THE SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT OF DHS GRANT FUNDING

Every year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocates billions of dollars to preserving the safety of the United States. The traditional view of homeland security suggests that fighting terrorism is the key to success, but what does DHS do to carry out its other mission areas and impact the human security of this country? How does DHS leverage these billions of dollars to impact the economic prosperity and resilience of communities? This thesis sought to determine to what extent grants administered by DHS had a socioeconomic impact on communities. It also examined whether socioeconomic vulnerability should be factored into DHS’s grant funding distribution decisions. Using a geospatial analysis of publicly available grant data and the American Community Survey, this research found that between 2011 and 2020, there were no substantial impacts on the socioeconomic demographics in areas where DHS grant-funded activities were performed. The data analysis found that, overwhelmingly, DHS obligates its non-disaster grant funds to a very small number of zip codes throughout the homeland and that most communities do not see consistent investments in their areas. Executive Order (EO) 13985 answers the question of whether DHS should consider using its grants to advance equity and access to its programs, and this research presents areas in which DHS could further the goals of this EO by implementing the use of socioeconomic indicators in the allocation of some of its programs.Civilian, Department of Homeland SecurityApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited