Formed in 2003 in the largest government reorganization since 1947, absorbing 22 existing agencies including the Coast Guard, Secret Service, and FEMA. Its components handle most of the federal government's day-to-day contact with the traveling and immigrating public.
Open the interactive page for DHS →Created byHomeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-296 (Nov. 25, 2002); department stood up Mar. 1, 2003, absorbing 22 agencies
Head appointed6 U.S.C. § 112(a)(1): Secretary of Homeland Security appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; no fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — at will (principal executive officer)
Funded underannual Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (one of the 12 regular appropriations bills)
Congressional oversightHouse Committee on Homeland Security (with shared jurisdiction in House Judiciary, House Transportation and Infrastructure, House Ways and Means for components) · Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Secretary nominations referred there)
Inspector generalDHS OIG — PAS IG, created by Homeland Security Act of 2002 amending the Inspector General Act of 1978 (now 5 U.S.C. §§ 401–424; appointment 5 U.S.C. § 403(a))
Judicial reviewAPA suits under 5 U.S.C. §§ 702/704 in district court; immigration actions channeled through 8 U.S.C. § 1252; component-specific direct-review statutes (e.g., 49 U.S.C. § 46110 for TSA) displace the APA default
Vote for President, who sets enforcement priorities, and Congress, which funds DHS each year; comment on immigration and security rules at regulations.gov; file civil-rights complaints with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
CBP · ICE · TSA · USCIS · FEMA · USSS · CISA · USCG · full org map