# DHS Revises AI Oversight Directive

DHS revised Directive 139-08, retaining restrictions on certain AI uses, including specified surveillance uses, while authorizing the department’s Chief AI Officer to waive directive requirements when exceptions remain consistent with applicable law, regulation, and governmentwide policy. The revision also adds expectations for sharing and publishing AI assets, reusing models across missions, prioritizing U.S.-developed or produced AI where practicable, and applying human oversight to high-impact AI. It creates no specific solicitation or award, but the policy may shape future DHS AI system designs and acquisition requirements. The signals cite ICE’s **$125 million** surveillance-services award to Thomson Reuters Special Services as an example of the policy’s practical procurement relevance.

- Contractors pursuing DHS AI work should assess how the revised directive’s waiver authority, use-case documentation, asset-sharing expectations, and human-oversight provisions affect proposed system designs and supporting documentation.
- The emphasis on sharing and reuse may favor solutions that can be adapted across missions; companies should evaluate how their models and AI assets could support that approach while accounting for the directive’s restrictions.
- The ICE award is an existing example, not a newly announced opportunity. The signals provide no new solicitation, award timetable, or proposal deadline.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology, Public Safety
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence, Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** October 22, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

### Vendors
- Thomson Reuters Special Services (awardee)
- CACI (surveillance system development contractor)

### Sources
- [Policy Change Lets DHS CAIO Waive AI Limits – MeriTalk](https://www.meritalk.com/articles/policy-change-lets-dhs-caio-waive-ai-limits) - MeriTalk
- [What’s new in Homeland Security’s updated AI policy | FedScoop](https://fedscoop.com/dhs-ai-policy-updates) - FedScoop