Integration of the Department of Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is a department that protects the nation against terrorist attacks by coordinating the nation’s defense forces. It provides citizenship and immigration services. This department is mainly composed of these organizations:
- U.S. Citizenship and immigration services (USCIS): is the government agency that oversees legal immigration to the United States. Some of its services are: Citizenship (including the corresponding naturalization process), Immigration of family members, Work in the United States, Verification of a person’s legal right to work in the United States (E-Verify), Humanitarian programs, adoptions, civic integration and genealogy.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): An investigative and immigration enforcement organization within the former U.S. Customs Service and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. Composed of the Office of Detention and Removal, Office of Homeland Security Investigations, Office of Management and Administration, Office of Chief Counsel and Office of Professional Responsibility.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP): Its primary mission is to keep terrorists and their weapons out of the United States. It is also responsible for securing and facilitating trade and tourism while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and narcotics laws.
CBP protects U.S. borders against terrorism, illegal human and narcotics trafficking, illegal immigration, and agricultural pests while simultaneously facilitating the legitimate flow of tourism and commerce.
Juliana Montealegre