Not just ICE: Do we need DHS?

Not just ICE: Do we need DHS?
In it’s 24 year history DHS has failed to make Americans safer and has become increasingly politicized

By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published April 2, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) The shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security is stretching into its second month with no end in sight, raising the ire of critics on both the left and right, with some asking whether the department’s duties would be better handled by other government agencies.

DHS has been partially shut down since Feb. 14, but with Congress on recess until mid April, the lack of funding is poised to go on for at least a couple more weeks. The record-breaking shutdown has produced chaotic, long lines at airports, owing to the Transportation Security Administration, a division of DHS, not being paid for most of the shutdown. This has been the most public pain point, affecting the greatest number of Americans.

Considering the fact that DHS is the fourth-largest federal department and the largest department not related to the military, critics are pointing out that the shutdown seems to have had little impact on most American’s lives. President Donald Trump even felt comfortable attacking Iran alongside Israel, despite the fact that DHS — a department founded on the notion that it could protect Americans from terrorism — was not operating beyond its essential capacity.

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David Perry, a University of Minnesota historian who has previously advocated for entirely dismantling the department, told Salon in an interview that he thinks this shutdown should serve as an opportunity to rethink whether the country even needs DHS.

“We have to start pressuring people right now,” Perry said. “Put bureaucracy with bureaucracy, put enforcement with enforcement, separate the [Federal Emergency Management Agency] and give it independence again. That’s three bullet points. I would like to see those three bullet points in the party platform. I think we can do it.” ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/02/not-just-ice-do-we-need-dhs/