Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (often called National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day or L.E.A.D.) is an annual observance held on January 9 to show public support and thanks for law enforcement officers at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. It is not created by an act of Congress; it was launched in 2015 by the nonprofit Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) in partnership with other law‑enforcement organizations, and is now widely observed by police groups, community organizations, and government agencies such as DHS and other federal departments.
DHS says the “approximately 80,000” law enforcement officers are spread across nine DHS agencies and offices. An official DHS data site lists these nine as:
No. The message from Secretary Noem is purely an appreciation statement: it thanks law enforcement officers, notes that DHS has over 80,000 officers and agents, encourages the public to thank them, and says that she and President Trump “will always stand with you.” It does not announce new DHS policies, funding, or operational changes, and contemporaneous DHS Law Enforcement Appreciation Day press releases likewise frame the day as recognition and gratitude rather than as a policy rollout.
By law, the Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of DHS and has authority, direction, and control over the department and its components, including federal law‑enforcement agencies housed in DHS. Under the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. § 112), the Secretary is responsible for:
The statement links support for DHS law enforcement directly to President Trump by saying, “President Trump and I will always stand with you.” This is a political framing rather than a standard, nonpartisan formula in all DHS appreciation messages: earlier DHS Law Enforcement Appreciation Day statements under Secretary Mayorkas emphasized DHS’s role as “the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government” and its partnerships, but did not tie support explicitly to the sitting president. In this 2026 context, mentioning President Trump signals that backing DHS law enforcement is being highlighted as a shared priority and policy stance of the President and the Secretary, not just a routine ceremonial note.
Public DHS documents use “law enforcement officers,” “officers,” or “officers and agents” to refer to personnel in positions that have law‑enforcement authority (such as arrest, search, or seizure powers), not all DHS employees. The DHS law‑enforcement overview and the Office of Homeland Security Statistics page both describe the ~80,000 figure as “law enforcement officers” across nine agencies and offices, indicating it is a count of sworn or law‑enforcement‑coded positions. They do not state that contractors or purely administrative staff are included, and there is no indication in DHS materials that such non‑sworn personnel are counted in this “officers and agents” total.
Yes. Beyond the kind of appreciation messages Noem issued, DHS has used Law Enforcement Appreciation Day as a point to launch or highlight specific resources or recognitions. For example, on January 9, 2024, DHS released a comprehensive Law Enforcement Resource Guide for state, local, tribal, territorial, and campus law‑enforcement partners, describing this as part of its Law Enforcement Appreciation Day activities. DHS has also produced Law Enforcement Appreciation Day videos and public communications celebrating DHS officers’ work. However, there is no standing, codified DHS program tied solely to that day; activities have mainly been annual messages, resource guides, and public recognition.