Homeland Security Project

Our society has become highly dependent on constant, real-time information about position, navigation, and timing. We typically access this information through cell phones or other devices that receive global positioning system (GPS) signals. Cities are particularly vulnerable to GPS failures and will become more so as Smart City initiatives produce results. Yet, we are missing opportunities to protect localities from potential disaster. This paper recommends efforts at all levels of government that could improve local government resilience, coordinate efforts, involve the private sector, and integrate these initiatives with federal planning for the future.

In 2018,  Congress passed the Synthetic Trafficking and Overdose Protection (STOP) Act with bipartisan support which was designed to close a loophole in a post-9/11 security law that has allowed international drug traffickers to easily ship opioids to the United States without detection — and laid out clear deadlines for doing so. Juliette Kayyem questions why the U.S. government is not enforcing this law.

Juliette Kayyem writes that Hurricane Dorian has made the Bahamas the newest evidence of the changing climate and sea-level rise: Disasters are changing, and the response to them must change as well.

On April 22, 2019, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security “to find effective ways to combat the rampant number of overstays.” The White House fact sheet released with this announcement notes that twenty countries have visa overstay rates above 10 percent, and that one action being considered could be to limit the issuance of visas to countries with high rates of visa overstays. This paper will tackle the following questions: How big is the visa overstay problem? How does it compare to other forms of unauthorized migration? And what policy options are available to policymakers?

The Homeland Security Project has announced the appointment of the Project’s Fall fellows: Alan Bersin, Jeh Johnson, and Christine Heenan.

Juliette Kayyem explains why the White House’s decision to divert funds from the military to support border wall funding is not only unsound policy but also dangerous. First, the White House last week moved $271 million in Department of Homeland Security funding, a majority of which was allocated for FEMA planning and response, to support border wall construction; this week, the defense secretary authorized more than $3 billion in military funds for barrier construction. Those funds were designated for military construction and upgrades — the very funds Congress designates to keep its bases at full readiness.

Juliette Kayyem debunks the myth of  "lone-wolf" mass shootings.  White-supremacist terror is rooted in a pack, a community — and that community has essentially found a mission, kinship, and acceptance in today's United States.

Juliette Kayyem describes the  Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (Stop) Act and how it would close a loophole in the international mail system that allows illegal drugs to be shipped into the United States.  She also calls attention to the failure to enforce this law and urges Congress to exercise its oversight.

Juliette Kayyem  writes that it is essential to distinguish between immigration policy and civilized standards of detention.  The latter is a matter of logistics—and the United States is not experiencing supply chain disruptions.  The administration's failure to solve the crisis at the border is a failure to implement foundational emergency management procedures.

Juliette Kayyem writes that America's immigration apparatus that needs a complete overhaul to align it with both the country's enforcement needs and values.