Directed Inquiry

Question: Investigate UK Home Office: Search State Department for "UK Home Office bilateral agreements homeland security immigration". Would document formal diplomatic engagement channels that bypass commercial lobbying/contracting systems. Report any findings as factual claims with dates and evidence.

Date: 2026-04-13

Research Findings

Research reveals documented formal bilateral agreements between the UK Home Office and US homeland security agencies that bypass commercial lobbying systems. The primary mechanism is the US-UK Joint Contact Group, which provides regular high-level diplomatic engagement between DHS and the UK Home Office. Key formal agreements include: (1) A New Cooperative Agreement signed March 31, 2022 between DHS Deputy Secretary John K. Tien and UK Home Office Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft, involving the UK National Cyber Security Centre; (2) A Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement concluded in December 2020 providing legal framework for information exchange on customs enforcement, trafficking, and terrorism-related activities. These arrangements establish direct diplomatic channels for cooperation on organized crime, cybersecurity, information sharing, and transnational threats, operating through formal government-to-government agreements rather than commercial contracting processes. The Joint Contact Group serves as the primary institutional mechanism, with documented meetings in November 2022 focusing on enhanced cooperation across multiple homeland security domains.

Data Collected

• Entities created: John K. Tien, Matthew Rycroft, Suella Braverman, Shabana Mahmood, UK National Cyber Security Centre, US-UK Joint Contact Group, Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA), UK-US Mutual Defence Agreement, William A. Ferrara
• Facts recorded: 9
• Connections mapped: 5
• Web sources consulted: 30

Sources

• Home Office - Wikipedia
• Home Office - GOV.UK
• UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK
• What's the U.S. equivalent to the U.K.'s Home Office? - Quora
• United Kingdom: Home Office | Refworld
• Home Office | London | Facebook
• UK Home Office - Immigration Direct
• Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) / Posts
• Readout of U.S.-U.K. Joint Contact Group | Homeland Security
• Teams - Home Office Careers
• Readout of U.S.-U.K. Joint Contact Group | Homeland Security
• International Partnerships | Homeland Security
• Readout of Deputy Secretary Tien’s Trip to the United Kingdom and Germany | Homeland Security
• Federal Register :: Implementing Bilateral and Multilateral Asylum Cooperative Agreements Under the Immigration and Nationality Act
• Secretary of Homeland Security | Homeland Security
• View Rule
• International Engagement | Homeland Security
• Archived Content
• International Partnership | Homeland Security
• Border Security & Immigration | Homeland Security
• A Diplomat's Guide to the UK-US Special Relationship
• Joint Statement on the U.S.-UK Strategic Dialogue - United States Department of State
• UK-US bilateral relationship
• UK-US bilateral relationship - The House of Commons Library
• US military forces in the UK: Legal agreements - House of Commons Library
• List of Bilateral Work Agreements and de facto Work Arrangements - United States Department of State
• Department of Homeland Security - U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom
• 22 USC Ch. 58: DIPLOMATIC SECURITY
• U.S. and UK Conclude Arrangement to Strengthen End-to-End Supply Chain Security | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• Making the U.S.-UK Special Relationship Fit for Purpose | CSIS