Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
On February 6, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen accompanied Vice President Mike Pence to Norfolk, Virginia to visit the Joint Task Force – East (JTF-E). During their visit they received a briefing from Joint Task Force East (JTF-E) and the Department’s other Joint Task Forces, toured Coast Guard Cutter Bear, and spoke with DHS employees.
Three startups developing technologies with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) successfully transitioned their products to DHS and the Homeland Security Enterprise in 2018.
Today, United States Customs and Border Protection released new information regarding the number of family units apprehended along the southwest border and the demographics of large groups apprehended in recent months by the United States Border Patrol (USBP). As of today, USBP has seen a surge in Family Unit Aliens compared to the same time from last fiscal year by 280%. Fiscal Year 2018 was a record year and this year will surpass that if the current trend continues without any legislative fixes. Overall apprehensions between the POE’s are up 81%.
In recent days, the terms “Special Interests Aliens” (SIAs) and “Known and Suspected Terrorists” (KSTs) have become more frequently used as part of discussions about the federal budget and border security. These terms are not synonymous nor interchangeable, but are two separate terms that are commonly used in the national security community to describe different types of potential threats. These are generally well understood terms that are, unfortunately, being misunderstood or mischaracterized as part of the current shutdown debate.
The following is based on initial operational reporting. Last night, an approximately 150 migrants attempted to illegally enter the United States by climbing over and crawling under border fence in San Diego Sector. Due to CBP’s increased presence, a first group of 45 turned back towards Mexico.
Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is releasing data regarding the very high number of referrals being made for medical care of arriving migrants by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to medical providers along the Southwest Border.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen released the following statement on the eight year-old Guatemalan national who passed away shortly before midnight on December 24 at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is congressionally mandated to deploy a biometric entry/exit system to record arrivals and departures to and from the United States. Following several years of testing and pilots, CBP has successfully operationalized and deployed facial recognition technology, now known as the Traveler Verification Service (TVS), to support comprehensive biometric entry and exit procedures in the air, land, and sea environments. CBP has issued Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) documenting each new phase of TVS testing and deployment. CBP is now issuing this comprehensive PIA to a) consolidate all previously issued PIAs and b) provide notice to the public about how TVS collects and uses personally identifiable information (PII).
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a waiver to waive certain laws to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads near the international border in the state of Texas, in the county of Hidalgo. The waiver was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 11, 2018.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a waiver to ensure the expeditious construction of gates in existing wall structure near the international border in the state of Texas. The waiver was published in the Federal Register Oct. 10, 2018.
