AUCD’s Community Inclusion Team supports the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Network in partnership with the Administration for Community Living.
AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.
AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.
AUCD Emerging Leaders are a part of a community that includes trainees, early career professionals, self-advocates, and family members from AUCD member Centers and Programs.
AUCD's Disability Policy News (DPN) is a weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. DPN features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every Friday.
In this edition:
Congress has been working on passing a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In February, Congress passed appropriations legislation for all other federal agencies except for DHS, so it was funded via a short-term stopgap bill called a continuing resolution (CR). Since then, appropriators have been working on a compromise bill to satisfy both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as President Trump. You can read more about the DHS negotiations in this previous issue of Disability Policy News.
It was announced this week that Kristi Noem would be removed as Secretary and President Trump was nominating Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to be her successor. Senator Mullin will need to be confirmed by the Senate before he can become the new DHS Secretary. Noem has been the subject of intense scrutiny as Secretary, largely in reaction to the aggressive and fatal actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
The Department of Homeland Security contains many different federal agencies and programs, including CBP, ICE, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and many more. Workers under these agencies are often expected to keep working, since they are working in the service of the nation’s security, but they have been missing paychecks due to the government’s lapse in funding. People with disabilities are likely to be affected by slowed security checkpoints overseen by TSA, delayed immigration processing for immigrants with disabilities, delayed FEMA support in areas where there have been natural disasters, and gaps in accessibility and accommodations support across the agency.
In February, Congress passed appropriations bills. Appropriations means money that is set aside by Congress for a particular use. They separated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill from the five other bills in the appropriations package and made it a short-term spending bill. That new continuing resolution (short-term spending bill) funded the Department of Homeland Security until February 13. Congress couldn't agree on a funding bill in time for the February 13 deadline, so DHS shut down. This means many people in DHS stopped working and stopped getting paid. There are some people who have to keep working during a shutdown because their jobs are considered very important for the safety of the country.
Immigration police are part of DHS. Immigration is when people leave one country and come to live in another country. Immigration police have hurt many people who are against the President's immigration policies. This has happened many times and has made people all around the country very upset. When people were killed by immigration police during a protest in Minnesota, many Congressional Democrats said that because immigration police have hurt people and messed up, they should have less money and more rules. Republicans didn't agree with everything Democrats wanted to do, so they couldn't agree on what bill to pass.
The Department of Homeland Security includes many different agencies. Here are some of them and how people with disabilities might be affected while these agencies are shut down.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): They are immigration police. They are supposed to keep people out of the country who don't have the right paperwork. They have hurt a lot of people and done many things that are against the law.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): They help people when there are disasters, such as hurricanes or tornadoes.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA): They are in charge of safety and security when people travel. This includes keeping people safe at airports.
The Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services: They check and see if people can come into the country and what kind of paperwork they have. They sometimes help people become official citizens of the U.S.
People with disabilities could have a harder time getting the right accommodations when they go to the airport. They might not be able to access different services through FEMA if the agency isn't fully working. Immigrants with disabilities might have to wait longer to meet with an immigration official to get the right paperwork to stay in the U.S.
This week, President Trump fired Kristi Noem from being the Secretary of DHS. She made a lot of people mad while she was Secretary because she said what ICE and CBP were doing was ok. The President chose Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) to be the next Secretary of DHS. The Senate will have to vote to decide if Senator Mullin can be Secretary.
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
