When and why was the Department of Homeland Security created and what law enforcement agencies are housed within it? What pros and cons can you apply to the DHS?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Congress passed the authorization of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on November 19, 2002, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers. The assigned mission of the DHS is to provide intelligence analysis and infrastructure protection, strengthen the borders, and improve the use of science and technology to counter weapons of mass destruction. The DHS should create a comprehensive response and recovery division. The DHS was combined with a number of existing agencies to create a superagency. One of those agencies is Customs and Border Protection, which is primarily responsible for protection of America's borders and ports of entry. The most visible element of CBP is the Border Patrol. Another agency tied into DHS is the Secret Service, whose main function is to protect national leaders but they also investigate the counterfeiting of US currency. There have been many other efforts to develop responses to terrorism in the US government, and the development of the DHS goes hand in hand with those functions, creating enhanced protection against newly developing kinds of crime and terrorism. Some drawbacks to this focus are that it puts extra scrutiny on innocent people and has also been accused of impeding the rights of citizens in the name of protection that might not be as effective as advertised.