Over 400 workers at the Department of Homeland Security were let go by the Trump administration, affecting organizations like USCIS, FEMA, and CISA. As part of a government workforce reduction strategy, the terminations targeted probationary non-mission critical individuals.
As part of a larger effort to reduce the government workforce, the Donald Trump administration on Friday fired more than 400 workers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS officials told CBS News that hundreds of workers were let go from a number of agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is in charge of the nation’s immigration system.
The terminations are also affected by saying“non-mission critical personnel in probationary status” according to the report.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated in a statement to CBS News
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer,”.
The staff cuts will save around $50 million and be “incredibly valuable” to the administration’s objective of lowering bureaucratic barriers, McLaughlin said.
The agency is “actively identifying additional unnecessary positions and offices that do not support DHS’ mission,” according to McLaughlin.
Over 200 employees have been let off from FEMA, the country’s disaster relief organization. These reductions follow DHS’s announcement earlier this week that four FEMA personnel will be let go for making incorrect payments to reimburse New York City for migrant-related lodging expenditures.
The transactions, which were part of a regular reimbursement scheme meant to offset expenditures linked with the rise in migration along the southern border, were allegedly authorized by the employees by circumventing agency leadership, according to the report.
Nearly 50 employees of USCIS, the organization in charge of handling a variety of immigration benefit applications, including those for citizenship, green cards, asylum, and work permits, are among those being laid off. Ten workers from DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate have also been laid go.
