Two Questions Answered About The Department of Homeland Security

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Two Questions Answered About The Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security… We know the name, we know it’s important, but what do we really know about this?

How about we break this down into the two most burning questions:

1. What exactly does this department do?

2. What is the background on how this department was created?

So let’s dive into the complete overview of the department of homeland security.

How was the department created and what is the background?

Due to the terrorist attacks of 9/11… everyone started pondering on how this could have happened and what we could do to prevent this from happening again.

In response to this, the Bush administration proposed the Office of Homeland Security to respond to any future attacks and to keep the United States safe. Pennsylvania governor, Tom Ridge, was the the first director of this office.

In 2002, because of the large amount of agencies being pulled into this office and the Homeland Security Act, this officially became known as the Department of Homeland Security as a stand alone department in which, at that time, former governor Tom Ridge was placed as the first Secretary of the department.

There were 22 different agencies that were brought into the mix of this department.

Some of these adjusted their responsibilities to fit into this newly formed department, while other agencies ceased to exist on their own and were completely thrown into the DHS.

Some of the larger agencies that became part of this were the U.S. Customs Service from the Treasury, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the list goes on.

What is the Department of Homeland Security?

Their job to make sure that the United States is secure, safe, and resilient against hazards or terrorist attacks.

The three foundation concepts are :

• Resilience

• Customs & Exchange

• Security

The three core values are:

• Integrity

• Vigilance

• Respect

Most of the time, when people think of this branch, they go straight to the protection against terrorism, but it goes much further than that.

Some important key aspects of the department are as follows:

• Managing and Securing the Borders:
  
  They guard and watch over all points of entry to the US including land, sea, and air,  they make sure that all legal trade is safely guarded, and they will break apart any terrorist and criminal groups.

• Cyberspace Safety:
  
  This group creates responses to any online situations to make sure that our online networking systems remain safe and will send out threat warnings.

  The main goal in this area is to reduce any cyber weaknesses and look out for any potential threats.

• Strengthen Security & Prevent Terrorism:
  
  This is the main point that people know about our homeland security department.

  We know that they try to prevent any terrorist attached or any unlawful weapon usage. (This could take the form of biological, nuclear, etc)

  Basically, they want to eliminate any weaknesses we may have in our leadership, the resources we bring in, and prevent any attacks that could happen.

  The stronger that every aspect in our country is, the less likely it will be a target.

• Disaster Resilience:

  They try to make sure that in any scenario, that we are quick to recover. This could include a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, etc.

  No matter the situation, they make sure that we bounce back quickly.

  Some ways they do this is by working with rebuilding, they give grants, plans, and training to law enforcement, and they share information that would be useful to help in a disaster.

• Immigration Laws:
  
  Their goal is to identify criminal aliens who could be dangerous for our citizens safety and remove them.

  On the flip side, they help coordinate the legal immigration process.

The events that led up to the creation of the department are terrible, but it let us in a good direction to protect ourselves and taught us how important it is to have a group who has a goal of preventing these events.

Yes, the department of homeland security prevents terrorism and attacks, but as you can see from everything you’ve read, there is so much more to that.

You learn something new everyday!

Please share your comments below! We’d love to hear your opinion!

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