Q&A of the Day – Is the U.S. Less Safe Due to the DHS Democrat Shutdown?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
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Today’s entry: Brian, with the Iran war underway and what already appears to be one related terrorist attack in Austin, are Americans at a greater risk because of the DHS shutdown the Democrats have forced?
Bottom Line: It’s a great question – as the FBI has adopted what they call a “heightened threat posture” due the war with Iran. As announced this past weekend the FBI is prioritizing homeland security due to concerns about Iranian retaliation from actors already within the United States. As noted, the Sunday morning attack at a bar in Austin Texas, resulted in two dead and fourteen injured Americans is being investigated as a potential terrorist attack in support of Iran. The attack was conducted by a naturalized citizen who first entered the United States in 2000 and who was wearing a hoodie that stated: “Property of Allah”.
As the Department of Homeland Security’s shutdown is entering a third week, here’s what is and isn’t happening...
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): Shifted to emergency operating status, focusing only on bare-minimum, life-saving operations for active disasters. All non-emergency and non-disaster-related work is paused or halted, including:
- Long-term recovery projects and efforts.
- Project formulation, planning, and administrative processing.
- Non-disaster responses and coordination.
- Travel, training, and other nonessential programs.
TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and related traveler services:
- Standard airport screening continues
- Suspended courtesy and special-privilege airport escorts (including for members of Congress/officials)
- Global Entry program halted
Other administrative and support functions across DHS:
- Non-essential administrative processing, training programs, hiring processes, internal audits, policy rollouts, contractor-supported modernization efforts, and compliance/oversight functions are slowed, paused, or reduced.
And then there’s the Coast Guard...
Core operations continue fully: Military members and most exempt civilian personnel are reporting for duty and are performing normal operations including:
- Search and rescue
- Maritime safety and security patrols
- Law enforcement
- Environmental responses
- Protection of life, property, and national security
- Securing waterways and facilitating commerce where essential
What isn’t online during the shutdown are these activities:
- Training programs are reduced or halted
- ‘Non-essential’ aircraft or vessel maintenance/flights
- Administrative processing, hiring/onboarding
- Credential processing is paused at the National Maritime Center
Core security functions for Border Patrol/CBP operations; Secret Service protection and ICE enforcement remain in place. So that’s the lay of the land. It’s hard to say if homeland security is compromised due to the shutdown at this point, however an example of how it may be impaired exists with the Coast Guard, for example, where proactive patrolling isn’t currently happening as usual. Also, given the shutdown centers around ICE’s functions, this certainly wouldn’t seem like a time where it would make sense to place further restrictions on ICE’s ability to carry out their work as Democrats are demanding that they do.