ALT: a rainbow flag waving in the wind on a blue background

Members of the queer leather community talk about spending the holidays with chosen family at the latest CLAW convention in Los Angeles.

The Department of Homeland Security has eliminated policies preventing the investigation of individuals or groups solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis quietly updated its policy manual earlier this month, as first reported by Bloomberg, removing LGBTQ+ identities from the General Requirements section that prohibit surveillance based solely on immutable characteristics. The manual now states: “OSIC Personnel are prohibited from engaging in intelligence activities based solely on an individual’s or group’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, country of birth, nationality, or disability. The use of these characteristics is permitted only in combination with other information, and only where (1) intended and reasonably believed to support one or more of I&A’s national or departmental missions and (2) narrowly focused in support of that mission (or those missions).” The manual previously stated, via the internet archive: “OSIC Personnel are prohibited from engaging in intelligence activities based solely on an individual’s or group’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, **sexual orientation, gender identity,** country of birth, nationality, or disability. The use of these characteristics is permitted only in combination with other information, and only where (1) intended and reasonably believed to support one or more of I&A’s national or departmental missions and (2) narrowly focused in support of that mission (or those missions).” The changes come shortly after Donald Trump signed executive orders forcing the removal of all references to diversity, equity, and inclusion in government, as well as mandating that the federal government deny the existence of transgender people by recognizing only two sexes — male or female — despite the scientific and medical consensus that sex is a spectrum. Trump has appointed Kristi Noem, former governor of South Dakota, as the Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem has a history of targeting LGBTQ+ rights, including by signing executive orders banning transgender athletes from participating on teams that align with their identities and banning gender-affirming care for youth, though she is best known for her admission that she killed a 14-month-old puppy she deemed untrainable. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis "has a long track record of civil liberties and civil rights abuses," according to the Brennan Center for Justice, including unconstitutionally surveilling journalists and racial justice activists as well as monitoring "political views shared by millions of Americans — about topics like abortion, government, and elections — that DHS baldly asserts will lead to violence."