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Outlet profile

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. federal executive agency (Trump administration)

Owned byOwned and operated by the U.S. federal government as a Cabinet-level executive department. It is led by Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who was confirmed 54–45 by the Senate on March 23, 2026, and reports to President Trump.
FundingU.S. taxpayers through congressional appropriations. The department reported about $646 billion in budgetary resources for fiscal year 2026, which is roughly 4% of the federal budget. Its communications are produced by government staff.
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

DHS was created by the Homeland Security Act, signed by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002, after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It merged 22 existing agencies, including ICE, CBP, FEMA, TSA, the Secret Service and the Coast Guard, and Tom Ridge was its first secretary. Its website and social media channels publish press releases, policy announcements and agency updates, and under past administrations they were generally treated as routine official government communications. In Trump's second term, DHS communications have taken a more combative, openly political tone. The department has issued lists and videos that it calls 'debunking' of 'fake news' about immigration enforcement, and it has used memes and copyrighted music in social media posts. Some artists and companies have objected to this use and asked for takedowns. Reporting also says DHS issued hundreds of administrative subpoenas seeking the identities of social media users who criticized or tracked ICE, and in at least one case it withdrew a subpoena. Several DHS statements have been disputed. These include an April 30, 2026 press release attacking federal judges that independent legal analysts and DHS's own prosecutors found materially false, and a statement on an October 2026 ICE shooting in New York that critics said it failed to support. Leadership changed in 2026: after DHS agents killed two U.S. citizens during immigration operations in Minneapolis, Trump removed Secretary Kristi Noem in March and Mullin replaced her. As an official source, DHS provides primary documents and announcements, but its characterizations of events reflect the administration's viewpoint and should be checked against independent reporting.

Sources

  1. DHS Collecting Big Tech Users' Personal Data, Issuing Subpoenas For ICE-Related Criticism (Military.com)
  2. Department of Homeland Security Withdraws Subpoena Targeting Man Who Criticized Them (ACLU)
  3. DHS Debunks Fake News Media Narratives from June (DHS)
  4. DHS Tries And Fails To Refute 'Lies' About ICE Shooting (HuffPost)
  5. Growing number of companies push back on DHS posts using their content (Scripps News)
  6. United States Department of Homeland Security (Wikipedia)
  7. History (DHS)
  8. Department of Homeland Security (USAspending.gov)
  9. Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin to be DHS secretary, replacing Kristi Noem (NBC News)
  10. Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin as next DHS secretary (CNBC)

Profile compiled 2026-10-18; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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