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The Biden administration announced on Friday a plan to identify “seven focal areas for the overall promotion of justice” within the Home Office.
Called DHS Equity Action PlanEfforts are committed to ensuring that the civil rights services within the department “have the resources they need to carry out their critical missions”.
Homeland Security Vehicle in Manhattan, New York, October 5, 2016 (iStock)
The plan has seven focus areas, all of which have been selected on the basis of feedback from “external stakeholders representing underserved communities”.
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Focus areas include applying for naturalization, access to humanitarian protection during immigration processing, bidding under DHS contracts, countering all forms of terrorism and targeted violence, filing complaints and seeking redress in DHS programs and activities, airport inspections and access to Trusted Traveler programs.
“Since January 2021, DHS has taken several significant steps to ensure that we serve society and every community throughout the country fairly,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “The DHS Equity Action Plan builds on our department’s progress in better integrating equity into DHS’s full range of activities and strengthens our commitment to continue this critical work.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mallorca testified during a Senate hearing on November 16, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacqueline Martin)
As part of the plan, DHS promised to “identify barriers that may hinder access to naturalization among underserved communities” and remove these barriers to facilitate the naturalization process. In addition, DHS said it would “expand its engagement” with small businesses owned or supported by “members of underserved communities.”
The department also said it would work to “expand gender identification options” for certain passenger programs such as TSA PreCheck.
Board of the Transportation Security Administration at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, February 25, 2015 (Andrew Harr / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
DHS said it would work to provide additional resources to “underserved communities” in an effort to “prevent the radicalization of people to violence and increase local capabilities” and to counter terrorism and targeted violence in various areas.
“Diverse communities are disproportionately affected by domestic violent extremism and targeted violence,” the DHS said in a statement.
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This move comes amid a number of issues facing the department and growing concerns among Americans about the administration’s decision to repeals Title 42 health policy. Title 42, due to expire on May 23, has given the administration the option of banning migrants from entering the country during a health crisis such as COVID-19 pandemic.
The Equality Action Plan was prompted by an executive order signed by President Biden last year to promote “justice for all, including blacks and others who have historically been underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
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