DHS Fails to Issue Public Threat Reports Since Trump's Return to Office
The Department of Homeland Security has not released a report outlining the most immediate and pressing threats to the United States since President Donald Trump assumed office for his second term. This silence has persisted throughout the ongoing joint U.S.-Israeli military operation in Iran, now entering its third week, raising significant concerns among national security professionals.
Experts Decry Lack of Communication Amid Rising Domestic Violence
National security experts have issued stark warnings regarding the department's failure to communicate potential terror threats to the American public during the Iran conflict. This period has seen several violent incidents across the nation, including an attack on a synagogue in Michigan, a shooting at a university campus in Virginia, and another shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas.
Despite these events, Homeland Security officials have not updated the National Terrorism Advisory System since last year. Furthermore, the department has not published its annual Homeland Threat Assessment report during President Trump's current administration. The most recent such report was issued under the Biden administration in 2024, as initially reported by The Washington Post.
Public Concern and Official Silence
A recent Quinnipiac University Poll indicates that 77 percent of U.S. voters believe a terrorist attack is likely in response to the military action in Iran. The DHS has stated that its officials are actively monitoring the security situation, despite the evident lack of public communication. The Independent has reached out to the department for additional comment.
Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who led the department during the Boston Marathon bombings, expressed shock at the situation. "It's shocking to me that we haven't gotten some very specific updates from DHS about the situation in the Middle East and ramifications here in the United States," Davis told the Post. "You need heightened awareness everywhere at this point in time."
Tom Warrick, a former DHS deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism policy and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, echoed this sentiment. "The silence is baffling," Warrick stated. "The fact that we're having silence after a series of terrorist attacks cries out for some updated guidance on what's going on and what people need to do."
Last Alert and Current Criticisms
The department's most recent alert on its National Terrorism Advisory System was issued in June 2025, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran. That alert warned of a heightened threat environment in the U.S. due to the conflict and expired in September 2025. It specifically noted that "the likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland."
The DHS has also faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers for allegedly prioritizing its mass deportation operations over broader national security. Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin accused the department of redeploying thousands of personnel responsible for tracking terror financing and combating cyberthreats to work on immigration sweeps instead.
In a statement to The Washington Post, DHS asserted that "Federal law enforcement continues to coordinate directly with local officials and provide critical intelligence to safeguard our nation from terrorist threats."
Controversy Over Alleged FBI Warning
Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently denied a report that the FBI had warned California police departments in February about potential Iranian retaliation using drones against the West Coast. The alleged alert, distributed in late February, indicated the FBI had "recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the U.S. conducted strikes against Iran."
Leavitt stated on social media platform X that "no such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did." This contradiction adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing debate about threat communication and national security transparency during a period of international conflict.
