5 DHS opportunities in the president’s proposed budget

By Tom O’Keefe, consultant

One of the few civilian agencies that likely won’t have its budget cut is the Department of Homeland Security. What’s less clear is exactly how the funding breaks down for DHS components.

The Trump administration’s plan to direct more funds to Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement by heavily reducing the budgets of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration are likely non-starters for congressional appropriators.

However, looking at the FY17 budget amendment and the FY18 budget request, we can get an idea of where some additional technology opportunities might appear at the department. The FY17 budget amendment requests $3 billion extra for DHS, with a third of that going to CBP to begin construction of the border wall. The FY18 “skinny” budget has a few more clues for where we might see increased investment at DHS:

• Border security and situational awareness: There’s an additional $200 million in the request for border security technology deployments, which could include sensors, video cameras and other networked devices. There’s an additional $107 million to enhance situational awareness and other technology enhancements that can boost the effectiveness of border security operations. If you sell GIS technologies or other mobility solutions, you might find some additional opportunity at CBP.

• Detention centers: There’s also going to be additional spending for ICE, particularly in the ramp up of systems to support additional detention centers, as well as an expansion of the number of ICE agents. If you sell on a license-based model, there could be some additional opportunity at ICE as well.

• Infrastructure: Enhanced usage of the E-verify platform means that there might be needs for expanded infrastructure to support an uptick in requests to verify employment status.

• Analytics: Cuts to the National Flood Insurance Program, run by FEMA, could push the agency toward broader adoption of analytics technologies.

• Cybersecurity: DHS is still getting $1.5 billion to support cybersecurity operations, much of which will be focused on expanding protection of the .gov domain via the Einstein program, as well as continued support for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program.

While the specific funding breakdown is very much still up in the air, don’t expect much shift in DHS’ priorities. Cybersecurity, big data and infrastructure investments will continue at the agency, and while funding still might be tied up due to the continuing resolution, these technology priorities will see investment at some point this year.

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Looking for more guidance on the president’s budget proposal? Reach out to immixGroup’s Market Intelligence team.