Oversight
Airport workers got security badges before TSA completed background checks, watchdog finds
Auditors found that the agency failed to enforce its own screening rules at about 20 airports, allowing some workers to keep active badges for months despite disqualifying security notices.
Tech
DHS secretary plans post-election security review
Markwayne Mullin told CISA employees he wants to assess election systems after the vote, as the agency faces scrutiny over cuts to its support for states.
Management
ICE resists automatic activation of body cameras despite oversight concerns
Federal investigators found gaps in guidance for immigration officers’ use of body-worn cameras, raising concerns about whether the agencies can ensure the devices are used as required.
Exclusive
Oversight
Watchdog to examine summertime hack of DHS information network, other incidents
The Government Accountability Office is expected to flag that the Homeland Security Department delayed in notifying Congress of the incidents, according to a person familiar with the review.
Workforce
TSA took away its officers’ chairs. The union isn’t sitting quietly
The Trump administration has taken several actions to weaken Transportation Security Administration employees’ collective bargaining rights.
Oversight
ICE’s $45 billion detention expansion is littered with costly missteps, watchdog reports
The Government Accountability Office criticized plans to sell recently purchased warehouses, the shuttered “Alligator Alcatraz” facility and spending millions to detain an average of 16 migrants in fiscal 2026 at Guantanamo Bay.
Management
A second lawsuit challenges plans to put ICE agents near polling places
The filing comes after administration officials said federal agents could conduct immigration enforcement at polling locations in certain circumstances.
Tech
TSA uses AI agent to respond to 100,000 traveler conversations per month
The technology has resolved 96% of traveler inquiries without human escalation, according to Salesforce.
Management
DHS secretary defends smaller FEMA workforce after judge challenges 50% staffing cut plans
Markwayne Mullin pointed to technology investments as a way for the disaster agency to operate with a smaller workforce, even as a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that DHS "unlawfully ordered” FEMA to cut its staffing by half.
Tech
On 9/11’s 25th anniversary, modernizing government starts with remembering our past
COMMENTARY | Federal agencies still struggle to share information across organizational boundaries. The lessons of the post-9/11 reforms could help agency leaders build the data infrastructure needed for modern government and AI.
Workforce
What does 9/11 mean for young public servants who hardly remember it?
Although they may have limited memories of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, some people say the events still shaped their career decisions.
Pay & Benefits
What 9/11 can teach federal families about benefits
The federal workers’ compensation program can provide critical support after a work-related injury, illness or death, but families need to know what to document and which benefits to claim.
Oversight
Musk should testify about overstated savings from DHS contract cancellations, Democrats argue
The Government Accountability Office reported that contract terminations pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency yielded a net of $92 million — much less than the Homeland Security Department’s public report of as much as $10.5 billion in potential savings.
Oversight
DHS watchdog says Noem-era policy hampered probe into FEMA employees skipping homes with Trump signs
Auditors found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency also did not provide consistent Hatch Act training to employees.
Management
Appeals court keeps limits on DHS immigration enforcement near churches
The ruling requires Homeland Security Department agents to follow the more restrictive Biden-era rules at the affected houses of worship while the case moves forward.
Oversight
FEMA slashed staff without considering the effects on future disaster response, watchdog reports
The Government Accountability Office also found that the disaster agency is currently operating without a strategic workforce plan to determine staffing needs.
Management
How TSA passenger screening became an immigration enforcement tool
Newly released records reveal a formal agreement between TSA and ICE that expands how passenger data can be used, raising new questions about privacy, government data sharing and the agency's testimony to Congress.
Management
Suit alleges DHS targeted people observing and protesting immigration agents
Plaintiffs allege the department used technology to identify immigration observers before retaliating against them, including by revoking TSA PreCheck and Global Entry benefits.
Management
ICE ramps up arrests as deportation effort expands
New data reflects the administration's push to increase enforcement while judges continue scrutinizing some of its detention policies.
Management