Homeland Security Department

The United States Coast Guard was established by act of January 28, 1915 (14 U.S.C. 1) and became a component of the Department of Transportation on April 1, 1967, pursuant to the Department of Transportation Act of October 15, 1966. Following the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, The Coast Guard was transferred from Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003 (116 Stat. 2135). The Coast Guard protects the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests in the Nation's ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region, as required, to support national security. Among its duties are: search and rescue operations in and over the high seas and navigable waters, maritime law enforcement, marine inspection and licensing, pilotage of the Great Lakes, protection of the marine environment by enforcing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, ensuring the safety and security of ports and anchorages, maintaining the management of waterways, providing navigational aids, and regulating the construction, maintenance and operation of bridges and causeways across navigable waters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. FEMA can trace its beginnings to the Congressional Act of 1803. This act, generally considered the first piece of disaster legislation, provided assistance to a New Hampshire town following an extensive fire. In the century that followed, ad hoc legislation was passed more than 100 times in response to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters. In 2001, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th focused the agency on issues of national preparedness and homeland security, and tested the agency in unprecedented ways. The agency coordinated its activities with the newly formed Office of Homeland Security, and FEMA's Office of National Preparedness was given responsibility for helping to ensure that the nation's first responders were trained and equipped to deal with weapons of mass destruction. In March 2003, FEMA joined 22 other federal agencies, programs and offices in becoming the Department of Homeland Security. The new department, headed by Secretary Tom Ridge, brought a coordinated approach to national security from emergencies and disasters - both natural and man-made. On October 4, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act. The act significantly reorganized FEMA, provided it substantial new authority to remedy gaps that became apparent in the response to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history, and included a more robust preparedness mission for FEMA.

The FLETC serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 88 Federal agencies. The FLETC also provides services to state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement agencies. The FLETC is headquartered at Glynco, Ga., near the port city of Brunswick, halfway between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. In addition to Glynco, the FLETC operates two other residential training sites in Artesia, N.M., and Charleston, S.C. The FLETC also operates a non-residential in-service re-qualification and advanced training facility in Cheltenham, Md., for use by agencies with large concentrations of personnel in the Washington, D.C., area. The FLETC has oversight and program management responsibilities at the International Law Enforcement Academies (ILEA) in Gaborone, Botswana, and Bangkok, Thailand. The FLETC also supports training at other ILEAs in Hungary and El Salvador.

The National Communications System (NCS) was originally established by Presidential Memorandum on August 21, 1963. After being transferred under the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the focus of NCS, as described by it's mission statement is as follows: "Assist the President, the National Security Staff, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in:(1) the exercise of the telecommunications functions and responsibilities, and (2) the coordination of the planning for and provision of national security and emergency preparedness communications for the Federal government under all circumstances, including crisis or emergency, attack & recovery and reconstitution.

The Secret Service protects the President and other high-level officials and investigates counterfeiting and other financial crimes, including financial institution fraud, identity theft, and computer fraud and computer-based attacks on our Nation's financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen the security of the nation’s transportation systems while ensuring the freedom of movement for people and commerce. Originally established as a subagency of the Department of Transportation, TSA was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security in March of 2003. In March 2003, TSA transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security. TSA employs a risk-based strategy to secure U.S. transportation systems, working closely with stakeholders in aviation, rail, transit, highway, and pipeline sectors, as well as the partners in the law enforcement and intelligence community. The agency will continuously set the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes, technologies and use of intelligence to drive operations.

On March 1, 2003, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially assumed responsibility for the immigration service functions of the federal government. The USCIS was formed to enhance the security and improve the efficiency of national immigration services by exclusively focusing on the administration of benefit applications. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), components within DHS, handle immigration enforcement and border security functions.[http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/]

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection was established on March 1, 2003 in the Directorate for Border and Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is responsible for guarding nearly 7,000 miles of land border the United States shares with Canada and Mexico and 2,000 miles of coastal waters surrounding the Florida peninsula and off the coast of Southern California. The agency also protects 95,000 miles of maritime border in partnership with the United States Coast Guard. CBP’s priority mission is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States and ensuring the security of our nation at America's borders and ports of entry. We must maintain this line of defense while allowing legitimate travel and trade that is vital to our economy and way of life. CBP is responsible for apprehending individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally; stemming the flow of illegal drugs and other contraband; protecting our agricultural and economic interests from harmful pests and diseases; protecting American businesses from theft of their intellectual property; and regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. trade laws. __________ Source: https://www.cbp.gov/about.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created in 2003 pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Formed by the merger of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, ICE is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. Its primary responsibility is the identification and elimination of border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security vulnerabilities.