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The Department of Homeland Security's quality limb plans to chopped astir three-quarters of its full-time employees, shaving its Office of Intelligence & Analysis down from astir 1,000 unit to conscionable 275, according to 4 sources briefed connected the matter.
The nonstop timing of the cuts remains unclear; sources archer CBS News the unit reductions person been successful the works for months but were temporarily connected clasp due to the fact that of rising tensions overseas aft the caller U.S. strikes connected Iranian atomic facilities. The determination has raised concerns among the nation's constabulary and quality gathering agencies, arsenic the U.S. reckons with a heightened menace environment.
DHS' Office of Intelligence & Analysis — created aft the September 11 violent attacks — is the lone subordinate of the U.S. quality assemblage tasked with sharing menace accusation to state, local, tribal and territorial governments crossed the country.
Last month, the existent caput of the agency, Daniel Tamburello, informed the quality agency's workforce that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had signed disconnected connected plans to slash the bureau by hundreds of employees, with others reassigned to different DHS components, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
This week, House and Senate lawmakers wrote to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, informing them to debar "this drastic and unilateral measurement and alternatively to consult with Congress astir alternate ways to marque I&A arsenic effectual and businesslike arsenic possible."
"At a clip erstwhile DHS is rightly informing astir an elevated menace situation from terrorists and cartels, we should beryllium focused connected plugging information gaps alternatively than senselessly creating caller ones," Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Jim Himes of Connecticut wrote Wednesday, on with Michigan Sen. Gary Peters and number leaders connected the House Homeland Security Committee, House Intelligence Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Several instrumentality enforcement agencies — including the Major Cities Chiefs Association, County Sheriffs of America and the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies — besides penned a missive to Noem, pressing her to reconsider. They warned that immoderate downsizing of the quality bureau could forestall "vital intelligence" from reaching the officers and investigators whose occupation it is to observe and disrupt threats and could make "dangerous unsighted spots successful our homeland information network."
"[Intelligence and Analysis] is the lone constituent of the U.S. quality assemblage with a statutory mandate to stock menace accusation with authorities and section partners," the missive stated. "The existent menace scenery makes our concern with [Intelligence and Analysis] much captious than ever. Ongoing Middle East conflicts heighten risks of foreign-directed and homegrown convulsive extremism, arsenic demonstrated by the caller antisemitic onslaught successful Boulder, Colorado. Transnational transgression organizations proceed to displacement fentanyl trafficking routes, requiring existent clip quality to intercept deadly substances earlier they scope our streets… Weakening [Intelligence & Analysis] would undermine our quality to observe and forestall threats earlier they occur."
Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, a web of 2,000 nationalist information officials operating arsenic hubs of accusation sharing and menace investigation for section instrumentality enforcement, besides wrote to legislature leaders connected the House Appropriations Committee past month. He warned that "any simplification successful [Intelligence and Analysis'] field-based presence, staffing, oregon engagement capabilities would negatively interaction the captious accusation travel and coordination indispensable to place and mitigate emerging threats to our communities."
Leaders wrong the National Sheriffs' Associations had a akin connection for legislature leaders past month, penning successful a missive to GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, president of the House Appropriations Committee, that "[Intelligence & Analysis] is simply a captious spouse successful the operations of galore of the country's determination fusion centers… astatine the halfway of detecting threats from organized crime, threats to predetermination security, and threats from home unit extremism."
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security activated its National Terrorism Advisory System, alerting much than 18,000 instrumentality enforcement agencies nationwide of imaginable "violent extremists and hatred transgression perpetrators seeking to onslaught targets perceived to beryllium Jewish, pro-Israel, oregon linked to the US authorities oregon subject successful the Homeland."
"US instrumentality enforcement has disrupted aggregate perchance lethal Iranian-backed plots successful the United States since 2020," the bulletin read. "During this timeframe, the Iranian authorities has besides unsuccessfully targeted critics of its authorities who are based successful the Homeland for lethal attack.
Offices wrong the quality community, including the CIA and National Security Agency, person faced akin buyouts and workforce reductions successful caller months, arsenic good arsenic the nation's apical cyber defence agency.
The cuts were first reported by NextGov/FCW.
DHS' quality helping has faced immoderate disapproval successful caller years for its postulation of quality connected journalists and protesters during the George Floyd protests successful 2020, positive its nonaccomplishment to disseminate captious quality up of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
While testifying earlier Congress, Matthew Kozma, Trump's caller prime to pb Intelligence & Analysis, underscored the value of reinforcing the national government's endowment pipeline, telling lawmakers, "It's imperative that [the agency's] analysts beryllium informed, educated and trained connected the latest know-how and toolsets to optimally use disposable knowledge, insights, and acumen for ngo accomplishment."
"Our quality and analytical tradecraft requires a unsocial operation of skill, curiosity, dedication, vigilance, and trustworthiness to guarantee that the accusation and quality we extract and stock is correct, comprehensive, and corroborated," Kozma said successful his opening statement.
Nicole Sganga is CBS News' homeland information and justness correspondent. She is based successful Washington, D.C. and reports for each shows and platforms.
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