Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security
“Our primary recommendation is that the President pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS.)”
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here, which examines the potential impact of such a proposal.
“Unfortunately for our nation, the federal government’s newest department became like every other federal agency: bloated, bureaucratic, and expensive. It also lost sight of its mission priorities. DHS has also suffered from the Left’s wokeness and weaponization against Americans whom the Left perceives as its political opponents.”
I wish I could tell you what the author means by this. He’s saying the the Department of Homeland Security is weaponized against anyone who isn’t “woke” (apparently), but he doesn’t actually cite any examples of this, nor explain in any way. This must be the periodic mention of the “woke” boogeyman at work here.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a DHS component that the Left has weaponized to censor speech and affect elections at the expense of securing the cyber domain and critical infrastructure, which are threatened daily. A conservative Administration should return CISA to its statutory and important but narrow mission.”
There’s the woke boogeyman again! Cuccinelli doesn’t cite any specific examples of CISA being weaponized either. He’s suggesting that CISA has been involved in activities that go beyond its intended role, such as monitoring or influencing only speech, possibly through partnerships with social media companies or other platforms to address misinformation or disinformation. It’s telling that he thinks that combating disinformation harms the Right – it indicates that they’re reliant on lies to keep their messaging intact. Again, I’m taking a stab at what Cuccinelli is talking about here – he doesn’t specify how CISA is being “weaponized” against the “non-woke.”
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“These opportunities include privatizing TSA screening and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program, reforming FEMA emergency spending to shift the majority of preparedness and response costs to states and localities instead of the federal government, eliminating most of DHS’s grant programs, and removing all unions in the department for national security purposes.”
Privatizing the TSA, in a perfect world, would lead to increased efficiency, innovation, and cost-effectiveness in airport security operations, potentially reducing wait times and improving passenger experiences. In THIS world, it could result in inconsistent security standards across airports, as private companies might prioritize cost savings over actual security. There could be increased risks of vulnerabilities in airport security, and the federal government would have less control over the implementation and enforcement of security protocols.
In terms of FEMA, Cuccinelli is arguing that we should let states sink or swim on their own in terms of preparing for disasters (and making another argument for eliminating workers’ unions in the process.) This would lead to a huge disparity in the preparedness that states are capable of offering – obviously poorer states won’t be able to shoulder this burden, and won’t be able to scale up their capabilities to even begin to meet these demands, resulting in a higher state tax burden for the American public, for which they’re receiving worse disaster response services.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“While Senate confirmation is a constitutionally necessary requirement for appointing agency leadership, the next Administration may need to take a novel approach to the confirmations process to ensure an adequate and rapid transition. For example, the next Administration arguably should place its nominees for key positions into similar positions as “actings” (for example, putting in a person to serve as the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner of CBP while that person is going through the confirmation process to direct ICE or become the Secretary). This approach would both guarantee implementation of the Day One agenda and equip the department for potential emergency situations while still honoring the confirmation requirement.”
This is more of Project 2025’s core tenet – staff the government completely with loyalists to their agenda, bypassing Congressional approval, and simply installing them as “acting” in their official capacities. Trump did this a LOT. If elected to another term, this practice would become the rule.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“The Secretary should direct FEMA to ensure that all FEMA-issued grant funding for states, localities, and private organizations is going to recipients who are lawful actors, can demonstrate that they are in compliance with federal law, and can show that their mission and actions support the broader homeland security mission.”
That’s a recommendation that the federal government deny disaster aid to states that don’t support their regime (in this case, blue states.) There’s not another way to see that statement. It gets freakier. One of the compliance requirements he suggests is, “If the applicant is a state or locality, commitment by that state or locality to total information-sharing in the context of both federal law enforcement and immigration enforcement. This would include access to department of motor vehicles and voter registration databases.” (Project 2025, Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security, Ken Cuccinelli, page 170, paragraph 2.) Read that last part again. Access to the department of motor vehicles and voter registration databases.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“The Secretary should plan to quickly remove all current members of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee and replace them as quickly as is feasible.”
This is another recommendation for staffing the government entirely with loyalists to the regime.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“CBP should restart and expand use of the horseback-mounted Border Patrol. As part of this announcement, the Secretary should clear the records and personnel files of those who were falsely accused by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of whipping migrants and issue a formal apology on behalf of DHS and CBP.”
Fact check: There’s no evidence suggesting that horse-mounted border control efforts were halted because of the Del Rio incident, despite spurious headlines to the contrary.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“Direct ICE to stop ignoring criminal aliens identified through the 287(g) program.”
ICE doesn’t “ignore” criminals identified by the 287(g) program, which is a collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and state and local law enforcement agencies that allows local officials to act as immigration agents. They DO prioritize removing individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety, based on factors like the severity of their crimes. Moreover, the 287(g) program itself is a civil liberties nightmare with well-documented abuses.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.
“Eliminate T and U visas. Victimization should not be a basis for an immigration benefit. If an alien who was a trafficking or crime victim is actively and significantly cooperating with law enforcement as a witness, the S visa is already available and should be used. Pending elimination of the T and U visas, the Secretary should significantly restrict eligibility for each visa to prevent fraud.”
The elimination of T and U visas would be a huge and deliberate step back in the U.S.’s commitment to protecting human rights, particularly the rights of trafficking victims and crime victims.
Full contextual analysis of Section 2.2: Department of Homeland Security here.