Homeland Security: The Rise And Fall Of D. H. S.

The Department of Homeland Security was created in the aftermath of one of our nation's greatest tragedies: the events of September 11, 2001 (Newman, 2002). Almost immediately the Department began overseeing 22 federal agencies that pre-existed 9/11. The rationale for this transformation was to improve the coordination of the federal government's various security efforts both internally and externally in an effort to forestall any future terrorist threats. What has occurred, however, is a Cabinet Department that is highly bureaucratic with too many divergent responsibilities. Its effectiveness is questionable and serious consideration should be given to the abolition of the Department and its agencies reassigned to other Departments.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was formed more than a decade ago with a very significant mission of safeguarding America's homeland from hazards, threats, and national disasters. This department conducts its mission through securing the country's borders, preventing terror attacks, and responding to incidents or threats to its citizens (Miller, n.d.). Generally, the most important roles of the Department of Homeland Security are to lead a concerted national effort in securing the United States and preserving the American way of life. The department was established in 2002 in reaction to the 9/11 terror attacks and has since developed a nationwide strategic plan for evaluating and updating its mission statement and effectiveness of operations. These plans can be updated and transformed to accomplish the needs of the Department for Homeland Security and the American people.

Some responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security to insure the safety and security of America from terrorism and other major problems. The main focus of Homeland Security terrorism, border security, customs and emergency management. The major controversy of the Department of Homeland Security is terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security was established on November 25, 2002. It was created for the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

President George W. Bush, appointed Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security in the White House. The office duties are to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks. On November 2002, Congress passed the Homeland Security Act and the Department of Homeland Security became a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department. The department’s vision is to coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts. The creation of the department forms the most substantial reorganization of the federal government agencies since the National Security Acts of 1947. Ultimately this placed military departments under a secretary of defense and created the National Security Council (NSC) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Department of Homeland Security incorporates 22 government agencies that holds 179,000 people into one organization. The organization consists of five directorates: Border and Transportation Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection and Management. In regard to border and transportation security , DHS manages who and what enters into the United States to prevent the entry of terrorists and the instruments of terrorism. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency of DHS is responsible for Emergency Preparedness and

Since its inception the DHS has gone through a shift in terms of overall concepts and missions. Something had to be done to ensure the safety of American people and protecting the U.S. homeland against future terrorist attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was enacted shortly after the September 11th 2001 attacks and the creation of DHS was one of the most significant changes made by the U.S. government with a clear mission of protecting our homeland.

Only eleven days subsequently the September 11, 2001 acts of terrorism, George W. Bush, who was the president at the time, made an announcement. As reported by Elizabeth C. Borja, the announcement was that he would “…create an Office of Homeland Security in the White House and appoint Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as the director” (Borja 4). About one month after the attacks, Senator Joseph Lieberman introduced a new bill meant to establish a Department of National Homeland Security. This again followed the same recommendations of the Hart-Rudman Task Force on Homeland Security. This bill was intended to establish a Cabinet-level department and to unite certain agencies that were vital in critical infrastructure protection. Again, there were hearings held for this specific bill as well, and once more there was no action taken upon it (Borja 5).

President George W. Bush issued his Executive Order (13228) on October 8, 2001 to create the Department of Homeland Security. This department was formed by integrating and unifying twenty-two Federal agencies from nine departments; Justice, state, agriculture, commerce, defense, energy, human service, health, transportation, treasury. They also teamed with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Primarily the DHS works to safeguard the country against terrorism; foreign and domestic. This entails all twenty-two Federal agencies working together to combat future threats before they

The Acts effective date was set 60 days after the date of enactment, which established the DHS in early 2003 (H.R. Res. 5005, 2002). The newly established Department primary mission is to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce the vulnerability of the United States, and minimize damages caused by terrorist attacks (H.R. Res. 5005, 2002). Accomplishment of the mission was through coalescing 22 federal agencies together, under the management of one department. An established chain of command leaves the Secretary of the DHS, overall in charge of the whole department.

The Homeland Security Division was formed in the wake of terrorist attacks and implemented by President Bush after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. This policy was formed to place a national policy into place for Federal departments and local agencies to identify and protect the United States from additional terrorist attacks. What many don’t know is that this plan defines orders and roles for local state and governmental agencies as well, in order to carry out the goal. I will explain how six sub-groups come together to form the Department of Homeland Security’s one enterprise operation.

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, there were several changes that had to be made. Although the 9/11 attacks were a case of international terrorism, the new policies that were implemented would cover all forms of terrorism. On November 25, 2002, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established. In the book Understanding Homeland Security, the author states, “although homeland security can certainly be significantly affected by threats originating from international sources (such as al-Qaeda), the concept of defending the homeland inside its borders is at the heart of homeland security” (Martin, 2017). Since operations of DHS began, it has continuously grown in size. Today, DHS has more than 200,000 employees and is the third largest federal agency. All of these employees are working diligently each day to help ensure the safety of the United States. There will still be cases of domestic terrorism, and from each one

The United States has experienced threats against their borders, citizens and resources. After the terrorist attack of 9/11 some changes needed to be implemented to ensure the safety of America. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has the responsibility to protect the Country’s borders as well as to prepare for and respond to disasters and terrorist events. The Department of Defense has the military responsibility to protect the Country abroad. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense are America’s backbone to freedom.

A department with a task of these magnitude as keeping the country safe from natural disasters and terrorism and over 200,000 employees involved is bound to suffer some kind of criticism. The Department of Homeland Security, in this case is no exception. In an article presented by Terris, in 2007, it ranked last among 36 departments and agencies surveyed in job satisfaction. In 2008, Congress found that DHS was responsible for about $15 billion in failed contracts. And with a fiscal 2010 annual budget of about $55 billion, there were always questions about whether the money was being well spent (Terris, 2011). Because the department is so big and has a lot to cover considering its many complex arrangements it has struggled tremendously over the past couple of years in prioritizing what to focus in.

Surprisingly DHS also has other components and advantages of their mission. Author of The Homeland Security Bureaucracy Eli Lehrer explains “At the highest level of its organizational chart, DHS consist of four programs called directorates: Borders and Transportation Security (BTS); Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR); Science and Technology (S&T); Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP); and Management” (Lehrer 2). All except Management Directorates which consist of computer technology, the rest of DHS directorates programs were transmitted through other organizations (Lehrer 2). All of the program directorates that were involved in the DHS all performed various duties and were given different tasks. Furthermore, “The

The Department of Homeland Security is to protect the nation from any type of threats. Through the Department of Homeland Security are areas such as, aviation, border security, emergency response cybersecurity analyst and chemical facility inspector (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d.). Department of Homeland Security went through a complete overhaul, as a result of the September 11 terrorist attack. “…the Department of Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and created the position of Homeland Security”

The agencies that make up part of the DHS were formerly Dept. of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Justice, Transportation, and Treasury or in independent bodies were combined and reorganized in the new department. The departments were