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Homeland Security Mission Statement

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The mission statement for the Department of Homeland Security was developed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. It was immediately evident that our country was vulnerable to attacks from within and from outside of our borders. The White House acted quickly and within 11 days appointed Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Ridge, the first Director of Homeland Security in the White House (Homeland Security, 2015). Their mission statement is as follows: “The vision of homeland security is to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards” (Homeland Security, 2015). It is largely focused on federal preparations to deal with terrorism while trying to manage other duties including border security, customs and emergency management. …show more content…

One of the major overhauls needed in the Department of Homeland Security is immigration enforcement. A 2011 report by Matt Mayer entitled, Homeland Security 4.0: Overcoming Centralization, Complacency, and Politics compiled research by Heritage Foundation analysts and came up with key points that need to be addressed in order to make the Department of Homeland Security run more effectively. The main point of recommendation is to “adopt a fair, honest, and realistic approach to immigration enforcement that recognizes state and local authorities as responsible partners and abjures an “amnesty first” strategy, which would simply encourage more illegal border crossings and unlawful presence. Sensible and functional border security, immigration, and workplace laws are vital to focusing scarce resources on the pressing security threat posed by transnational criminal cartels based in Mexico” (Matt Mayer,

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