Department of Homeland Security: Difference between revisions

{{short description|United States federal executive department}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}

{{Infobox government agency

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It began operations on March 1, 2003, after being formed as a result of the [[Homeland Security Act of 2002]], enacted in response to the [[September 11 attacks]]. With more than 240,000 employees,<ref name="dhs.gov">{{cite web|title=About DHS|url=https://www.dhs.gov/about-dhs|publisher=Homeland Security|date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> DHS is the third-largest [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] department, after the departments of [[United States Department of Defense|Defense]] and [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs|Veterans Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.napawash.org/pc_management_studies/dhs.html |title=Department of Homeland Security Executive Staffing Project |publisher=[[National Academy of Public Administration (United States)|National Academy of Public Administration]] |access-date=May 31, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100310171217/http://www.napawash.org/pc_management_studies/dhs.html |archive-date=March 10, 2010 }}</ref> [[Homeland security]] policy is coordinated at the [[White House]] by the [[United States Homeland Security Council|Homeland Security Council]]. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the departments of [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services]], [[United States Department of Justice|Justice]], and [[United States Department of Energy|Energy]].

Prior to the signing of the bill, controversy about its adoption was focused on whether the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the Central Intelligence Agency should be incorporated in part or in whole (neither was included). The bill was also controversial for the presence of unrelated "[[Rider (legislation)|riders]]", as well as for eliminating certain union-friendly [[civil service]] and labor protections for department employees. Without these protections, employees could be expeditiously reassigned or dismissed on grounds of security, incompetence or insubordination, and DHS would not be required to notify their union representatives. The plan stripped 180,000 government employees of their union rights.<ref>Chomsky, Noam (2005). ''Imperial Ambitions'', page 199. Metropolitan Books. {{ISBN|0-8050-7967-X}}.</ref> In 2002, Bush officials argued that the September 11 attacks made the proposed elimination of employee protections imperative.<ref name="barr">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021902459_pf.html Stephen Barr. "DHS Withdraws Bid to Curb Union Rights", ''The Washington Post'' page D01, February 20, 2008]. Retrieved on August 20, 2008.</ref>

[[United States Congress|Congress]] ultimately passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and President Bush signed the bill into law on November 25, 2002. It was the largest U.S. government reorganization in the 50 years since the United States Department of Defense was created.

Tom Ridge was named secretary on January 24, 2003, and began naming his chief deputies. DHS officially began operations on January 24, 2003, but most of the department's component agencies were not transferred into the new department until March 1.<ref name="hsact2002" />

After establishing the basic structure of DHS and working to integrate its components, Ridge announced his resignation on November 30, 2004, following the re-election of President Bush. Bush initially nominated former [[New York City Police Department]] commissioner [[Bernard Kerik]] as his successor, but on December 10, Kerik withdrew his nomination, citing personal reasons and saying it "would not be in the best interests" of the country for him to pursue the post.

==Function==

Whereas the Department of Defense is charged with military actions abroad, the Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_StratPlan_FINAL_spread.pdf |title=One Team, One Mission, Securing Our Homeland - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2008–2013 |publisher=DHS |access-date=July 29, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221222928/http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_StratPlan_FINAL_spread.pdf |archive-date=February 21, 2012}}</ref> On March 1, 2003, DHS absorbed the U.S. Customs Service and [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] (INS) and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies: [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] and [[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services|Citizenship and Immigration Services]]. The investigative divisions and intelligence gathering units of the INS and Customs Service were merged forming [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement#Homeland Security Investigations|Homeland Security Investigations]], the primary investigative arm of DHS. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, including the [[United States Border Patrol|U.S. Border Patrol]], the [[United States Customs Service|U.S. Customs Service]], and the [[Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service]] were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]]. The [[Federal Protective Service (United States)|Federal Protective Service]] falls under the National Protection and Programs Directorate.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

==Structure==

The Department of Homeland Security is headed by the [[United States Secretary of Homeland Security|secretary of homeland security]] with the assistance of the [[United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security|deputy secretary]]. The department contains the components listed below.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/leadership|title=Leadership|date=October 3, 2019|website=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|language=en|access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref>

In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security phased out the old Homeland Security Advisory System, replacing it with a two-level National Terrorism Advisory System. The system has two types of advisories: alerts and bulletins. NTAS bulletins permit the secretary to communicate critical terrorism information that, while not necessarily indicative of a specific threat against the United States, can reach homeland security partners or the public quickly, thereby allowing recipients to implement necessary protective measures. Alerts are issued when there is specific and credible information of a terrorist threat against the United States. Alerts have two levels: elevated and imminent. An elevated alert is issued when there is credible information about an attack but only general information about timing or a target. An Imminent Alert is issued when the threat is very specific and impending in the very near term.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

On March 12, 2002, the [[Homeland Security Advisory System]], a color-coded terrorism risk advisory scale, was created as the result of a [[Presidential Directive]] to provide a "comprehensive and effective means to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities and to the American people". Many procedures at government facilities are tied into the alert level; for example a facility may search all entering vehicles when the alert is above a certain level. Since January 2003, it has been administered in coordination with DHS; it has also been the target of frequent jokes and ridicule on the part of the administration's detractors about its ineffectiveness. After resigning, Tom Ridge said he did not always agree with the threat level adjustments pushed by other government agencies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/speech_0053.shtm |title=Remarks by Governor Ridge Announcing Homeland Security Advisory System|access-date=May 5, 2017}}</ref>

==Headquarters==

Since its inception, the department's temporary headquarters had been in Washington, D.C.'s [[Nebraska Avenue Complex]], a former naval facility. The {{convert|38|acre|ha|adj=on}} site, across from [[American University]], has 32 buildings comprising {{convert|566000|sqft|m2}} of administrative space.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/testimony/testimony_0019.shtm |title=Statement of Secretary Tom Ridge|publisher=DHS|access-date=October 31, 2007}}</ref> In early 2007, the department submitted a $4.1 billion plan to Congress to consolidate its 60-plus Washington-area offices into a single headquarters complex at the [[St. Elizabeths Hospital]] campus in [[Anacostia]], Southeast Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Losey |url=http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=2626923 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102171514/http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=2626923 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 2013 |title= Homeland Security plans move to hospital compound |publisher=Federal Times|date=March 19, 2007 |access-date=October 31, 2007}}</ref>

===Ready.gov===

Soon after formation, the department worked with the [[Ad Council]] to launch the Ready Campaign, a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural and man-made disasters. With [[pro bono]] creative support from [[the Martin Agency]] of [[Richmond, Virginia]], the campaign website "Ready.gov" and materials were conceived in March 2002 and launched in February 2003, just before the launch of the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Daniel|last=Forbes|url=http://www.antiwar.com/forbes/?articleid=2679|title=$226 Million in Govt Ads Helped Pave the Way for War|publisher=Antiwar.com|date=May 28, 2004|access-date=October 31, 2007}}</ref><ref>

{{cite web|url=http://www.oaaa.org/public/view.asp?PUBLIC_SERVICE_ID=7|title=Homeland Security: Ready.Gov|publisher=Outdoor Advertising Association of America|access-date=October 31, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017171339/http://www.oaaa.org/public/view.asp?PUBLIC_SERVICE_ID=7|archive-date=October 17, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0302/20/lad.08.html|title=CNN Live at daybreak |work=Aired February 20, 2003|publisher=CNN|access-date=October 31, 2007}}</ref> One of the first announcements that garnered widespread public attention to this campaign was one by Tom Ridge in which he stated that in the case of a chemical attack, citizens should use duct tape and plastic sheeting to build a homemade bunker, or "sheltering in place" to protect themselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ready.gov/america/other/faqs.html|title=Homeland Security Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=ready.gov |access-date=October 31, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106112543/http://www.ready.gov/america/other/faqs.html|archive-date=November 6, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/cleanair.html|title=Clean Air|publisher=ready.gov|access-date=October 31, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017014249/http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/cleanair.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007}}</ref> As a result, the sales of duct tape skyrocketed, and DHS was criticized for being too [[alarmist]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lies.com/wp/2003/02/21/are-you-readygov/|title=Are You Ready.gov?|work=February 21, 2003 |publisher=lies.com|access-date=October 31, 2007}}</ref>