Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro N. Mayorkas is calling for expanded authority to identify and “neutralize” drones he deems to be “nefarious,” wherever they are in the U.S.
On Tuesday, DHS released video of a recent Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drone) demonstration, in which Mayorkas calls on Congress to reauthorize and expand DHS's Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) authorities. Mayorkas warns of the potential threats posed by UAS, such as when they’re used by Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers.
Mayorkas also warns about the threat of Chinese drones, but doesn’t mention any plans to address the threat of Chinese spy balloons, one of which made news as it travelled across the U.S. in February.
“Not only do we need to extend the authority under which we operate, but we also need to expand it,” Mayorkas says.
Currently, DHS’s drone-domain is limited to airports, but Mayorkas wants Congress to pass a bill (S. 1631) reauthorizing and expanding his authority – to anyplace he considers at-risk.
“They can also be used for nefarious or adverse purposes. And, we have to have to have the capability to defend against the adverse use of drones and other unmanned aircraft systems,” Mayorkas says.
The video also shows demonstrations of the potentially-nefarious drones performing various tasks. Some of the drones had, reportedly, been used by human traffickers as look-outs when sneaking people into the U.S. across the southwest border.
S.1631, the “Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act of 2023 grants authority to intercept drone communications “without prior consent”:
“[D]etect, identify, monitor, and track the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft, without prior consent, including by means of intercept or other access of a wire communication, an oral communication, or an electronic communication used to control the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft.”
It also empowers the DHS to “seize,” “confiscate,” or “exercise control of” the offending drone – and to “Use reasonable force, if necessary, to disable, damage, or destroy the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft.”
As the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) explains, the federal counter-drone authority expires in September and the Biden Administration has even bigger plans for government control of UAS:
“The current federal authority for counter-UAS comes from the 2018 Preventing Emerging Threats Act, which temporarily authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct domestic detection and mitigation activities. This authority was granted on a temporary basis, so Congress must reauthorize it periodically, and is currently set to expire in September.
“The White House has announced a domestic CUAS National Action Plan. The plan provides for eight recommendations for action:
- Work with congress to enact legislation expanding the actors with CUAS authorities
- Establish a list of US gov authorized detection equipment
- Establish oversight and enablement mechanisms to support critical infrastructure owners and operators
- Establish a national CUAS training center
- Create a federal UAS incident tracking database
- Establish a mechanism for research, development, testing, and evaluation on UAS detection and mitigation technology
- Enact, with congress, criminal statutes for legal and illegal uses
- Enhance cooperation with the international community on CUAS tech”
Currently, S. 1631 has been introduced in the Senate and has yet to be taken up by the House.