Keiko Hiromi/Polaris/Newscom

In the wake of this week’s tragic attacks, including the Boston bombing and the ricin-laced letters sent to , policymakers need to refocus on effective homeland security solutions.

The first purpose of federal government is to protect its citizens. For this reason, The Heritage Foundation has long been focused on developing homeland security policies that keep the U.S. safe and prosperous, as seen in the following reports.

Eight Heritage reports summarized on Heritage.org can serve as a guide to future reforms: Continue Reading »

Lawmakers from the northeast, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Rep. Peter King (R-NY), are accusing Congress of being “selfish” for not holding a vote on a $60 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill before lawmakers adjourned for the last time.

But as The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne reminds us, the law wasn’t really about helping the hurricane’s victims: Continue Reading »

Last week, President Obama asked Congress for $60.4 billion for Hurricane Sandy response and recovery. But where is that money actually going?

According to Heritage Foundation research, only $12 billion of the President’s request, or just 21 percent of the total, will be used directed to Hurricane Sandy response and recovery. The rest is going to fund unrelated projects.

Heritage’s Jessica Zuckerman explains where the money is actually going: Continue Reading »

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Godspeed to those who must recover and rebuild. Let us take this opportunity to be reminded that America can sustain and will thrive even after such devastation caused by Sandy.

As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast, the New York Times took the opportunity to publish an editorial politicizing the storm that caused dozens of deaths.

The Heritage Foundation’s Matt Mayer explains how the Times took advantage of this catastrophe in the Orange County Register:

In a shameless attempt to politicize Hurricane Sandy, The New York Times rushed out an editorial, “A Big Storm Requires Big Government,” attacking conservatives for advocating a rebalancing of disaster response responsibilities.

The Times says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “was put back in working order by President Obama, but ideology still blinds Republicans to its value. Many don’t like the idea of free aid for poor people, or they think people should pay for their bad decisions, which this week includes living on the East Coast.”

Mayer says this line of attack just isn’t true. Conservatives believe that FEMA has a role in responding to national catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and Hurricane Sandy. In he last twenty years, though, local natural disasters have been nationalized, spreading FEMA’s resources too thin to be fully prepared for catastrophes: Continue Reading »

The Obama administration may have been thrilled with last week’s Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare, but they evidently weren’t satisfied with the ruling earlier in the week on Arizona’s immigration law.

“Immediately after the Supreme Court issued its decision, the Obama administration did the equivalent of taking its marbles and going home,” Heritage experts Matt Mayer and John Malcolm write.

The administration responded by terminating a successful joint federal-state immigration program– which amounts to “a childish slap in the face of the Supreme Court, Arizona, and any other state that might challenge its authority.”

The administration said it will end the so-called 287(g) partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and Arizona law enforcement that allows state officers to verify the immigration status of those in their legal custody.

The Supreme Court ruled that executive priorities concerning immigration cannot trump Congressional and state policies. Yet the Obama administration persists in violating Arizona’s power to enforce a state law that is entirely in line with federal law. While the Court has affirmed that the executive branch must respect state authority, it has yet to be seen whether this administration will respect the Court’s.

What do you think of the Obama administration’s actions?

The Obama administration has been working to eliminate an effective joint state and federal program to control illegal immigration, Heritage Foundation expert Matt Mayer argues.

Since Congress created the so-called 287(g) program in 1996, 120,000 illegal immigrants have been deported under its auspices. But the executive branch has disrespected legislative authority by seeking to unilaterally end the program.

President Obama’s attempts to interfere with the program is a violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers, Mayer explains:

Congress clearly provided state and local governments with the ability to leverage Section 287(g) to enforce federal immigration law. Yet the Obama Administration has gone beyond its executive branch power to enforce the law by ending the Section 287(g) program.

287(g) allows an arresting officer, whether federal or local, to act in place of a federal immigration agent and deport the suspect. Mayer explains how important these programs have been:

Continue Reading »

FBI Badge & Gun (Wikipedia)

Since 9/11, reports of successful terrorist plots on U.S. soil are almost non-existent. That doesn’t mean they haven’t tried.

Rezwan Ferdaus’ arrest on Wednesday marks the 41st thwarted terror attack in our nation in the last decade. Of these, 29 attacks were attempted by U.S. citizens.

Heritage Foundation experts James Carafano, Matt Mayer and Jessica Zuckerman elaborate on this threat in a new report: Continue Reading »

Hurricane Irene and the recent East Coast earthquake remind us that we need to have a robust response to the most catastrophic events in our country. However, a recent report by experts in The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies notes that the federal government is now responding to a new disaster every 2.5 days.

This is the very definition of “majoring on the minors.”

Continue Reading »