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Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Practical Law Glossary Item 2-506-0648 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
The federal government department responsible for the security and protection of American land, territorial waters, and people. The DHS was established in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (Nov. 25, 2002)). It was formed on March 1, 2003 by consolidating various federal departments and agencies to:
- Prevent terrorism and enhance national security interests.
- Secure and manage America's borders.
- Enforce and administer immigration laws (see Practice Notes, Hiring and Employing Foreign Nationals in the US: Overview: Principal Governmental Agencies and Demonstrating the Right to Work in the United States: Trends in Government Enforcement).
- Safeguard and secure cyberspace.
- Respond to domestic disasters.
The DHS is made up of 16 separate agencies responsible for these missions, including:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
- US Coast Guard.
- US Secret Service.
- Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
For a complete list of agencies that were merged into the DHS in 2003, see DHS: History: Who Joined DHS.