Department for Homeland Security to spend almost half a million on three diversity hires

Duties for the new roles, which attract six-figure salaries, include organising ‘listening sessions’

The Department of Homeland Security is to spend almost half a million on a diversity hiring blitz.
It has advertised three diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) roles each with six-figure annual salaries, totalling $486,252.
Republicans have long argued that Homeland Security officials should spend less on “woke” projects and instead concentrate on the migration crisis on the southern border.
Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2021 that forced government agencies to assess the state of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility within their workforces.
“This order establishes that it is the policy of my administration to cultivate a workforce that draws from the full diversity of the nation,” Mr Biden said at the time.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the country’s borders, has since attempted to bolster the number of officials working on diversity challenges, in an apparent response to the order.
Listings were placed on the US government’s official job for an agency-wide DEIA program manager, as well as a supervisory program manager and supervisory equal opportunity specialist for its Civil Rights and DEIA Office.
The job description says the DEIA manager will oversee the development of “content for leadership talking points”, podcasts and workshops.
Organising “listening sessions, panels, engagements” is another key part of the role, according to the listing.
A successful candidate could earn an annual salary of up to $163,252 — almost two-and-a-half times the average wage for an American, according to the Social Security Administration.
An advert for a $160,000-a-year equal opportunity specialist describes it as part of an effort to reduce barriers for disabled job-seekers.
The third $160,000-a-year role will help deliver “diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals” in the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The jobs are listed at a time when agencies belonging to the Department of Homeland Security are thought to be cash-strapped.
Fema, the disaster management agency, recently spent half of its disaster budget in just eight days supporting communities ravaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Earlier this year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was facing a $500 million blackhole before a congressional deal for more funding was reached.