The Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise: Operational Overview and Oversight Challenges for Congress

Abstract

A primary mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, Department) is to "prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism, and minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery from terrorist attacks that do occur in the United States." Since its inception in 2003, DHS has had an intelligence component to support this mission and has been a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). Following a major reorganization of the DHS (called the Second Stage Review, or "2SR?" in July 2005, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, established a strengthened Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) and made the Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis (now Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis) the Chief Intelligence Officer for the Department. He also tasked I&A with ensuring that intelligence is coordinated, fused, and analyzed within the Department to provide a common operational picture; provide a primary connection between DHS and the IC as a whole; and to act as a primary source of information for state, local, and private sector partners. Congress made information sharing a top priority of the Department's intelligence component in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and underscored that importance through the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Since the 2SR reorganization, Congress imposed additional requirements for intelligence analysis; information sharing; department-wide intelligence integration; and support to state, local, tribal governments, and the private sector through the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. At the outset of the new Administration, the DHS Intelligence (DHSI) enterprise consists of I&A,

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 27, 2009
Accession Number
ADA501085

Entities

People

  • Mark A. Randol

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commercial Aircraft
  • Commercial Aviation
  • Congress
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Criminals
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Homeland Security
  • Information Systems
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Intelligence Community (United States)
  • Intelligence Cycle
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Surveillance
  • Terrorism
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.