Department of Homeland Security

Homeland Insecurity: Empty Seats at Agency Dealing With Overcrowding at the Border

Trump pushed out DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and her deputy in April, and named Kevin McAleenan acting secretary

The agency in charge of dealing with overcrowded conditions at migrant facilities near the southern border is severely understaffed at the leadership level, NBC News reports.

The president has demanded the Department of Homeland Security contain the surge of immigrants at the border and deport millions who are in the country illegally. But he has failed to staff the highest levels of the agency and its departments, which include Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Homeland Security now has the lowest percentage of Senate-confirmed presidential appointments of any agency in the federal government, according to data from the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks key executive branch nominations.

Only 41 percent of the top jobs at the agency are filled by personnel confirmed by the Senate, the group's data shows. That's down from 56 percent in March. Among the positions with no nominees are the two top jobs at the agency: secretary and deputy secretary.

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