Department of Homeland Security DHS
The Department of Homeland Security has a vital mission: to secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, and our goal is clear - keeping America safe.
At a glance
- Operator
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Access
- Public
- Last updated
Contact
- Commercial
- 202-282-8000
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. Cabinet department responsible for securing the nation from terrorism, natural disasters, and other threats — spanning border and transportation security, immigration enforcement, cybersecurity, and disaster response. It is a general-purpose federal department rather than a dedicated logistics system; its relevance to military and federal logisticians is mostly indirect, through component agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.
What it is
DHS is the third-largest U.S. Cabinet department, created to unify federal homeland-security functions after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It brings together 22 components under a single department, organized into operational components (executing specific missions), support components (supporting the department and operational components), and offices within the Office of the Secretary (policy and department-wide leadership).
Who operates it
DHS is led by the Secretary of Homeland Security, a Cabinet-level position. Its operational components include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Secret Service, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, among others.
Access
dhs.gov is a public website; no account or credential is required to browse departmental information, news, and public guidance. Some component systems reachable through DHS (e.g., CBP trade/travel systems, USCIS case portals) have their own separate account requirements, which are out of scope of the department's general public site.
History & lineage
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was signed into law on November 25, 2002. DHS began operations under its first Secretary, Tom Ridge, on January 24, 2003, and the transfer of component agencies into the new department was substantially complete by March 1, 2003.
Related systems
For federal/military logisticians, DHS's practical relevance runs through its components rather than the department itself — most notably the U.S. Coast Guard, which participates in Department of Defense logistics and sustainment activities despite sitting administratively inside DHS rather than DoD. CBP and TSA also intersect with supply-chain and cargo-security processes at ports of entry.