Homeland Security reassigns ‘hundreds’ of CISA cyber staffers to support Trump’s deportation crackdown

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is in the process of reallocating hundreds of its workforce across various agencies to bolster the Trump administration's extensive immigration enforcement efforts. Reports indicate that employees from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are among those being reassigned, with some facing dismissal if they do not comply. According to Bloomberg, staff members particularly from CISA's Capacity Building unit—responsible for enhancing cybersecurity for federal entities—and the Stakeholder Engagement Division—focused on fostering partnerships with global organizations—are being moved to agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Additionally, some CISA personnel have been transitioned to the Federal Protective Service, which collaborates with ICE and CBP in deportation activities. This shift occurs as the Trump administration emphasizes immigration enforcement, having secured $150 billion in taxpayer funding in July to support these initiatives. A significant portion of these resources is slated for technology use, ranging from spyware to data aggregation, aimed at tracking millions of individuals nationwide. The timing of these personnel changes raises concerns, as the U.S. is currently grappling with a surge in cyberattacks targeting both the private sector and government agencies. Recent incidents include a crime syndicate stealing sensitive data from various companies utilizing Salesforce, Russian hackers breaching the U.S. federal court system, and vulnerabilities in SharePoint that have allowed unauthorized access to several federal departments, including those overseeing national security. In response to inquiries about the reassignments, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin emphasized that the agency routinely adjusts personnel to align with mission priorities while maintaining operational continuity. She dismissed suggestions that the agency would be ill-equipped to address national threats due to these changes, although she did not clarify if the vacant roles at CISA would be filled again.