DHS Seeks Volunteers From Cyber Agency to Help With Border Crisis

The Department of Homeland Security has called on the staff at its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to consider serving as volunteers at the U.S.-Mexico border to address the border crisis, The Hill reported Wednesday. 

“Our expectation, though, is that CISA would make risk-based decisions on the types of professionals they would free up for this kind of mission and balance against their day jobs and their current focus,” Kevin McAleenan, acting DHS secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, told lawmakers Wednesday at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the department’s budget request for fiscal 2020.

McAleenan stressed that he would not back efforts to deploy “critical” cyber personnel to the border. CISA Director and fellow 2019 Wash100 Award winner Christopher Krebs said at a separate House hearing that about 10 agency employees have been fielded to support border security operations, which could last for a month or up to 45 days.