Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf gave the annual 2020 State of the Homeland address this week. Wolf covered issues including COVID-19, law enforcement, immigration, terrorism, and the upcoming election.

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently granted an injunction preventing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from making asylum determinations based on “credible fear interviews.”

The White House recently announced an executive order that authorizes employers to defer the Social Security payroll tax from September 1, 2020 through the end of the year for employees who make less than $3,999 per biweekly pay period, known as a payroll tax deferral. This new order has left many agencies and employees with various questions like whether employees can opt-in or out of the program and what happens to federal employees who leave their agencies before or during the window of repayment.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule detailing their intention to modernize biometrics collection and authorize expanded use of biometrics beyond background checks to include identity verification, secure document production, and records management in a press release dated September 1, 2020.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last month in which they investigated the prevalence of time and attendance misconduct and fraud within federal agencies. The report describes what is known about the extent of time and attendance misconduct and potential fraud across the 24 agencies using reporting controls and technologies under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) to monitor employee time and attendance.

A joint advisory released by the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) as a result of a collaborative research effort by CISA’s international cybersecurity counterparts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom announced tips for recognizing malicious online activity. The advisory provides advice on how to best handle breaches in cybersecurity.

Recently passed legislation, the Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act of 2020, would improve financial assistance to families of first responders and public safety officers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A press release announcing the passage of this new law reported that the International Association of Fire Chiefs estimated that more than 13,000 firefighters and other first responders have been exposed to COVID-19 while on the job and, according to the Fraternal Order of Police, 164 police officers have died in the line of duty due to COVID-19 as of July 27, 2020.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will nominate Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chad Wolf to permanently assume the role. Wolf has been acting secretary since November of 2019, and the department has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since Kirstjen Nielsen resigned in April of 2019.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was planning on furloughing at least 13,000 employees at the end of this month due to budgetary shortfalls. On Tuesday, Joseph Edlow, the agency’s Deputy Director for Policy, announced the agency will have enough funding to maintain operations through the end of the year following Congressional pressure.

A bipartisan group of around 100 homeland and national security experts contributed to a report calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restructure and refocus its priorities. They are calling for a shift in focus to nonmilitary threats such as the global pandemic, climate change, and cyber-attacks.

Congressman Fred Keller (R-PA) recently announced the creation of the bipartisan Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Reform Caucus. The BOP Caucus is meant to improve accountability and transparency, address systemic issues within the BOP system, and ensure the health and safety of corrections officers, staff, inmates, and the communities surrounding the prisons.

On July 8, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a law enforcement initiative that combines efforts of local and federal law enforcement to combat surges of violence across America. It began in Kansas City, MO and has now expanded to several other states that have seen a recent increase of violence.

A new interim final rule by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) explains how agencies can restore annual leave for employees who are deemed essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, most federal employees can carry over 30 days of leave to the following year even if they accrue more. However, agencies can restore “use or lose” privileges in extenuating circumstances.

The Office of Personnel Management issued an interim final rule to implement the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA) amendment to the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides 12 weeks of paid parental leave to certain federal employees who are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The act covers parents who recently gave birth as well as those who are adopting or fostering a child.

In an event on August 6, the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) outlined mass public attack trends and prevention strategies from their Mass Attacks in Public Spaces-2019 report. The events highlighted changes in mass public attacks from 2018 and advised law enforcement personnel on strategies for responding to and preventing future mass public attacks.

For the first time since the scorecard’s creation, none of the 24 federal agencies reviewed through the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard received a failing grade. The scorecard requires an agency’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) to report to agency leadership and Congress on the agency’s IT modernization efforts.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released a memo to agency leaders regarding the implementation of the Trump Administration’s June executive order (EO) on reforming the federal hiring process to increase use of skills assessments and interviews with subject matter experts.

U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has received $15 million from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to update its systems relating to tracking and processing imported goods. The fund was created in 2018 through the Modernizing Government Technology Act and allows agencies to apply for funds that are to be repaid over three to five years.

In a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Financial Services and General Government, the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of the Inspector General (OPM OIG) outlined how the central management agency has failed to comply with the laws requiring OPM to provide the OIG with “timely access to agency records.”

In an announcement Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) outlined plans to resume hearings for asylum seekers under Migration Protection Protocols (MPP). Court dates have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will resume based on a combination of state and federal guidelines.