Joseph V. Cuffari

Cuffari was born in 1959 in Philadelphia.[1] He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1977, immediately after graduating high school. He served over 40 years in the Air Force including service on active duty, in the Air Force Reserve, and in the Arizona Air National Guard.[2] In 1984, he received a B.S. degree in business administration and management information systems from the University of Arizona.[1][2] While on active duty he rose to hold leadership positions in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.[2]

During 1993–2013 he worked for the Department of Justice, culminating in an assignment as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Office of the Inspector General in Tucson, Arizona.[2] He received a M.A. in management from Webster University in 1995, and a Ph.D. in philosophy or some other discipline from California Coast University in 2002, an online for-profit university that at the time was unaccredited. In 2004, two years after Cuffari received the degree, the Government Accountability Office prominently featured California Coast University in a report on unaccredited “diploma mills” that required no classroom instruction and issued degrees for low flat fees [1][3]. During this time he also worked for the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General.[1][2]

He then served as policy advisor for Military and Veterans Affairs for Governors Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey of Arizona.[2]

On July 25, 2019, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General.[2] Upon being confirmed he pledged to continue unannounced inspections of immigration detention facilities.[4]