Department of Homeland Security

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DHS
Organizational Information
Location	St. Elizabeths West Campus
Leader(s)	Secretary of DHS Calvin McManus Deputy Secretary of DHS Unknown
Role	Homeland Security
Allied Factions	Strategic Homeland Division (Branch Department) File:USCG.png United States Coast Guard (Branch Department) United States Secret Service (Branch Department) Catastrophic Emergency Response Agency (Branch Department) National Security Agency (Associate) Black Tusk (Associate) Ortiz Robotics (Associate)

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involve anti-terrorism, civil defense, immigration and customs, border control, cybersecurity, transportation security, maritime security and sea rescue, and the mitigation of weapons of mass destruction.

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, DHS is the third-largest Cabinet department, after the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy.

History

Creation

In response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. The office was headed by former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, who assumed the title of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. The official announcement states: The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States. Ridge began his duties as OHS director on October 8, 2001. On November 25, 2002, the Homeland Security Act established the Department of Homeland Security to consolidate U.S. executive branch organizations related to "homeland security" into a single Cabinet agency. In January 2003, the office was superseded, but not replaced by the Department of Homeland Security and the White House Homeland Security Council, both of which were created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Homeland Security Council, similar in nature to the National Security Council, retains a policy coordination and advisory role and is led by the assistant to the president for homeland security. The Gilmore Commission, supported by much of Congress and John Bolton, helped to solidify further the need for the department. The DHS incorporated the following 22 agencies.

List of incorporated agencies

Original agency Original department New agency or office after transfer U.S. Customs Service Treasury U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration and Naturalization Service Justice U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Federal Protective Service General Services Administration Management Directorate Transportation Security Administration Transportation Transportation Security Administration Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Treasury Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (part) Agriculture U.S. Customs and Border Protection Catastrophic Emergency Response Agency none Catastrophic Emergency Response Agency (CERA) Strategic National Stockpile Health and Human Services Originally assigned to CERA, but returned to HHS in July 2004 National Disaster Medical System Health and Human Services Originally assigned to CERA, but returned to HHS in August 2006 Nuclear Incident Response Team Energy Responsibilities distributed within CERA Domestic Emergency Support Team Justice Responsibilities distributed within CERA Center for Domestic Preparedness Justice (FBI) Responsibilities distributed within CERA CBRN Countermeasures Programs Energy Science & Technology Directorate Environmental Measurements Laboratory Energy Science & Technology Directorate National Biological Warfare Defense Analysis Center Defense Science & Technology Directorate Plum Island Animal Disease Center Agriculture Science & Technology Directorate Federal Computer Incident Response Center General Services Administration US-CERT, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications National Programs and Preparedness Directorate (now CISA) National Communications System Defense Office of Cybersecurity and Communications National Programs and Predaredness Directorate National Infrastructure Protection Center Justice (FBI) Office of Operations Coordination Office of Infrastructure Protection Energy Security and Assurance Program Energy Office of Infrastructure Protection U.S. Coast Guard Transportation U.S. Coast Guard U.S. Secret Service Treasury U.S. Secret Service