Department of Homeland Security in the United States

The Department of Homeland Security leads the uni?ed national effort to secure
America. It will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond
to threats and hazards to the Nation. The Department will ensure safe and secure
borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free ?ow of
commerce.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established by the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 note). The Department came into existence on
January 24, 2003, and is administered under the supervision and direction of the
Secretary of Homeland Security.

Office of the Secretary

Secretary

The Secretary is charged with developing and coordinating a
comprehensive national strategy to strengthen the United States against
terrorist threats or attacks. In ful?lling this effort, the Secretary will advise the
President on strengthening U.S. borders, providing for intelligence analysis and
infrastructure protection, improving the use of science and technology to counter
weapons of mass destruction, and creating a comprehensive response and
recovery division.

The Office of the Secretary oversees activities with other Federal, State,
local, and private entities as part of a collaborative effort to strengthen our
borders, provide for intelligence analysis and infrastructure protection, improve
the use of science and technology to counter weapons of mass destruction,
and to a comprehensive response and recovery system. Within the Office, there are multiple of?ces that contribute to the overall homeland security mission.

Directorates

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for leading the effort to prepare the Nation for all hazards and effectively manage Federal
response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates
proactive mitigation activities, trains ?rst responders, and manages the National
Flood Insurance Program.

Management Directorate

The Directorate for Management is responsible for budget, appropriations,
expenditure of funds, accounting and ?nance; procurement; human
resources and personnel; information technology systems; facilities, property,
equipment, and other material resources; and identi?cation and tracking of performance measurements relating to the responsibilities of the Department.

The Directorate for Management ensures that the Department’s employees
have well-de?ned responsibilities and that managers and their employees have
effective means of communicating with one another, with other governmental and nongovernmental bodies, and with the public they serve.

National Protection and Programs
Directorate

The Directorate for National Protection and Programs safeguards our critical information
systems, borders, seaports, bridges, and highways by working with State, local,
and private sector partners to identify threats, determine vulnerabilities, and
target resources toward the greatest risks. Its functions include strengthening
national risk management efforts for critical infrastructure and de?ning and
advancing homeland security protectioninitiatives.

Policy Directorate

The Policy Directorate develops and integrates policies, planning, and programs in order
to better coordinate the Department’s prevention, protection, response, and
recovery missions. It is also responsible for coordinating departmentwide policies,
programs, and planning; developing and communicating policies across multiple
components of the homeland security network; and providing the basis and
direction for departmentwide strategic planning and budget priorities.

Science and Technology Directorate

The Directorate for Science and Technology is the primary research and
development arm of the Department. The Directorate provides Federal, State, and
local of?cials with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland. Its
strategic objectives are to develop and deploy systems to prevent, detect, and
mitigate the consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and
explosive attacks; develop equipment, protocols, and training procedures for
response to and recovery from those attacks; enhance the Department’s and
other Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies’ technical capabilities to ful?ll
their homeland security-related functions; and develop technical standards and
establish certi?ed laboratories to evaluate homeland security and emergency
responder technologies for SAFETY Act certi?cation.

Components

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is responsible for the administration
of immigration and naturalization adjudication functions and establishing
immigration policies and priorities.

Citizenship and Immigration Services
Ombudsman

The Ombudsman provides recommendations for resolving individual and employer problems with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to ensure national security and the integrity of the legal immigration system, increase
ef?ciencies in administering citizenship and immigration services, and improve
customer service.

Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

The Office provides legal and policy advice to Department leadership on
civil rights and civil liberties issues, investigates and resolves complaints,
and provides leadership to DHS Equal Employment Opportunity Programs.

Introduction to Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an executive department of the United States federal government, created by law in November 2002 and officially established in January 2003. The department’s mission is to help prevent terrorist attacks in the United States, reduce the country’s vulnerability to terrorism, and assist in recovery after an attack. The department was created in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (see September 11 Attacks) as a way to oversee and coordinate security functions previously performed by dozens of different government agencies.” (1)

Department of Homeland Security Background

Department of Homeland Security

In Legislation

Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Code: Title 6, Chapter 1, Subchapter I

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating department of homeland security are compiled in the United States Code under Title 6, Chapter 1, Subchapter I. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Domestic Security (including department of homeland security) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Homeland Security of the US Code, including department of homeland security) by chapter and subchapter.

Department of Homeland Security

In Legislation

Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Code: Title 5, Part III, Subpart I, Chapter 97

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating department of homeland security are compiled in the United States Code under Title 5, Part III, Subpart I, Chapter 97. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Government Employees (including department of homeland security) of the United States. The readers can further narrow their legal research on the topic by chapter and subchapter.

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Department of Homeland Security in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Department of Homeland Security

In this Section

Federal Departments, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense (including Department of Defense Purpose, Department of Defense Organization, Department of Defense Liaison of Command and Department of Defense Supporting Agencies), Department of Education, Department of Energy

(including Department of Energy Purpose, Department of Energy Organization and Department of Energy Research and Development), Department of Health and Human Services (including Department of Health and Human Services History and Department of Health and Human Services Agencies and Services), Department of Homeland Security (including Department of Homeland Security Organization and Functions, Department of Homeland Security Origins and Department of Homeland Security Supporting Agencies), Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice (including Department of Justice Functions, Department of Justice Structure and Department of Justice Associated Agencies), Department of Labor, Department of National Defence, Department of State (including Department of State Administration and Department of State Bureaus), Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, Department of the Interior (including Department of the Interior Functions and Department of the Interior Principal Agencies), Department of the Navy, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs (including the Department of Veterans Affairs Service Categories, Department of Veterans Affairs Benefits Available and GI Bill of Rights) and Department of War.