In 2009 United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appointed Kayyem Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs. As Assistant Secretary, Kayyem was responsible for coordinated and consistent planning between the Department and all of its state, local, tribal, and territorial partners on issues like immigration, intelligence sharing, military affairs, border security, and the response to operational events such as H1N1 influenza outbreak, the December 25th attempted terrorist attack, the Haiti earthquake, and the BP oil spill.
