriate privacy and law enforcement protections.

Report Publication Schedule

OHSS publishes regular reports and data on an annual, quarterly, or monthly basis. See our planned publications for Fiscal Year 2024.

New Report Prioritization

OHSS prioritizes new public reporting in the following order:
  1. Directed by statute or executive order
  2. Independent reporting directed by the Secretary (including DHS reports that are delegated to OHSS)
  3. Directed by the Office of Management and Budget
  4. In response to Government Accountability Office or Office of Inspector General recommendations 
  5. To establish reporting presence in all DHS mission areas 
  6. To increase data transparency in consultation with external stakeholders

Governance

The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 ("Evidence Act") requires that federal agencies appoint a Statistical Official, who directs and coordinates agency statistical policy and who works with the agency Chief Data Officer to establish agency data standards. OHSS is led by the DHS Statistical Official and supported by the DHS Statistical Official Council, which consists of senior career officials appointed as Statistical Officials for each operational Component that provides data to OHSS. Read more about the DHS Statistical Official and Statistical Official Council's roles and responsibilities.

Report Review and Clearance

OHSS has established a robust review and clearance process to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of the products we publish. Read about our report review and clearance to find out about the process and who is involved.

Privacy and Data Disclosure

OHSS recognizes the importance of protecting the identity of individuals included in the data used to generate tabulations, reports, and research. More information on the DHS’s privacy policies is available on the Privacy Office website.

To protect the confidentiality of data and tabulations containing information about individuals, OHSS withholds some data when it could be linked to an individual. Read our data disclosure policy for more information.

Geographic Regions

OHSS categorizes countries into specific regional groups. See list of countries included in each region.

Glossary

OHSS maintains a glossary of terms used in our products.

Last Updated: 02/02/2024
Was this page helpful?
This page was not helpful because the content