§124i Homeland Security Information Sharing Fellows Program

Summary

Create a fellowship run by the Secretary, through the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, called the Homeland Security Information Sharing Fellows Program. The program brings State, local, and tribal law officers and intelligence analysts into the Department to learn how the Department and other federal agencies work, to learn the Office of Intelligence and Analysis’s roles, and to help share information. Fellows act as points of contact, find relevant homeland security, terrorism, and weapons-of-mass-destruction information, and help Department analysts make and share products for local law enforcement and emergency responders. To be a fellow, a person must have homeland-security duties, be eligible for a security clearance, need access to classified information, work for an eligible entity, and complete required privacy and civil‑liberties training. Eligible entities include fusion centers, State or local agencies that serve metropolitan, suburban, or rural areas, agencies with port/border/agriculture roles, tribal authorities, and others the Secretary approves. Participation is voluntary. The Under Secretary will set nomination and selection rules, pick a wide cross-section of agencies, and limit numbers so the Office’s work is not disrupted.