Why the Department of Homeland Security Was Created

The Department of Homeland Security is the primary agency in the U.S. government whose mission is to prevent terrorist attacks on American soil. Homeland Security is a Cabinet-level department  that has its  origins in the nations response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when members of terrorist network al-Qaeda hijacked four American commercial airliners and intentionally crashed them into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania. Unified, Effective Response President George W. Bush  initially created Homeland Security as an office inside the White House  10 days after the terrorist attacks. Bush announced the creation of the office and his choice to lead it, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, on Sept. 21, 2001. Bush said of Ridge: He will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attacks that may come. Ridge reported directly to the president and was assigned the task of coordinating the 180,000 employees working in the nations  intelligence, defense and law  enforcement agencies to protect the homeland. Ridge described the daunting role of his agency in a 2004 interview with reporters: We have to be right a billion-plus times a year, meaning we have to make literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of decisions every year, or every day, and the terrorists only have to be right once. One lawmaker, citing the biblical story of Noah, described Ridges  monumental task as trying to build an ark after the rain has already started falling. Creation of Department Bushs creation of the White House office also marked the beginning of a debate in Congress to establish a Department of Homeland Security in the broader federal government. Bush initially resisted the idea of moving such an important responsibility into the Byzantine bureaucracy but signed onto the idea in 2002. Congress approved the creation of The Department of Homeland Security in November 2002, and Bush signed the legislation into law that same month. He also nominated Ridge to be the first-ever secretary of the department. The Senate confirmed Ridge in January 2003. 22 Agencies Absorbed Bushs intention in creating the Department of Homeland Security was to bring under one roof most  of the federal governments law-enforcement, immigration, and anti-terror-related agencies. The president moved 22 federal departments and agencies under Homeland Security, as one official told The Washington Post, so we are not doing things in stovepipes but doing it as a department. The move was portrayed at the time as the largest reorganization of the federal governments responsibilities since World War II. The 22 federal departments and agencies absorbed by  Homeland Security are: Transportation Security AdministrationCoast Guard  Federal  Emergency Management Agency  Secret Service  Customs and Border ProtectionImmigration and Customs EnforcementCitizenship and Immigration ServicesCritical Infrastructure Assurance Office of the Department of CommerceNational Communications System of the Federal Bureau of InvestigationNational Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis CenterEnergy Assurance Office of the Department of Energy  Federal Computer Incident Response Center of the General Services AdministrationFederal Protective Service  Office of Domestic PreparednessFederal Law Enforcement Training Center  Integrated Hazard Information System of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Domestic Preparedness Office of the FBIDomestic Emergency Support Team of the Department of JusticeMetropolitan Medical Response System of the Department of Health and Human ServicesNational Disaster Medical System of the Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of Emergency Preparedness and the Strategic National Stockpile of the Department of Health and Human ServicesPlum Island Animal Disease Center of Department of Agriculture Evolving Role Since 2001 The Department of Homeland Security has been called on numerous times to handle catastrophes other than those caused by terrorism. They include cyber crimes, border security and immigration, and human trafficking and natural disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The department also plans security for major public events including the Super Bowl and the presidents State of the Union Address. Controversies  and Criticism The Department of Homeland Security came under scrutiny almost from the moment it was created. It has endured stinging criticism from lawmakers, terrorism experts and the public for issuing vague and confusing alerts over the years.   Terror alerts: Its color-coded alert system, developed under Ridge, was widely ridiculed and criticized for not being more specific about how the public should respond to elevated threats. The system used five colors—green, blue, yellow, orange, and red—to inform the public in real-time about the threat of terrorism.Appearing on  The Tonight Show  with Jay Leno in November 2002, Ridge was pressed by the comedian:  Im sitting at home in my underpants watching the game and, boop, were in yellow. What do I do now?  Ridges response: Change shorts. Nonetheless, the color-coded alerts were a source of frustration among Americans who were being told  to be on alert but werent sure about what to look for.Duct tape: So, too, was the departments 2003 directive that Americans stock up on  duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal the windows and doors of their home in the event of a terrorist attack.Harold Schaitberger, general president of the  International Associatio n of Fire Fighters, told the  Chicago Tribune: Most of the suggestions, I dont believe, are effective at all in really helping to protect anyone from many of these biological and chemical threats.  I mean, duct tape and plastic? Wheres the good air coming from? Hows it going to be recirculated? Beyond the fact that we already know, for nerve gas and other elements, the plastic is totally ineffective.Quipped Leno: This means the only people who are going to survive an attack are serial killers. Who else has duct tape and plastic sheeting in their car?Going global: Homeland Security has also caused friction between the United States and some European countries for deploying about 2,000 special agents and immigration workers to more than 70 countries, as The New York Times reported in late 2017. The United States under President Donald Trump was accused of trying to export its immigration laws, the newspaper reported.Hurricane Katrina: Homeland Security came under the most intense fire, however, for its response to and handling of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the costliest natural disaster in American history. The agency was hammered for not developing a national response plan until two days after the storm hit.If our government failed so utterly in preparing for, and responding to, a disaster that had been long predicted and was imminent for days, we must wonder how much more profound the failure would be if a disaster were to take us by complete surprise, said Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who called Homeland Securitys response  alarming and unacceptable.   Department History Here is a timeline of key moments in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security: Sept. 11, 2001: Members of the terrorist network al-Qaeda, acting under the direction of Osama bin Laden, orchestrate a series of attacks on the United States after hijacking four airplanes. The attacks kill nearly 3,000 people.Sept. 22, 2001: President George W. Bush creates the Office of Homeland Security in the White House, and chooses then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to lead it.  Nov. 25, 2002: Bush signs the Congress-passed bill creating the Department of Homeland Security in the federal government. We are taking historic action to defend the United States and protect our citizens against the dangers of a new era, Bush says at the ceremony. He nominates Ridge to be secretary.Jan. 22, 2003:  The U.S. Senate, in a  unanimous, 94-0 vote, confirms Ridge as the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Bush issues a prepared statement afterward reading With todays historic vote, the Senate has demonstrated our shared commitment to doing everything we can to secure our homeland. The department initially has about 170,000 employees.Nov. 30, 2004: Ridge announces he plans to step down as secretary of Homeland Security, citing personal reasons. I just want to step back and pay a little more attention to personal matters,  he tells reporters. Ridge serves in the position through Feb. 1, 2005.Feb. 15, 2005: Michael Chertoff, a federal appeals court judge and former assistant U.S. attorney general credited with helping investigators link the terrorist attacks to al-Qaeda, takes over as the second Homeland Security secretary under Bush. He departs at the end of Bushs second term.Jan. 20, 2009: Janet Napolitano, the governor of Arizona, is tapped by incoming President Barack Obama to serve as Homeland Security secretary in his administration. She resigns in July 2013 to become the head of the University of California system after becoming embroiled in the debate over immigration; she is accused both of being too harsh in deporting those living in t he United States illegally and not acting forcefully enough to secure the nations borders.Dec. 23, 2013: Jeh Johnson, a former general counsel to the Pentagon and the Air Force, takes over as the fourth Homeland Security secretary. He serves through the remainder of Obamas tenure in the White House.Jan. 20, 2017: John F. Kelly, a retired Marine general,  and incoming President Donald Trumps pick, becomes the fifth Homeland Security secretary. He serves in the position through July 2017 until becoming chief of staff to Trump.Dec. 5, 2017: Kirstjen Nielsen, a  cybersecurity expert  who worked in the Bush administration and as a deputy to Kelly, is confirmed as Homeland Security secretary to replace her former boss. The department has grown to 240,000 employees, according to published reports. Nielsen comes under fire for enforcing Trumps policy of separating children and parents who had crossed the U.S.-Mexican border illegally. She resigns in April 2019 amid clashes with Trump that she was not being tough enough on immigration.April 8, 2019: Trump names Kevin McAleenan acting Homeland Security secretary following Nielsens resignation. As commissioner of  U.S. Customs and Border Protection,  McAleenan supported Trumps tough stance on the southern border. McAleenan was never elevated above the status of acting secretary and turns in his resignation in October 2019.