Department of Homeland Security

In November 2022, we conducted unannounced inspections of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, specifically two U.S. Border Patrol facilities in the El Paso sector and one Office of Field Operations (OFO) port of entry (POE) in El Paso, Texas.

Through the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (REPP) and the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Technological Hazards Division (THD) has taken appropriate actions during fiscal years 2018 through 2021 to assist state...

During our unannounced inspection of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Caroline Detention Facility (Caroline) in Bowling Green, Virginia, we found that Caroline complied with standards for classification, segregation, use of force, recreation, and facility conditions. We also found...

The Department of Homeland Security has limited ability to track migrants’ post-release addresses accurately and effectively. U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) cannot always obtain and does not always record migrant addresses, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not always validate...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not effectively manage International Mail Facility (IMF) operations. Specifically, CBP did not ensure prompt resolution of serious issues, including critical maintenance and life safety deficiencies, at six IMFs. Additionally, CBP paid for unusable space...

The United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard) has a process to enroll vessels in the Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R). However, the Coast Guard cannot demonstrate that the oversight functions it uses ensure SIP-enrolled vessels remain in...

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not implement effective technical controls to protect the sensitive information processed by the selected High Value Asset (HVA) system. In our review and testing of this HVA, we identified security deficiencies in 8 of 10 security and privacy...

Components within the Department of Homeland Security protect High Value Asset (HVA) systems with security and privacy controls designed to keep sensitive information safe. We determined that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implemented most security and privacy controls tested for the...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not always implement effective internal controls to provide oversight of COVID-19 Funeral Assistance. FEMA’s funeral assistance program greatly expanded the universe of reimbursable expenses for deaths related to COVID-19, even beyond those...