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Department of Homeland Security

See also Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.

Timeline

2016.11.18Trump’s security picks deepen Muslim worries about an anti-Islamic White House. washingtonpost.com (See also Muslims)
2016.12.07Trump picks retired Marine General John Kelly for Secretary of Homeland Security. pbs.org (See also John Kelly, National Defense)
2016.12.27Trump taps former Bush official Bossert as adviser on homeland security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity. cnn.com (See also National Defense)
2017.01.04Trump team requests Homeland Security records on border barriers, aerial surveillance, expanded immigrant detention, and more reuters.com (See also Mexican Wall, Immigrants, Immigration, agency)
2017.01.10John Kelly shies from Trump's wall and Muslim registry in confirmation hearing. theguardian.com (See also John Kelly, Mexico Wall, Immigration, Muslim Registry)
2017.01.10These are some of the key points of John Kelly's confirmation hearing for Secretary of Homeland Security. theguardian.com (See also John Kelly, Mexico Wall, Immigration, Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslim Registry)
2017.01.16Homeland Security nominee Kelly says border wall "will not do the job." latimes.com (See also John Kelly, Immigrants, Immigration, Mexico, Mexico Wall)
2017.01.24Trump expected to sign several executive orders restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries on Wednesday January 25. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Department of State, Jeff Sessions)
2017.01.26A number of career Foreign Service officers were informed this week that they will not be asked to stay on in senior or sensitive posts creating a leadership vacuum among the top ranks at the State Department. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Department of State)
"Current and former senior officials were clear that the turnover is unusual even for a new administration"
2017.01.26Jon D. Feere, an advocate of ending U.S. birthright citizenship, may be joining Trump's DHS. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration)
Jon D. Feere is reportedly in line for a DHS post as White House debates the treatment of children of illegal immigrants.
2017.01.29DHS Secretary John Kelly says lawful permanent residents from 7 banned countries are now allowed into the U.S. twitter.com (See also John Kelly, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.01.29Department Of Homeland Security official statement that they will continue to enforce Trump's executive order. dhs.gov (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Assaults on Government)
2017.01.29In the first week of the Trump Presidency, influence has run through a very select group of advisers—maybe as many as half a dozen, maybe as few as two. The President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Bannon have consolidated their influence. newyorker.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, John Kelly, Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner)
"In normal times, an Administration this isolated and divorced from public opinion would seem to be fatally weak. The argument made by the President’s first week is that these conditions, combined with the general assent of a Republican-controlled Congress, might in fact create the opposite situation, freeing him to do whatever he wants."
2017.01.29Trump’s Muslim travel bans will continue to be enforced by the The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), despite a New York judge placing a temporary stay on it being executed. independent.co.uk (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen)
2017.01.30John Kelly claims customs officers immediately took steps to comply after court orders blocked detention of travelers under Trump immigration halt. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, John Kelly)
"Legislators expressed doubt on Monday that CBP was in fact in compliance with the court orders. The day before, four members of Congress were denied access to detained visa holders at Dulles international airport who were not processed through immigration despite the order – something a Virginia Democrat termed a constitutional crisis."
2017.01.30The U.S. government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week, despite Trump's Muslim Immigration ban executive order on Friday. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Department of State)
2017.01.31Dozens of lawsuits were filed against immigration order. clearinghouse.net (See also Lawsuits, Muslim Immigration Ban, John Kelley, Immigrants, First 100 Days, Department of Justice, John Kelly)
2017.01.31Leaked Trump order gives defense department equal footing with homeland security in civilian cybersecurity, and may give Pentagon bigger role, but White House announces signing is cancelled without explanation on Tuesday. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Cybersecurity, Department of Defense, James Mattis, John Kelly)
2017.02.01Trump to focus counter-extremism program solely on Islam and no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslims, Muslim Immigration Ban, John Kelly)
2017.02.07Homeland Security Chief John Kelly admits Muslim Immigration Ban was rushed nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, John Kelly, Muslim Immigration Ban, Immigration)
2017.02.07Homeland Security secretary says a border wall won't be built all at once. latimes.com (See also Mexico Wall, First 100 Days)
2017.02.08DHS watchdog suggests customs officials may have violated court order at Dulles. politico.com (See also First 100 Days, Constitutional Issues, Muslim Immigration Ban, Immigration, Muslims)
The day after it went into effect, a federal judge said customs officials at Dulles had to provide detained travelers access to lawyers.
2017.02.10Trump’s “wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct according to Homeland Security internal report. in.reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Mexico Wall)
2017.02.13Homeland Security chief Kelly responds after immigration raids spark outrage abcnews.go.com (See also Immigrants, Immigration, John Kelly)
2017.02.17In an unusual move Betsy DeVos opts to be guarded by U.S. Marshals Service instead of a team of civil servants. washingtonpost.com (See also Betsy DeVos)
2017.02.18A new version of Trump's immigration ban that could be issued as early as Tuesday will not stop green card holders, nor travelers in transit, according to Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly. reuters.com (See also John Kelly, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.02.18The White House distances itself from a Department of Homeland Security draft proposal to use the National Guard to round up unauthorized immigrants. apnews.com (See also Immigrants)
2017.02.20Department of Homeland Security confirms Trump Administration plans to deport illegal immigrants to Mexico even if the illegal immigrants aren't from Mexico. propublica.org (See also First 100 Days, John Kelly, Immigration)
2017.02.22Trump's DHS Secretary, John Kelly, lays out aggressive guidance for vigorously pursuing illegal immigrants. cnn.com (See also Nationalism, Immigrants, Fascism, Immigration)
2017.02.24A three-page DHS report casts doubt on need for Trump travel ban, saying citizenship is an “unreliable” threat indicator, and people from the banned countries have rarely been implicated in U.S.-based terrorism. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.02.24Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly says he doesn't believe it's possible to accomplish Trump's plans to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to enforce executive orders on immigration in the next couple of years. npr.org (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, John Kelly)
2017.02.24Mexican Interior Secretary does not mince words when speaking alongside Rex Tillerson and John Kelly in Mexico City Thursday, saying: "We do not agree on the different measures that recently were stated by the government of the United States (that) affect Mexico." cnn.com (See also First 100 Days, Rex Tillerson, John Kelly, Department of State, Mexico)
2017.02.25Analysts at the Homeland Security Department's intelligence arm conclude that citizenship is an "unlikely indicator" of terrorism threats to the United States and that few people from the countries Trump listed in his travel ban have carried out attacks or been involved in terrorism-related activities in the U.S. since Syria's civil war started in 2011. apnews.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.03.03The Department of Homeland Security concludes that Trump's Muslim ban will actually create more terrorism. thinkprogress.org (See also Travel Ban, Muslim Ban, First 100 Days)
2017.04.06Twitter files lawsuit after the The Department of Homeland Security demands they reveal the identity of several Twitter accounts posting information critical of Trump. variety.com (See also Fascism, First 100 Days, John Kelly, Assaults on Civil Liberties)
2017.06.21A Department of Homeland Security official testified that people connected to the Russian government tried to hack election-related computer systems in 21 states. washingtonpost.com (See also Russia, Russian Meddling in Election)