Thompson, Himes, Peters Demand Trump Administration Cease Plans to Decimate DHS Intelligence Office

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Representatives Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, Jim Himes (D-CT), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, announced they sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to demand they not move forward with reported plans to cut the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence arm – the Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) – by 75 percent. I&A collects, analyzes, and disseminates intelligence to counter terrorists, cartels, and nation-state adversaries and to enhance border security.

“Hollowing out the office risks leaving the homeland dangerously exposed to these threats,” the Ranking Members wrote. “At a time when DHS is rightly warning about an elevated threat environment from terrorists and cartels, we should be focused on plugging security gaps rather than senselessly creating new ones.”

Recently, four of the nation’s leading law enforcement associations sent a letter to Secretary Noem on the importance of I&A stating that “weakening I&A would undermine our ability to detect and prevent threats before they occur.”  The Anti-Defamation League, the Secure Community Network, and the American Jewish Committee have stated that “any wholesale changes to the operations of I&A will have an adverse effect on countering antisemitism and ensuring the safety of the Jewish community.”

Link to letter

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