United States Department of Homeland Security

United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
	Seal of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
	Flag of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
	Nebraska Avenue Complex, DHS headquarters
Agency overview
Formed	November 25, 2002
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	Nebraska Avenue Complex, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Employees	229,000 (2017)
Annual budget	$40.6 billion (2017)
Agency executives	Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary ; TBD, Deputy Secretary
Child agencies	United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Federal Emergency Management Agency; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Transportation Security Administration; United States Coast Guard (during times of peace); National Protection and Programs Directorate; United States Secret Service; Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Website
	www.dhs.gov

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), commonly known in the United States as "Homeland Security", is a Cabinet department of the U.S. federal government with the duty of protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks and helping when there is a natural disaster.

In 2002, because of the September 11 attacks in 2001, Congress passed a bill called the Homeland Security Act, which created the Department of Homeland Security. Tom Ridge was the first leader of the Department of Homeland Security. This was the biggest change to the federal government in 50 years.^[3]

United States Department Of Homeland Security Media

"The DHS March" by Capt. Lewis J. Buckley, a composition made in commemoration of the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, by the director of its premier band of the department. Played by the U.S. Coast Guard Band.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer addresses Vice President Dick Cheney (center); Saxby Chambliss (center right), a U.S. Senator from Georgia; and Michael Chertoff (far right), the second head of the DHS; in 2005
President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2004 on October 1, 2003.
U.S. CBP Office of Field Operations officer checking the authenticity of a travel document at an international airport using a stereo microscope
CBP officers going aboard a ship
Organizational chart of the Department of Homeland Security, as of October 6, 2023
July 17, 2008 organizational structure
The Homeland Security Advisory System scale
The current headquarters at St. Elizabeths West Campus