Roles of Individuals in Homeland Security

Homeland Security

Roles of Individuals in Homeland Security

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Roles of Individuals in Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security was established in September of 2001 after the country was attacked by the international terrorist group, Al Qaeda. The attacks on America resulted in thousands of innocent citizen being killed and important landmarks being destroyed. Homeland Security was created to ensure America was never again vulnerable to attacks from foreign threats. The attacks on 9/11 woke the country up to the new threat they faced by terrorist groups using new technologies to conduct acts of terror against the United States. Homeland Security has a specific purpose to protect the United States against all threats domestic or foreign and to provide an effective response in the event of a disaster.

In order to keep America safe Congress and President Bush created this new department that would oversee this important mission. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for creating policies, laws, crime fighting strategies, and developing intelligence on potential domestic or foreign threats. The department is broken down into immigration and border security, cyber security, counterterrorism, and disaster response and recovery (DHS, 2015). Under these specialized areas the threats to the country are identified and addressed. Different individuals within Homeland Security play important roles that assist in keeping the country safe.

Roles in Homeland Security

Secretary of Homeland Security

On September 22, 2001 the first director of Homeland Security was appointed. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge became the first Security of the Office of Homeland Security (DHS, 2015). When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created it combined 22 different agencies including over two hundred and fifty thousand employees. The responsibility of the Secretary of DHS is to manage the 22 agencies and their different missions to ensure the country stays safe from terrorist threats and citizens do not suffer during disasters, such as the suffering seen with victims of Hurricane Katrina. A new sense of urgency has been created that will ensure when disaster occur there will be an effective response.

The Security of Homeland Security is currently Jeh Johnson. He is the fourth Secretary of Homeland Security and his responsibility is to oversee the entire department and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy. The Office of the Secretary of DHS overseas efforts to manage the borders, prevent illegal immigration, and enforce immigrations laws as well as coordinates the efforts of law enforcement at a local, states, and federal levels. The Secretary of DHS serves as a leader to oversee all efforts to protect the country and to assist in developing an effective response when threats surface.

Immigration Service Officer

One department in Homeland Security is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This department is responsible for providing for all services involving immigration into the United States. An Immigration Services Officer (ISO) is responsible for conducting interviews with immigrant seeking a green card or permanent citizenship in the United States (USCIS, 2015). People are allowed to enter the United States for many different reasons but they are limited in the time they can stay without obtaining citizenship. After a person applies for citizenship the will meet with an ISO to be assessed for their fitness to become permanent citizens.

The ISO officer will go out into the field to conduct interviews with couple getting married with one of the people being an immigrant. Immigrants can marry and become citizens but the ISO will be responsible for ensuring the couple has a true relationship or if one has been formed simply so the immigrant can stay in the country. Every potential citizen must be scrutinized to ensure they would be a good fit for the country. The ISO plays an important role in ensuring the dangerous threats are identified and refused citizenship as well as identify the individuals that deserve the benefits afforded the American citizen.

Refugee Officer

A refugee officer is an important person in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The refuge officer travels around the world interviewing people that have been displaced from their homes. These people either fled their homes because they are being persecuted by the government. People seeking asylum in America face religious, racial, or ethnic discrimination or face imminent threat to their lives. The refugee officer travels to the refugee in order to assess their eligibility for entering the country. These officers go into the field risking their lives in some cases to help refugees to be free of inhumane treatment.

The refugee officer must determine applicants' eligibility and conduct thorough security checks (USCIS, 2015). This means the refugee officer will run background checks and identify potential threats to the nation but they also identify people in the world suffering hardships and pain. The refugee officer will listen to the stories of persecution suffered by refugees seeking asylum in America but National security is also an essential part of this process. The refugee officer conducts interviews to ensure there is nothing in their background to prevent them from entering the country. These employees engage in a humanitarian effort to assist people across the globe while ensuring no threats to national security are allowed to slip into the country.

Border Patrol Agent

The U.S. Customs and Border Protections is a security agency responsible for preventing aliens from entering the country illegally through American borders. The role of the border patrol agent is to support the agencies mission to protect legal citizens from terrorism, human and drug smuggling, illegal migration and agricultural pests (USCBP, 2015). The border patrol officer patrols vulnerable areas where illegal immigrants can potentially illegally enter the country and conducts checks at legal checkpoints. These officers are responsible for identifying people attempting to smuggle in drugs or people or other contraband.

The border patrol officer is responsible for supporting the mission of USCBP which is to protect the thousands of acres of border land. Border patrol officers responsible for guarding the vulnerable area not unprotected by a border crossing conduct all types of missions to prevent thousands of illegal immigrants from entering the country every year. Border patrol officers conduct searches and all other investigations required to protect the nation from terroristic and criminal threats. They also provide aid to citizens in need.

CBP Officers

The U.S. Customs and Border Protections employ CBP Officers to inspect the tens of thousands of vehicles that enter though the many border access points in the United States. The CBP officer is responsible for conducting searches in order to identify potential terrorist threats and criminal trying to smuggle some form of illegal contraband into the country. Their job is to identify people that have an illegitimate reason for entering the country.

The CBP Officer will stop cars randomly, conduct investigations, and conduct searches. If these searches yield information the person is a potential threat to the country or has contraband they have the authority to seize these individuals and the illegal content. They are also responsible for checking passports and conducting security checks to ensure no dangerous threat slips into the country. With tens of thousands of people poring over American borders everyday this can make this mission difficult. These highly trained officers are skilled at identifying potential threats and traffickers of contraband.

FEMA Regional Coordinator

FEMA stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This agency is responsible for responding to disasters occurring in the country. The regional coordinator is responsible for bringing the different elements of the mission together to ensure its success. For example if there is a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, the FEMA coordinator is responsible for ensuring all agencies are contacted and communicate to ensures an effective response as well as leads efforts or recovery. The regional coordinator arranges the resources and funding for the mission and ensures consistent practices and procedures are applied to the response and the recovery.

The FEMA regional coordinator is responsible for establishing the communication needed to ensure information is properly disseminated throughout the disasters. Failures in communication in the past have resulted in the unnecessary suffering of victims and families. The regional coordinator ensures all safety and security practices are being applied to the recovery and will lead all efforts to plan and execute the appropriate response.

Airport TSA Officer

The airport TSA officers works for the Transportation Security Administration which is the agency tasked with screening passengers of various transportation modes and checkpoints in the United States. The airport TSA officer works in Americas airports and is responsible for screening passengers and their luggage to ensure no threats are able to get on American airline. ever since the attacks n America using airplanes from American airports the TSA officer has been an essential part of preventing further threats from getting on planes and using them as bombs to kill thousands of Americans.

The TSA officer is responsible for searching passengers and their luggage before they can enter the gates where passengers enter their planes. The airport TSA officer interviews passengers, pats down passengers, searches passenger belongings, and removes potential threats. The TSA officer will operate checkpoints within the airport as well as conduct patrol duties to ensure all passengers and visitors safety. This job is vital to the safety of this nation and in ensuring terrorists do not enter the country using this form of transportation.

Federal Security Director

The Federal Security Director (FSD) is responsible for security at the appointed transportation venue. The FSD is responsible for coordinating efforts to keep airport, train stations, and other transportation services safe. The FSD directs day to day operations, coordinates security services, and lead officers under their supervision in keeping the nation safe (TSA, 2015). The FSD implements security practices, maintains employee performance, and enhances security and screening standards to ensure terrorists or other threats are unable to cause harm. The FSD conducts risks assessments and is responsible for managing any security crisis as well as assessing security measures and maintaining the established security guidelines.

Conclusion

The Department of Homeland Security is an essential department in the government for ensuring national security and safety. Every agency within the department plays an important role in ensuring that another domestic or foreign terrorist attack never occurs and that any disaster is responded to properly. Every individual in every agency plays an important role in supporting the mission of the DHS.

References

Department of Homeland Security. (2015). Secretary Jeh Johnson. Retrieved February 20, 2015

from http://www.dhs.gov/person/jeh-johnson

Transportation Security Administration. (2015). Federal Security Director (FSD). Retrieved

February 20, 2015 from http://www.tsa.gov/careers/federal-security-director-fsd

US Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2015). Immigration Service Officer: Shahriar.

Retrieved February 20, 2015 from http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/career-

opportunities/become-uscis-employee/position-summaries/immigration-services-officer

US Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2015). Refugee Officer: Amber. Retrieved February

20, 2015 from http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/careers/refugee-officer-amber

U.S. Customs and Border Protections. (2015). Border Patrol Officer. Retrieved February 20,

2015 from http://www.cbp.gov/careers/join-cbp/which-cbp-career/cbp-officer