Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security Research Paper

Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security - Research Paper Example On November, 25 2002, the DHS was established fully after the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Reddick, 2010). The responsibilities of DHS today basically revolve around the security of the country. Securing the borders is therefore one primary role of the department and this has led to close to one million deportations of illegal immigrants per year. In addition, thousands of illegal immigrants are also deterred from crossing the borders into the country. The department also facilitates legal immigration and provides guidance to various organizations in the field concerning issues of employment in order to address illegal immigration. With respect to natural disasters, the department seeks to ensure that the country is always ready to assist communities at all stages in the event of a disaster (Logan, 2010). Organizational Design The current design of the DHS is created to ensure the best service delivery and limit any challenges that might arise as a result of a poor structure. Like other departments in the country, DHS is headed by a secretary in this case the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Secretary is appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate. Second in line is the Deputy Secretary with several Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries within different sections of the Department. Currently, DHS has a number of component agencies and divisions charged with different functions. The agencies include: Customs and Border Protection Transportation Security administration Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration and Customs Enforcement United States Coast Guard Federal Emergency Management Agency United States Secret Service In addition, the Department is further divided into nine divisions. Considering the objectives of the DHS, it is imperative to note that its structure is certainly appropriate in ensuring its core mandate. For instance to enhance the formulation of policies within the department, there is an Unde rsecretary for Policy who is charged with the duty of strengthening this important role. The structure of the organization is much â€Å"flatter† and this is a source of empowerment as agencies with overlapping missions are consolidated while the agencies can directly report to the secretary through the Deputy Secretary (Cackley, 2010). Considering that the primary recipients of the department’s services are the people of the United States, there is a lot of rationalization through the creation of a risk-based mechanism for resource allocation which is effective in responding to catastrophic terrorism. Assessment of Organizational Design In order to ensure better service delivery and address most of the challenges realized in these changing situations, it is important for the department to adopt slight modifications in its present organizational design. Presently, there is little clarity on the subject of bio-defense and cyber-defense despite these two issues becoming a major concern across the world. In line with the department’s commitment to rationalize its activities, there should be an improvement in departmental oversight through the establishment of efficient oversight committees within the department. It is further seen that the department lacks an efficient internal review mechanism to evaluate