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Secretary of Homeland Security

The Secretary of Homeland Security oversees the third largest Cabinet department and leads our nation's efforts to secure our country from the many threats we face.

  • IG Cuffari Letter to Chairs Maloney and Thompson, 14 Sept 2020

    "Dear Chairman Thompson and Chairwoman Maloney: This responds to your letter of August 27, 2020, in which you ask that I review the matters referred to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the August 14, 2020 decision issued by the GAO General Counsel."

  • Acting Secretary Chad Wolf Letter to Mayor Ted Wheeler, August 31, 2020

    “Due to a lack of action throughout the summer, Portland and its law-abiding residents continue to suffer from large-scale looting, arson, and vandalism—even killing. Businesses remain shuttered and Portlanders are held hostage by the daily violence that has gripped the city with no end in sight.”

  • DHS Departmental FOIA Backlog Reduction Plan: 2020 - 2023

    The DHS 2020 - 2023 FOIA Backlog Reduction Plan includes five goals that lay out a sustainable course for containing and reducing the age of the backlog in the short-term, and sustainably lowering the size of the backlog over the next three to five years. To achieve success, the plan addresses the underlying causes of the backlog – including decentralization, technology and interoperability limitations, and staffing and resource constraints.

  • Acting Secretary Wolf’s Letter to the State of New York on February 5, 2020

    Acting Secretary Wolf’s letter to the New York DMV regarding New York’s Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act.

  • Notices of Arrival Restrictions Due to Coronavirus

    To protect the American people from exposure to Coronavirus (COVID-19), Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf issued instructions supplementing a decision issued on January 31, 2020 directing all flights from specified countries to be routed through designated U.S. airports where the government is focusing public health resources.

  • Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan Letter on Protecting DHS Law Enforcement Partners from Violent Attacks

    In the aftermath of recent violent assaults against DHS, including an attack on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in San Antonio, Texas, Acting DHS Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan writes to ICE personnel and all of the DHS law enforcement community to make clear that while peaceful protest is a constitutionally protected, time-honored American tradition, violence will not be tolerated.

  • Memorandum on Ethical Behavior

    On April 22, 2019, Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan signed a new Memorandum on Ethical Behavior emphasizing that all DHS employees must hold themselves to the highest standards of honor, integrity, and ethics. To avoid even the appearance of impropriety, the memo encourages employees to conserve and protect government resources, act with impartiality, avoid acting when private interests conflict with official duties, consider declining gifts even when they may be accepted, and to report fraud, waste, and abuse whenever it is detected.

  • Resignation Email of Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen to Staff

    Resignation Email of Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen to DHS Staff

  • Resignation Letter of Secretary Nielsen

    On April 7, 2019, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen offered her resignation to President Trump.

  • Policy Guidance for Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols

    Policy guidance for implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols, issued by Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen on January 25, 2019.