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Chaos inside DHS as agents ‘don’t know what they’re doing’ and deportations have taken from core functions

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Cite

Lubin, R. (2026, November 6). Chaos inside DHS as agents ‘don’t know what they’re doing’ and deportations have taken from core functions. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/dhs-chaos-agents-deporations-miles-taylor-b3080709.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-11-06 · by Rhian Lubin

Quick Summary

Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has criticized the current administration's immigration policies, claiming federal agents are overwhelmed and unsure of their duties. Taylor asserts that DHS resources were redirected from critical functions such as terrorism prevention to focus on mass deportations, leading to a loss of trust in the department. He cites specific examples like the detention of an asylum-seeker at San Francisco International Airport to illustrate how ICE is misallocating its efforts. Republicans have allocated about $75 billion for new hires and facilities, but Taylor warns that rebuilding DHS's credibility could take decades.
Written by AI on 2026-11-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of November 6, 2026, Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief of staff who previously criticized President Donald Trump’s administration in an op-ed, has stated that federal immigration agents are "don't know what they're doing." Taylor claims that efforts to meet President Trump's deportation targets, set at removing 1 million people annually by his deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, have caused DHS to divert resources from critical units focused on terrorism, trafficking, and child abuse. This shift has resulted in chaos within the department, according to Taylor, who notes that it could take "a generation for people to trust the department again" due to recent chaotic years under Trump where deportation surges led to the killings of American citizens.

Written for “Chaos Inside DHS” on 2026-11-07, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Chaos Inside DHS
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the situation at DHS - one about hiring lawyers to investigate and the other about operational chaos within the department.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3951 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rhian Lubin
57 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 With the ouster of chief of staff Susie Wiles, Miller - a man whose uncle has publicly told of his “dismay and horror” over his nephew’s ideology that some have labeled “Nazi” or xenophobic - has been elevated to an even more powerful position in the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
🔮 Taylor claimed that after the last two chaotic years under Trump, where deportation surges have resulted in the killings of American citizens, it would “take a generation for people to trust the department again.”
🔮 Democrats have formed trifectas in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, meaning that come January, the party will control the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.
🔮 Some Democrats in swing states, though, didn’t want Ocasio-Cortez to appear with them over concern that her progressive brand could be too divisive for undecided voters.
🔮 In another Senate race where votes are still being counted – Mississippi – Democrats believe they could be on course for at least one last major upset, with candidate Scott Colom in with a chance of unseating GOP incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the traditionally deep red southern state.
🔮 He warned the effects of the midterm results would be felt for years to come.
🔮 Overall, Democrats will need to flip four Senate seats and three House seats to gain the majority.
🔮 Republicans are bracing for a tough night ahead as it appears the president could be on track to lose major gains he made with two key groups of voters in 2024 - young people and Latinos, Politico reports.
🔮 Election officials in Westchester County, New York, said they were aware of problems with voting scanners - and ballots not being scanned properly - and assured the public that every vote would be counted. But Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, seized on the social media post of a voter in Westchester County - where Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler in a tight race against Democrat Cait Conley in New York’s 17th Congressional District race - and used it to cast doubt on election integrity.
🔮 She will get punished plenty,” another lawmaker told the outlet.
Also by Rhian Lubin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 57 articles by Rhian Lubin →

Topics

Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement Republican

Subjects

Taylor PERSON · 8× Trump PERSON · 6× Homeland Security ORG · 4× ICE ORG · 3× Republican NORP · 3× American NORP · 1× Department of Homeland Security ORG · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Immigration and Customs Enforcement ORG · 1× Miles Taylor PERSON · 1×

Narrative

They don’t know what they’re doing.” In order to meet Trump’s deportation targets of removing 1 million people a year - a goal set by his deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller - Homeland Security diverted resources from units working on tackling terrorism, trafficking, and child abuse to focus on arresting illegal immigrants instead.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-06
🔮 Taylor claimed that after the last two chaotic years under Trump, where deportation surges have resulted in the killings of American citizens, it would “take a generation for people to trust the department again.”

Claims (18 extracted, 0 hedged)

A former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff has claimed that federal immigration agents “don’t know what they’re doing” and “should be focusing on real criminals.” asserted
they → claim → criminals
Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the department who blew the whistle on President Donald Trump’s first administration in a tell-all op-ed, criticized the administration’s sweeping immigration operation that has seen thousands of federal agents reassigned from normal duties to agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. asserted
thousands → blow → Enforcement
Taylor claimed that after the last two chaotic years under Trump, where deportation surges have resulted in the killings of American citizens, it would “take a generation for people to trust the department again.” asserted
people → claim → department
“Those agents need to be out there investigating spies, terrorists, pedophile rings,” Taylor said in a Thursday interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo. asserted
Taylor → need → Cuomo
“The agents themselves will confess to people like me. asserted
agents → confess → me
They don’t know what they’re doing.” In order to meet Trump’s deportation targets of removing 1 million people a year - a goal set by his deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller - Homeland Security diverted resources from units working on tackling terrorism, trafficking, and child abuse to focus on arresting illegal immigrants instead. asserted
Security → know → immigrants
Republicans also gave ICE about $75 billion to hire new agents and create new detention facilities in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Trump signed last year. asserted
Trump → give → Bill
Taylor cited a recent case of a 23-year-old Colombian asylum-seeker detained by ICE at San Francisco International Airport as he waited to catch a flight to Oregon on vacation. asserted
he → cite → vacation
“This isn’t what they should be doing,” Taylor said. asserted
Taylor → do → what
“They should be focusing on real criminals.” asserted
They → focus → criminals
“At this point, I think the trust is so bad at DHS, you almost have to tear the department down to the studs and rebuild it,” he added The Independent has contacted Homeland Security for comment. asserted
Independent → think → comment
Following the Republican wipeout in the midterm elections, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin vowed, “Deportations will continue” in a social media post. asserted
Deportations → follow → post
“365 days per year, the hardworking men and women of ICE law enforcement are targeting and arresting criminal illegal aliens to make America safe again—this includes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Election Day,” he followed up in another post. asserted
he → target → post
Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem, was severely mocked for a post on Election Day where she claimed, “We were too successful the first year of the Trump administration” as Republican losses came in thick and fast. asserted
losses → mock → administration
“I’ve worked with every U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. asserted
I → work → Security
You were, by a wide margin, the worst,” Taylor replied to Noem on X. Taylor, a veteran of multiple Republican administrations, was targeted by Trump last year and accused of “espionage and treason” for writing a tell-all book about his time in the first administration. asserted
Taylor → reply → administration
Taylor wrote that Trump posed a serious risk to national security during his first term and was an even bigger threat to democracy if he were reelected. asserted
he → write → democracy
The White House accused Taylor of publishing “falsehoods and fabricated stories.” asserted
House → accuse → falsehoods
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