Mission: We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the Nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free flow of commerce.
Vision: Preserving our freedoms, protecting America … we secure our homeland.
Strategic Goals: Awareness, Prevention, Protection, Response, Recovery, Service, Organizational Excellence.
As we head into the final day before the election, we know there will be a new president starting in January 2017. It is also evident that issues concerning homeland security will be at the forefront of policy decisions in the next administration as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nears its 15th anniversary since its creation in 2003.
For voters, homeland security/counterterrorism is again seen as a hot-button issue for the 2016 presidential election. According to the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of registered voters say the issue of terrorism will be very important to their vote. This election cycle has been riddled with terrorist incidents in the U.S., including the shootings in San Bernardino, California, in Orlando, Florida, and abroad. It is understandable that the public remains focused on terrorism issues and DHS’s role to protect.
The DHS mission of protecting the homeland requires specialized expertise from leadership. This includes knowledge of areas such as law enforcement, counterterrorism, emergency management, cybersecurity, protecting critical infrastructure, and detecting and negating potential weapons of mass destruction.
The two candidates for president, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, have varying policy platforms and public statements on what the role and focus of DHS should be. Here are a few of the key 2017 homeland security issues and the candidates’ macro positions:
Border security and immigration
Perhaps the most contentious homeland security issue between the two candidates is the role of immigration and border security. Trump sees immigration as primarily a national security issue and has stated that he will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a “proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies.” He does not believe that refugees can be adequately vetted from those countries and is calling for overall tighter restriction on immigration.
Clinton sees immigration as mostly a humanitarian issue. She has pledged to take in 65,000 more refugees from war-torn countries and believes that screening and vetting refugees can be performed safely within 18 to 24 months. She also supports comprehensive immigration reform to allow immigrants a quicker path to citizenship.
Trump has repeatedly advocated building a fence on the nation’s southern border to stop illegal immigration. He believes he can induce Mexico to pay for the fence and envisions
increasing fees on visas, tariffs and border-crossing cards
between Mexico and the U.S. Trump has also proposed terminating sanctuary cities and ending catch-and-release programs deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, and increasing
the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from 5,000 to 15,000.
Clinton has supported legislation in the past for enhanced border security but not to the extent of building a new expansive fence between the U.S. and Mexico. She has stated that she wants stronger border security but believes it should be pursued in conjunction with immigration reform. She has said she supports sanctuary cities but with a contingency elaborated in her immigration policy platform,
Clinton stipulates she would detain and deport undocumented immigrants who pose a violent threat to public safety.
CybersecurityCybersecurity is an issue both on the security and political spotlight.
A decade ago CBRNE — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives — were threats of top concern. Cybersecurity was on the agenda and was a key focus, along with interoperable communications. Because of the exponential growth of the internet of things, mobile devices, big data and digital commerce, cybersecurity has grown immensely as a key priority while DHS has assumed more of a formal government role in the civilian cyber arena.
Both candidates have recognized it as a priority issue for their administration, and both have proposed strategic frameworks to monitor and mitigate cyber threats. Also, both candidates have stated they would use cybersecurity as part of an offensive capability as well as defensive.
The Clinton campaign cybersecurity strategy is an extension of Obama’s 2016 cybersecurity national action plan. The plan called for the appointment of a federal chief information security officer — the recently appointed Gregory Touhill — and for investment in new technologies, increased government-industry cooperation on sharing information and meeting new cybersecurity challenges.
Donald Trump has called for the creation of a “cyber review team” composed of subject matter experts from
the military, law enforcement and the private sector. His policy platform states that he will order an immediate review of all U.S. cyber defenses and vulnerabilities, including critical infrastructure. The team will be tasked with establishing detailed protocols and mandatory cyber awareness training for all government employees while remaining current on evolving methods of cyberattack.
Surveillance
Trump supports reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT Act and bulk cellphone metadata collection by the National Security Agency. He sees monitoring domestic threats as a key part of his counterterrorism strategy, including surveillance of mosques and hot spots where he thinks radical Islamic terrorists may be coordinating potential acts of terror. Regarding the high-profile issue of privacy versus security he has stated that he tends “to err on the side of security.”
Clinton voted for the Patriot Act but in the past few years has spoken out against the use of warrantless surveillance. She has not singled out mosques for monitoring and, in fact, has criticized her opponent on the tone of his statements regarding the Muslim community. She said after the Brussels terrorism attacks that the U.S. must increase its surveillance on unprotected “soft” targets.
First responders
This is one issue area where there is a consensus. Both candidates are strong supporters of first responders and, if elected, would ensure necessary funding for police, fire and other emergency first responders through homeland security grant programs. Such grants provide for interoperable communications technologies, security and medical equipment and training for emergency scenarios.
Management
As DHS is still a relatively new federal agency forged from 22 government components that existed previously in other agencies, building a cohesive culture and effective management structure is still an act in process. DHS has striven to implement a “One DHS” vision of having its varied component agencies be centrally accountable and coordinated. The morale of the DHS workforce and mission guidance under the next president will be more impacted by the new secretary appointed to the helm of the agency.
My former DHS colleague, Rich Cooper, has published a good analysis of prospective secretariesunder both candidates. I agree with the names he mentions in his briefs. There are many distinguished public servants being floated as the future secretary of DHS, but no one knows for sure who will be on the short lists.
Several potential homeland security secretary candidates for Trump may include: Chris Christie, governor, New Jersey; Rudy Giuliani, former NYC mayor; David A. Clarke, sheriff, Milwaukee County; and Asa Hutchinson, governor, Arkansas.
Several potential secretary contenders for Clinton may include: Ray Kelly, former NYPD commissioner; Alejandro Mayorkas, former DHS deputy secretary; Martin O’Malley, former governor, Maryland; and Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.
This is just a rooftop overview of some of the more visible issues concerning security of the homeland in the 2016 presidential elections. Whoever wins the election will have to rely on the institutional expertise of current employees in the agency and bring in informed and qualified individuals as appointees. The threat landscape is always morphing and the next president will require a
“unified national effort to secure America.”
Charles “Chuck” Brooks is the vice president for government relations and marketing for Sutherland Government Solutions. He served at the Department of Homeland Security as the first director of legislative affairs for the Science and Technology Directorate. Find him on Twitter at @ChuckDBrooks.
