Homeland Security Newswire

The Iran War Is Highlighting—and Expanding—Authoritarian Collaboration

Guest Writer — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:02:07 +0000

4/23/26

IRAN WAR

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The Iran war appears no closer to ending, despite a ceasefire and ongoing negotiations, and Tehran seems emboldened by these developments. Part of Iran’s calculus may be that it can take advantage of the leverage it has over the global economy—demonstrated by its ability to close the Strait of Hormuz—and effectively outlast the White House’s economic pain threshold.

Asylum-Seekers Could Lose Right to Work Under Proposed Trump Administration Rules

Guest Writer — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:49:08 +0000

4/23/26

IMMIGRATION

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Amal Khalifa “felt human” for the first time after she fled Egypt in 2019 for the United States and found kind treatment from police when she reported being a victim of domestic violence.

“When I walked into that precinct I felt like a human being for the first time in my whole life,” Khalifa said. “I like the system here — it is there to help the people.”

AI Has Crossed a Threshold – What Claude Mythos Means for the Future of Cybersecurity

Guest Writer — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:46:48 +0000

4/23/26

AI & CYBERSECURITY

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The limit of what artificial intelligence can achieve, known as frontier AI, has crossed another threshold. AI can now plan and execute sophisticated cyber operations with minimal guidance at speeds far beyond human capability.

The Counterterrorism Czar Without a Counterterrorism Plan

Guest Writer — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:46:43 +0000

4/22/26

COUNTERTERRORISM

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Reporting Highlights
● Rising Threats: After the Trump administration’s attack on Iran, experts say, threats of extremist violence are likely to rise in the U.S.

● Missing Plan: In office for more than a year, counterterrorism chief Sebastian Gorka has yet to issue a blueprint to combat threats.

● Killing Machine: Gorka boasts of the U.S. killing hundreds of jihadists, but experts say his claims are overstatedor hard to verify.

Golden Dome's $185 Billion Price Tag Faces Uncertain Funding

Guest Writer — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:44:22 +0000

4/22/26

GOLDEN DOME

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The general leading President Donald Trump’s ambitious Golden Dome missile shield said a key part of the program, with uncertain costs, could be scrapped in favor of lower-cost options as lawmakers turn their focus to the president’s proposed $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget for 2027.

Exhaustion and Endurance: Contrasting US–Russian Defense Industrial Resilience and Lessons for India

Guest Writer — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:42:26 +0000

4/22/26

DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE

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This Issue Brief is third in the series highlighting the lessons of war in the context of defense industries.

U.S. Government Ramps Up Mass Surveillance with Help of AI Tech, Data Brokers – and Your Apps and Devices

Guest Writer — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:40:34 +0000

4/22/26

SURVEILLANCE

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On a Saturday morning, you head to the hardware store. Your neighbors’ Ring cameras film your walk to the car. Your car’s sensors, cameras and microphones record your speed, how you drive, where you’re going, who’s with you, what you say, and biological metrics such as facial expression, weight and heart rate.

Ballots Become Battlegrounds for Voting Rules, Redistricting, Election Power

Guest Writer — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:38:49 +0000

4/22/26

DEMOCRACY WATCH

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More than a third of state ballot measures that voters will be asked to consider this year relate to democracy, with questions on voting rights, election processes, redistricting and similar issues.

“It’s the redistricting fights that are really getting heated after the Trump administration began pressuring Republican-led states to shore up the GOP majority in Congress in preparation for the midterm election,” said Quentin Savwoir, director of programs and strategy at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a progressive policy organization that tracks ballot initiatives.

The F-35 Is a Masterpiece Built for the Wrong War | Palantir’s Role in Immigration Crackdown | The Aides Keeping the President in the Dark, and more

Staff — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:32:07 +0000

4/22/26

OUR PICKS

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U.S. Abruptly Rescinds Subpoenas It Had Just Issued in John Brennan Inquiry (Charlie Savage, New York Times)
The reversal came after the Justice Department replaced a career prosecutor with a loyalist to President Trump in the administration’s effort to charge the former C.I.A. chief with a

The Strongman Era Has Peaked | Israel’s Open-Ended Wars Have Eroded Its Security | China Doesn’t Always Win When the U.S. Loses, and more

Staff — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:31:41 +0000

4/22/26

WORLD ROUNDUP

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Trump’s Statements on Iran Increasingly Contradict Each Other (Natalie Allison, Isaac Arnsdorf and Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post)
The president has made conflicting comments on questions both large and small related to the war.