The Office of Homeland Security Statistics is a new federal statistical agency that represents the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a department with multiple mission areas and information domains. It uses components' administrative and operational data as inputs to provide analysis, modeling, and reporting. In support of the establishment of this office, researchers developed a detailed logic model and an organizational design framework.

Advancing Transparency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Defining the Office of Homeland Security Statistics

John Bordeaux, Joshua Simulcik, Laura Bellows, Raymond Kuo, John S. Hollywood, Michelle D. Ziegler, Ryan Consaul, David Stebbins, Erin N. Leidy, Karishma R. Mehta, et al.

ResearchPublished Dec 11, 2024

Because the last time a federal statistical agency (FSA) was established in the United States was in 1991, few people have firsthand knowledge of successful approaches for establishing one. In addition, legal and technical landscapes have shifted considerably since then. Each FSA adapts to the needs of its parent agency and must build on statutory language, executive guidance, and public works to shape an activity that both serves the federal agency's need for information for improved decisionmaking and represents the public's interest in providing transparency into the parent agency.

Although this report represents the Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) as starting from scratch, the office's leadership, staff, and resources are drawn from the erstwhile Office of Immigration Statistics. OHSS expands into multiple information domains, representing operational and administrative data from across all U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components and serving as an independent recognized statistical agency or unit (RSAU) under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center was tasked to assist the executive director of OHSS in operationalizing the delegation of authority. Researchers undertook this task by reviewing literature and practices, interviewing other FSAs' principals and other subject-matter experts and stakeholders, drafting frameworks, hosting a workshop, participating in a conference, and delivering synthesized findings and recommendations.

Key Findings

  • There is an inherent tension for an FSA in operating as the department statistical office while maintaining its independence from its parent agency, but there are also specific organizational behaviors and protocols that can provide that independence to maintain public trust.
  • The federal statistical system is working to balance the need for transparent government data with protecting individual privacy. Statistical data are inherently designed to be unidentifiable—or, if they are identifiable, they must be protected. Either option ensures that personal information is obscured from public view. Importantly, identifiable statistical data cannot be used for operational purposes (e.g., benefit consideration, law enforcement). Although the primary guidance comes from the Privacy Act and emphasizes the importance of privacy, it does not focus solely on avoiding the identification of individuals. Instead, it underscores that privacy is a central concern while leaving the broader definition of statistical purpose open to interpretation.
  • OHSS faces challenges that are unique, not encountered by existing RSAUs. It will not capture data directly but rather will develop statistical products informed by both administrative and operational data from among DHS components, crossing multiple domains aligned with the DHS mission set. OHSS needs to coordinate with DHS component statistical offices; establish productive relationships; and, finally, develop guidance, standard operating procedures, and protocols to scaffold these relationships and therefore ensure continued success under future leadership. OHSS will provide both decision support and public reporting. Finally, OHSS is starting from scratch as the first new FSA in more than a generation.

Recommendations

  • Develop and promulgate the following mission statement: “Foster transparency and data-driven homeland security decision-making by analyzing and disseminating timely, objective DHS data and statistics.”
  • Adopt the following strategic pillars and objectives detailed herein to communicate OHSS's approach to its mission and how to measure its success: Maintain the official DHS statistical system of record; provide statistical data services to mature departmental statistical activities; and produce independent reports as an RSAU.
  • Follow up on implementation tasks and implied policy guidance aligned with the target operating model.
  • Develop policy guidance to define authorities and responsibilities that components will regain.
  • Develop policy guidance to address data standardization and analytic modeling and visualization for consistent data representation.
  • Establish OHSS role and responsibilities by mapping OHSS leadership positions and managerial roles to specific authorities and requirements; developing end-to-end mapping of OHSS's assets, information flows, and decision processes; establishing measurable lines of effort outlining OHSS's role in enabling component data analysis and reporting; and drafting standard operating procedures for data requests to ensure compliance with legal reporting requirements.
  • Partner with the chief data officer.
  • Support evidence-based policymaking.
  • Advise on statistical policies and procedures by developing policy for independent report clearance, review, and release; establishing a directive outlining the scope for component review of OHSS products; and establishing a structure for communicating data governance approaches from DHS policy offices.
  • Ensure statistical confidentiality by verifying that information is used exclusively for statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality and prepare required annual reports to OMB.

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Document Details

  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2024
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 114
  • Paperback Price: $40.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 1-9774-1425-7
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA2444-1
  • Document Number: RR-A2444-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Bordeaux, John, Joshua Simulcik, Laura Bellows, Raymond Kuo, John S. Hollywood, Michelle D. Ziegler, Ryan Consaul, David Stebbins, Erin N. Leidy, Karishma R. Mehta, Jo Caulkins, and Nancy Huerta, Advancing Transparency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Defining the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, RAND Corporation, RR-A2444-1, 2024. As of April 8, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2444-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Bordeaux, John, Joshua Simulcik, Laura Bellows, Raymond Kuo, John S. Hollywood, Michelle D. Ziegler, Ryan Consaul, David Stebbins, Erin N. Leidy, Karishma R. Mehta, Jo Caulkins, and Nancy Huerta, Advancing Transparency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Defining the Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2444-1.html. Also available in print form.
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This research was sponsored by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics and conducted in the Infrastructure, Immigration, and Security Operations Program of the RAND Homeland Security Research Division.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

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