Internal Audit Warns DHS Lacks Longterm Approach to Combat Domestic Terrorism

An internal watchdog report says that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is falling behind on tackling domestic terrorism.

An audit by the Department’s inspector general said DHS could do more to address domestic terror threats across the country and it highlighted critical shortcomings in department operations undermining that work.

“Given the current concern about domestic terrorism and the country’s ongoing vulnerability to violent acts and destruction of critical infrastructure, the Department should strengthen its efforts to counter the threat of domestic terrorism,” DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari wrote in the report released June 5.

The audit found that National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) is irregular and out of date. The system, designed to warn governments, businesses, and the public about terrorism threats, has been understaffed and underutilized.

NTAS is designed to disseminate alerts, containing specific warnings about terrorist threats, and bulletins, communicating critical but more general terrorism information.

Between December 2015 and February 2022, DHS did not issue a single NTAS alert related to domestic terrorism. DHS did issue or update 17 bulletins, but the audit found that those bulletins were problematic and often untimely: by the time DHS released a bulletin warning about a heightened threat of domestic terrorism following the last presidential inauguration, three weeks had passed sincce the Jan 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

According to the report, the Department of Homeland Security originally developed a set of department-level goals that centered domestic terrorism in 2019. When the department hit structural roadblocks it needed to overcome to complete the goals in the report, many did not come together.

Ultimately, DHS completed only 28 percent of milestone actions prescribed from the department’s implementation plan that were due by the end of 2020.

The report blames this failing on the lack of a staffed governing body within DHS dedicated to overseeing and coordinating domestic terrorism efforts.

In 2021, DHS reviewed the 2019 framework and reworked it, identifying 117 action items to help “close the gap” in counterterrorism. More than half were marked as “needing immediate attention.”

“Without a cohesive long-term approach to countering domestic terrorism, DHS may not be able to proactively prevent and protect the Nation from this evolving threat,” Cuffari wrote.

What Comes Next?

The department’s inspector general made six recommendations to improve work countering domestic terrorism:

• • That DHS offices and management work with the Counterterrorism Coordinator to perform a department needs assessment focused on domestic terrorism;
  • That a governing body with a formal charter be established to coordinate work countering domestic terrorism along with specific systems for monitoring progress and processing feedback on counter terrorism actions;
  • That DHS work with the FBI, the Attorney General and congressional committees to make sure that DHS has—and shares—access to domestic terrorism information across federal departments;
  • Further, that DHS collaborate with other agencies to collect data and documents that may contribute or inform developing national statistics on terrorism or target violence;
  • That DHS’ Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis create and share national statistics on domestic terrorism within the department; and,
  • That DHS up staff and resources per the needs assessment to support the underused National Terrorism Advisory System.

Department management agreed with each of the report’s recommendations. The response set timelines for implementing each recommendation, with the latest predicted completion date in June 2023.

The full report can be read here.

Audrey Nielsen is a TCR Justice Reporting intern.