Law

After the terrorist September 11th 2001 attacks in the United States, the federal government took pragmatic steps aimed at strengthening the security of the nation by enacting a legislation that brought together all the departments that were concerned with the security matters under a single department. The Department of Homeland Security was formed from an Executive Order that was issued by the president and the department has been mandated with the security concerns of the American people through an enhanced surveillance at the border points and in the mainland.

Introduction
Following the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, the Congress considered it important to enhance the security of American borders in an effort to prevent futuristic attacks. Prior to this, border security was distributed among the various fragmented federal departments. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 brought together various federal agencies concerned with the securing of the American borders under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Many of the agencies had been under the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (BTS) whose responsibilities included securing borders territorial waters terminals waterways and air, land, and sea transportation systems of the United States and managing the nations ports of entry. Only the United States Coast Guards remained to be a unique and separate division in the DHS.

This paper shall however focus on the three agencies that are involved in the Homeland Security excluding the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Historical background of the Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was put in place by an executive order from President Bush following the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States. The DHS being an executive Department has the duty to ensure the protection and security of the American homeland. It has the fundamental mission of ensuring prevention against terrorist attacks, working to reduce the susceptibility to terrorist activities in the United States, and reducing the disastrous impacts from potential terrorist invasion and natural calamities. The department in its inception unified the previously detached non-military government agencies which served various functions to enhance the security of the American citizens.

The Border and Transportation Security division forms the larger part of the DHS and comprises of the Transportation Security Administration, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. The Emergency Preparedness and Response division comprising of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Strategic National Stockpile and the National Disaster Medical System functions to oversee training and coordination of the government response to calamities. The Science and Technology division incorporates the Environmental Measurements Laboratory conducts research, intelligence, and technological innovations in an effort to secure the American borders (Koestler-Grack, 2007). The Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection division provides analysis of intelligence and information that may involve intimidations to the security of America and also engages in the evaluation of the susceptibilities in the security infrastructure. Other agencies including the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services have been incorporated as part of the DHS.

The DHS was put in place by the Department of Homeland Security Act of 2002 and is regarded as having developed from the Home of Homeland Security which was set up by President Bush after the September 11th attacks. There was a general consensus in the Congress for the need for a federal department which would unite the diversified and often overlapping functions of the federal departments prompted the White House to propose for the DHS in mid 2002 which was legislated towards the end of the same year. More than twenty agencies which were initially incorporated within various departments including Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Justice, Transportation, and Treasury or in independent bodies were brought together and rearranged in the newly created department. It is argued that the formation of the Department of Homeland Security can be regarded as having involved the greatest restructuring of any executive branch of the American government with the exception of the Defense Department in the late 1940s.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) brought together all the former agencies which were concerned with border law enforcements to come up with a single administrative unit. This meant that all the employees from various units including the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Border Patrol, the Customs Service, and the Department of Agriculture were to be absorbed by the CBP. The CBP has its mission aimed at the protection of the United States. Under its mission, the CBP has to ensure that entrance of terrorists and terrorist weapons to the U.S is prevented the borders and ports of entry to America are protected illegal immigrants are apprehended flow of illegal drugs is controlled and that the economic and agricultural welfare of the American people is protected. In quest to carry out its mission, the CBP has maintained two goals which include legitimization of trade and travel and observation of security measures.

The United States Border Patrol (USBP) which is a constituent of the CBP is concerned with the enforcement of the immigration laws and other federal legislations at the borders. Presently, the USPB is regarded as the uniformed law enforcement arm of the DHS with the fundamental function of detecting and preventing entrance of terrorists, dangerous weaponry, and illegal immigrants into the United States. It also serves to interdict those smuggling drugs into the US as well as other criminals who want to enter the US. The USBP engages in the patrol of over 8000 mile international border covering the Mexican border, the Canadian border, and the coastal waters around Florida and Puerto Rico.

At the entrance ports, the CBP officials are required to carry out immigrations, customs and agricultural check ups. The scheme that was dubbed one face at the border has prompted the cross-training of the CBPs officials so as to enable them carry out all the three forms of inspections in an effort to restructure the process of crossing the borders. With such an initiative, the inspection process is unified which provides a single inspector to those immigrating to the United States who is to determine whether the aliens are to be presented to an advanced examination or not.

The CBP employees carry out the immigration laws through the examination and verification of the travel documents of those foreign individuals coming to the United States to make sure that such individuals are legally qualified to gain entrance to the United States. Regarding the customs, the CBP employees make sure that any imported andor exported commodities are in compliant with the United States laws and requirement. They are also responsible for the collection and protection of the American revenues, and offer protection against the smuggling of contraband. The CBP also conducts agricultural scrutiny at various ports of entry in an effort to implement the animal and plant protection legislations. For effective functioning, the CBP officials enjoy a wide range of powers to carry out inspections on all individuals, vehicles, transferences, commodities, and luggage which enters the US from another country.

An effort by the US Customs agents led to the arrest of Ahmed Ressam near the US-Canadian border while he was attempting to gain entrance to the United States at Port Angels, Washington. His rented vehicle was found to have carried items that could be used to make explosives. This prompted the FBI and the Immigration Naturalization Service to initiate a proactive measure in interviewing all those who could have useful information to give insight in the ongoing investigations. Several individuals were later detained relating to Ressams arrest.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has played a vital role in the enhancement of the Homeland security issues. This has been achieved through keeping of the criminal justice community ahead of the organized criminal activities and threats to homeland security. The FDLE has approximately 2,000 employees statewide working in the departments seven Regional Operations Centers, 15 Field Offices and 7 Crime laboratories. The FDLEs mission is To promote public safety and strengthen domestic security by providing services in partnership with local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes while protecting Floridas citizens and visitors.

The Office of Statewide Intelligence (OSI) works to allow the FDLE to exploit special agents and analysts undercover potentials in an effort to enhance the awareness of criminal gangs so as to be in a position to develop schemes that would stop, interrupt andor dismantle such gangs in the most successful manner. The FDLE formed the OSI in the year 1996 with the specific objective of addressing the need for a preventive policy to the varying criminality within the state. The data and intelligence from the OSI aids in ensuring that FDLE exploratory resources are geared towards the emergent crime scenarios together with those criminal activities that pose great danger to the state of Florida.

OSI has the fundamental function to provide a plan, direction, analysis, report and evaluate the FDLE intelligence reports. It forms the core of the Florida Fusion Center which forms the states focal point for the local, state, as well as the federal intelligence exchange regarding various criminal activities. OSI also serves to aid other plans by the FDLE through the coordination and unification of intelligence procedures for the department. OSI comprises of focus teams whereby each team is required to interact with the area intelligence units together with other agencies in monitoring issues that could impact on the state. These teams include Florida Investigative Support Center (FISC) Collection and Development Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Center (CTIC) Financial Crimes Analysis Center (FCAC) Research and Analysis Unit (RAU) Focus Area InspectorsAgents and Regional Intelligence Agents.

The Regional Intelligence Agents works as intelligence connections from the respective region to the Florida Fusion center (FFC) and OSI. These agencies function to maintain awareness of crimes and their tendencies in the focal particular areas which include Pensacola Region Tallahassee Region Jacksonville Region Tampa Bay Region Orlando Region Fort Myers Region and Miami Region. It is the duty of OSI to compile reports on the assessments of criminal data from all these regions which are then sent back to be utilized in the field for determination of criminal matters and deployment of FDLE resources.

The Fusion Centers which were established after the September 11th attacks had the purpose of influencing the most excellent information distribution practices. They also aimed at sharing of technologies and analytical resources in the production of intelligence that could be acted upon. The Florida Fusion Center (FFC) is regarded as an important part of the OSI. It comprises of the FDLE members, Federal agencies, state multi-disciplinary partners and includes outreach to private sector entities, (Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 2010, para 25). The FFT, like any other Fusion Center, functions as the States node providing connection and intelligence distribution to all the Regional Fusion Centers. Its mission is to offer protection to the people and their valuables together with the crucial infrastructures found in Florida.

In the wake of the anthrax threat from terrorists in the year 2001, the FDLE issued precautionary measures that needed to be observed by the public to avoid the anthrax scare. According to the FDLE, suspicious mail for anthrax was identified as having the following characteristics having come from a foreign country, bearing excessive postage, having misspelled words, had strange odor, had stains on the wrapping, was addressed to a title or company position only, and had no return address among other features. All this was meant to protect the public from the terrorist threat of spreading anthrax.

Seattle Police and Homeland Security
The mission of Seattle police is to Prevent Crime, Enforce the Law  Support Quality Public Safety by Delivering Respectful, Professional,  Dependable Police Services. The port of Seattle Police Department comprises of patrolling division and the administrative division. The Seattle police engage in the provision of law enforcement duties within its jurisdiction which include the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and some parts of the surrounding suburban and business properties. The police also undertake patrolling missions on most parts of Seattle waterfront and Elliott Bay. Due to the location of the Seattle port which serves as an entry point to the United States, the Seattle police on many occasions work closely with DHS. This is achieved through the relationships that exist between the Seattle police and the Office of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs, U.S Coast Guard, and the Transportation and Security Administration.

The Washington Joint Analytical Center (WAJAC) which as advanced by the Governors Committee on Terrorism (COT) subcommittee of Intelligence was meant to bring together all the efforts in law enforcement in preventing crime and possible attacks from terrorists. WAJAC has its offices located at the FBI Seattle field office. Owing to the restrictions in the federal grant, the Seattle Police Department had to move its department concerned with homeland security matters to a loaned office space at the FBI building which is just adjacent to the WAJAC. This is because the limited funds from the Urban Area Security Initiative from which Seattle and King Counties funds their program cannot be used up on real estate. The Seattle Police Department is determined to establish an independent city fusion at the center. Though this move was contested by some quarters at first who cited the pride of the Seattle Police Department, they had no alternative due to the limited funding that was available. However, the relocation of the homeland security division of the Seattle Police Division has been seen as a welcome move because of the scenario that it has presented. The relocation to the FBI building can be seen as bringing the federal, state and city agents under the same building which is an advantage as they are able to enhance cooperation and increased sharing of vital security information. It has to be noted that the building houses the FBIs Seattle Field Office, the Washington State Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the regional FBI Field Intelligence Group (FIG) in addition to the Homeland Security department of the Seattle Police Division.

The Seattle police have conducted various arrests related to the terrorist activities which include the arrest of Ahmed Ressam who is an Algerian born terrorist suspect. He was arrested in December of 1999, carrying explosives in his car and in possession of a fake Canadian passport. The arrest of Ressam was in conjunction with the customs agents at the border point who raised the alarm when Ressam looked suspicious and wanted to escape.

The core values of Saint Leo University (SLU) include excellence, community, respect, personal development, responsible stewardship and integrity. The three agencies discussed above have shared values with the Saint Leo University such as integrity, community, excellence and respect. The three agencies are determined to carry out their duties while observing the stated values. The Seattle police for instance have built community relationship and treats people with respect and dignity while carrying out its duties. Community aspect is well depicted in the since that each of the agency incorporates other agencies in implementation of its duties.

Conclusion
The premise on which the DHS functions is reinforced by the Presidents priority in ensuring the safety of the American people. Every president of the United States has the duty to lay commitment to ensure that the United States lives to its actual values and ideals while at the same time ensuring the protection of the American citizens. The mission of the federal, state and local agencies all converge on the principle of enhancing security of the United States. The American leaders are therefore faced with the noble duty of ensuring the security of the nation in the wake of the new security challenges of the 21st century. This includes prevention of the terrorist threats amongst others preparation and having a plan for crisis and also putting substantial investments in response and recovery capabilities of the nation. The federal governments often work in conjunction with the state and local governments during the mitigation, preventive, and responsive missions. The private sector is also not left out as it is usually brought on board during such missions.