USCIS requests a Federal Bureau of lnvestigation (FBI) Name Check on individuals ages 14 to 79 who apply for certain immigration benefits that permit an extended or permanent stay in the United States. The FBI Name Check is performed for USCIS to determine whether records exist that might render the individual ineligible for the requested immigration benefit. The FBI Name Check is conducted on the individual’s legal name and, in some cases, the individual’s aliases. Applicable information found in the FBI’s Name Check search is forwarded to USCIS in the form of a Letterhead Memorandum (LHM). USCIS reviews the information in the LHM to determine whether the information impacts eligibility for the benefit sought. The LHM may include information
useful to develop interview questions or request additional information from the individual.

Document Archive

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, FBI Name Check Analyses and Recommendations, 2008 [46 Pages, 1.8MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/dhs/HSSCCG-08-F-00668.pdf

The post U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, FBI Name Check Analyses and Recommendations, 2008 first appeared on The Black Vault.

The Top Officials Exercise (TOPOFF) is a congressionally mandated biennial cycle of seminars, planning events, and national exercises designed to strengthen the Unites States’ capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from large scale terrorist attacks. Every two years, the cycle culminates in an exercise that simulates a coordinated terrorist attack involving biological, chemical, radiological, or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The exercises seek to draw the participation of top officials and key personnel from all levels of government who have domestic response and consequence management roles and responsibilities in actual terrorist events. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP) sponsors the TOPOFF series plus manages the design, planning, conduct, and evaluation of the exercises.

TOPOFF 2

Top Officials 2 (TOPOFF 2) was a Congressionally-mandated, national terrorism exercise that was designed to identify vulnerabilities in the nation’s domestic incident management capability by exercising the plans, policies, procedures, systems, and facilities of federal, state, and local response organizations against a series of integrated terrorist threats and acts in separate regions of the country.

TOPOFF 2 was the largest and most comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever conducted in the United States.  The exercise scenario, which was played out from May 12 to May 16, 2003, depicted a fictitious, foreign terrorist organization that detonated a simulated radiological dispersal device (RDD) in Seattle, Washington, and released the Pneumonic Plague (Yersinia pestis) in several Chicago metropolitan area locations.  There was also significant pre-exercise intelligence play, a cyber-attack, and credible terrorism threats against other locations.  The exercise brought together top government officials from 25 federal, state, and local agencies and departments, and the Canadian Government to test the domestic incident management in response to WMD terrorist attacks in the United States.

Document Archive

 Top Officials (TOPOFF) Exercise Series, TOPOFF 2 (T2) After Action Report, September 30, 2003 [437 Pages, 92.4MB]

TOPOFF 3

The TOPOFF 3 full scale exercise, conducted from April 4–8, 2005, was the third in the series, and by any measure the most ambitious civilian terrorism response exercise ever conducted. The design incorporated many more elements, roles, and participants than in previous exercises and the extent of play involved new challenges. For example, the recently released National Response Plan (NRP) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) were used as both the framework and approach for response and incident management. For the first time, pre-exercise intelligence play was also added. In addition, the exercise sought to synchronize national goals and objectives, improve international coordination and cooperation during a linked terrorist incident response, and assess as well as strengthen government, nongovernment, and private sector partnerships in response to WMD incidents.

TOPOFF 3  involved a biological attack in New Jersey and a chemical attack in Connecticut. Over 20,000 participants were involved representing more than 250 federal, state, and local agencies, private businesses, volunteer groups, and international organizations. Canada and the United Kingdom joined the simulation as international partners that conducted simultaneous, related exercises in concert with U.S. efforts. DOS took the lead in organizing the international component by managing the interface among the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The benefit of international participation in the TOPOFF exercises cannot be overstated. The United Kingdom’s efficient response and management of the London subway bombing of July 2005 were due in part to the lessons learned from their participation in TOPOFF 3.

Document Archive

 Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3) Full Scale Exercise After-Action Report, April 4-10, 2005 [398 Pages, 84.2MB]

TOPOFF 4

TOPOFF 4 involved over 23,000 participants from Federal, international, State, territorial, regional, tribal, local, volunteer, and private sector organizations. TOPOFF 4 was conducted from October 15-24, 2007, and simulated Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), or “dirty bomb” attacks in the Territory of Guam, Portland, Oregon, and Phoenix, Arizona. The scenario simulated casualties and widespread contamination, and although real weapons were not used, the response was mounted as if they had been. Three international partners participated in TOPOFF 4: Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. As in previous TOPOFF exercises, S/CT managed the international aspects of the exercise, which focused on crisis management, information sharing, consular operations, and public messaging. International activities focused on border issues, commercial aviation to and from the United States, and U.S. acceptance of international offers of assistance. Teams from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom deployed to exercise locations to assist their citizens, and to interact with local and Federal authorities. In Washington DC, DOS activated an Exercise Task Force and participated in high level meetings with other Department and Agency decision-makers. In addition, DOS deployed a representative to the Joint Field Office in Portland to coordinate with the international teams and domestic interagency responders. American Embassies in Canberra, Ottawa and London convened Emergency Action Committees and worked closely with host governments and the DOS Task Force.

Document Archive

 TOPOFF 4 Evaluation Handbook [30 Pages, 3.8MB]

 T4 Command Post Exercise After-Action Report, June 19-22, 2006 [180 Pages, 40.3MB]

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Background

The Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) mission is to equip the Homeland Security Enterprise with the intelligence and information it needs to keep the homeland safe, secure, and resilient.

I&A’s mission is supported by four strategic goals:

• Promote Understanding of Threats Through Intelligence Analysis
• Collect Information and Intelligence Pertinent to Homeland Security
• Share Information Necessary for Action
• Manage Intelligence for the Homeland Security Enterprise

Analysis

Our analysis is guided by our Program of Analysis (POA), an assessment of key analytic issues, framed as key intelligence questions (KIQ). These KIQs are shaped by customer needs, Administration and Departmental leadership priorities, and resources. Our KIQs are organized by time frame.

• Immediate and Ongoing Threat KIQs focus on short term or operational issues such as imminent terrorist threats to the homeland. Production that addresses these threats provides the Administration and DHS leadership with the intelligence analysis to better inform near-term operational decision to increase the nation’s security.
• Strategic Context KIQs focus on providing context, trend, or pattern analysis. Production that addresses these KIQs helps our customers understand recent threats in a broader, global, or historical perspective and they shape strategies to combat the threats or address gaps in homeland security. These would include, for example, how the evolving cartel-related violence in Mexico compares to past cartel wars or how threats to our national infrastructure are changing.
• Opportunity KIQs focus on emerging issues or topics for which reporting streams are new or fragmentary; for example, these KIQs may describe the kinds of polices or activities that have been effective in combating newly emerging threats.

As might be expected of an intelligence element supporting a Cabinet-level Department, about half of our KIQs in the POA focus on providing intelligence to respond to the strategic needs of our customers. This is followed by our focus on immediate and ongoing threat. About 10 percent of our focus is on identifying new topics and issues that could impact the Department and its customers.

Below you will find records associated with the DHS/I&A and the reports they produce.

Document Archive

 2015: IA-0000-15 Report List Index (2015) [118 Pages, 4.2MB]

 2013-2014: IA-0000-13 or IA-0000-14 Report List Index (2013-2014) [118 Pages, 10.1MB]

The post Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of lntelligence and Analysis (I&A) Reports first appeared on The Black Vault.

The Canadian activist group Adbusters initiated the protest, which has led to Occupy protests and movements around the world. The main issues are social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the perceived undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. The OWS slogan, We are the 99%, addresses the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. To achieve their goals, protesters act on consensus-based decision made in general assemblies which emphasize direct action over petitioning authorities for redress.

Protesters were forced out of Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011. After several unsuccessful attempts to re-occupy the original location, protesters turned their focus to occupying banks, corporate headquarters, board meetings, college and university campuses.

Department of Homeland Security Released Documents on Occupy Wall Street – Release #1 [398 Pages, 20.81 MB]

Department of Homeland Security Released Documents on Occupy Wall Street – Release #2 [335 Pages, 14.71 MB]

The post Occupy Wall Street first appeared on The Black Vault.

Analysis of the Homeland Security Act [16 Pages]

The National Strategy For Homeland Security: Office of Homeland Security [90 Pages]

President’s Homeland Security Department Proposal [35 Pages]

The post Homeland Security first appeared on The Black Vault.