The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security,roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism,border security,immigration and customs,cyber security,and disaster prevention and management.
The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security,the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the Terrorist attacks of September 11,2001.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization,charged with regulating and facilitating international trade,collecting import duties,as well as enforcing U.S. regulations,including trade,customs,and immigration. CBP is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States. It has a workforce of more than 45,600 federal agents and officers. It is headquartered in Washington,D.C.
The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is also "the federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement and security services to facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration (GSA)"—over 9,000 buildings—and their occupants.
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers serves as an interagency law enforcement training body for 105 United States government federal law enforcement agencies. The stated mission of FLETC is to "...train those who protect our homeland". Through the Rural Policing Institute (RPI) and the Office of State and Local Training,it provides tuition-free and low-cost training to state,local,campus and tribal law enforcement agencies.
Jayson P. Ahern is the former Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from February 2009 to March 2010. He was Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations from March 2003 to August 2007. He managed an operating budget of $2.2 billion and directs the activities of more than 25,000 employees,including more than 19,000 CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists,and oversees the programs and operations at 20 Field Operations offices,317 ports of entry and 14 preclearance stations in Canada and the Caribbean. He was responsible for Immigration Policy and Programs that includes all immigration issues related to the admission and exclusion of aliens as well as the Agricultural Inspection at all Ports of Entry to protect the health of U.S. plant and animal resources and the facilitation of their movement in the global market place.
Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement component within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). AMO's mission is to protect the American people and nation's critical infrastructure through the coordinated use of air and marine assets to detect,interdict and prevent acts of terrorism and the unlawful movement of people,illegal drugs,and other contraband toward or across the borders of the United States. Air and Marine Operations Agents and Officers are endowed with the authority to enforce Title 8 and Title 19 (Customs) of the United States Code in addition to the general law enforcement powers bestowed upon federal law enforcement agents.
William Ralph Basham Jr. is an American law enforcement official who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,director of the United States Secret Service,director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers,and chief of staff of the Transportation Security Administration.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS),which was dissolved by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and replaced by three components within the DHS:USCIS,Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.
Mark A. Morgan is an American law enforcement official who served as the Chief Operating Officer and acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from July 5,2019,to January 20,2021.
Chad Fredrick Wolf is an American former government official and lobbyist who was named the acting United States secretary of homeland security in November 2019. His appointment was ruled unlawful in November 2020. Wolf was also the under secretary of homeland security for strategy,policy,and plans from 2019 to 2021.
Ronald Donato Vitiello is an American government official and former U.S. Border patrol agent who served as deputy director and acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from June 30,2018 to April 12,2019. He previously served as acting deputy commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2017 to 2018 and chief of the United States Border Patrol in 2017. In 2018,U.S. president Donald Trump awarded Vitiello a Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service.
Kevin Kealoha McAleenan is an American attorney and government official who served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019.
Randolph D. "Tex" Alles is an American law enforcement officer and government official who currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management and the de facto head of the DHS Management Directorate,under the various titles of both Acting Under Secretary and Senior Official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary. He also served as the 25th Director of the United States Secret Service from April 2017 to May 2019,and previously as the acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,as well as in the United States Marine Corps,in which he reached the rank of major general.
Kirstjen Michele Nielsen is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former principal White House deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump,and was chief of staff to John F. Kelly during his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security.
In June 2020,the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests. Federal law enforcement elements were deployed under Operation Legend,Operation Diligent Valor,and the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited an executive order regarding "monuments,memorials and statues" as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states,as the federal government "has the right to enforce federal laws,investigate crimes and make arrests" within states.
Beginning in 2019,multiple appointments of acting officials in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were questioned,on the basis of whether the appointments were legal under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. After the departure of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019,the Trump administration did not formally nominate a new secretary to be confirmed by the Senate,relying on acting postings.
Troy A. Miller is an American law enforcement official who served as the Acting Commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection from 2022 to 2025,a position he previously held between January and December 2021. From December 2021 to November 2022 he served as the Deputy Commissioner.
