Introduction to the Issue
Homeland security is an American security department mandated to ensure that the public and everyone in U.S. jurisdiction is safe, resilient, and secure against any form of harassment, terrorism, or other natural hazards that the American residents are prone to (Morag, 2018). This department is aimed at protecting the aspirations and the interests of Americans. Having assured security is every person’s interest and aspiration since any other thing is possible with safety. People can engage in different human activities comfortably when safeguarded. Investment is another aspect that the security of a nation can influence. In this case, investors are attracted by countries with a stable economy and minimal insecurities. Therefore, homeland security is a critical department that should be primarily considered since its poor management can lead to deprived development and economic crises in a country.
There is a notion in the public that homeland security is confined to tackling and dealing with only the terrorist attacks. However, homeland security has wide-ranging duties in America. For instance, it focuses on border control, aviation security, cybersecurity, and emergency security. This department’s goals are well defined, and they include; manage and secure U.S. borders, and safeguard the Americans (Morag, 2018). Homeland security is entitled to maintain peace throughout the U.S borders and deal with any threats from the enemies. The other core goal is managing terrorism and create awareness in case of any terror threats (Morag, 2018). Moreover, the homeland security department’s responsibility is to ensure that attacks are dealt with conveniently, and public safety is reassured. Safeguarding and securing cyberspace is the next core goal that the government has considered. Cybersecurity should be respected fully by individuals, and in case of cyber violation, the culprit is tracked and charged. The department of homeland security is also mandated to enforcing and administering U.S. immigration laws (Morag, 2018). Making laws is not their responsibility but ensuring that the rules are appropriately administered is their obligation. No immigrants should violate these acts as they can face charges. Another goal is to ensure that there is resilience in times of disaster (Morag, 2018). When the country is affected by natural or even human-made disasters, it is the department of homeland security’s role to ensure that the nation recovers quickly and the victims are rescued in time.
Background Information
Security is one of the significant issues the United States government has primarily invested in and advanced. The Department of Homeland Security consists of 22 different agencies, which are found to ensure that people are safeguarded. There are instances that some individuals have claimed that these agencies should work together in harmony. In contrast, many U.S. citizens have argued that organizations should work and conduct their operations independently to improve security in various ways. Each agency has its field where it is mandated to take responsibility (Painter, 2019). For example, the Transportation Security Administration is an agency that is required to take care of the shipping system in the U.S. Infrastructure security is concerned with issues regarding cybersecurity. However, there are instances when these agencies should come together and, with combined efforts, sort a particular problem. For example, during natural calamities such as tsunami and floods, different agencies should combine their efforts and ensure the people’s safety.
The Department of Homeland Security used various agencies to ensure that growth and development are achieved. For example, U.S. citizenship and immigration services are controlled by an agency that focuses on administering the immigration laws and adjudicate the Americans’ requests for their migration benefits. America should be secure and a place that honors the values of the Americans. Thus, the United States Coast Guard is an organization that protects the U.S. maritime (Givens et al., 2018). Moreover, it should ensure that sea boundaries are safe for operation by the Americans. United States Customs and Border Protection is one of the largest and most complex agencies that deal with keeping terrorists out of the U.S. Correspondingly, the organization plays the role of facilitating and securing travel and trade. Cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies ensure that the country’s efforts to defend infrastructure critical from today’s threats due to advanced technology.
Other agencies of the homeland security include; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the United States Secret Service (USSS). Management Directorate, Science and Technology Directorate, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and Office of Operations Coordination are also involved in home security activities. All the security departments in the United States have been encouraged to work together and ensure that Americans are safe Painter, 2019). For instance, the agencies have to collaborate during different threats such as hurricanes and terror attacks to ensure that societies are safeguarded.
Research Question
Research questions are essential since they help surveyors to design ways of achieving the goals of their studies. Thus, the investigator will ensure that the aims of the research are obtained using the study questions which are;
- Are the different homeland security agencies supposed to operate in harmony with each other or independent when securing the public?
- How can the government improve the homeland security department?
Hypothesis
All the department of homeland security agencies should operate and conduct their operations in harmony and not independently.
Participants
The research will involve different participants to ensure that adequate data is acquired. These participants will be:
- Heads of different agencies;
- A few members of different agencies, selected randomly;
- The directors and the management team of the homeland security department;
- Individuals who have been involved in disasters, whereby any of the homeland security agencies rescued them. This category will include immigrants, people involved in events such as terrorist attacks or natural calamities;
- A few members of the public;
- The National Lawmakers.
Research Design
My preferred research design is the descriptive research design since it is one of the best methods used by many surveyors. For this case, different participants will be required to provide necessary information about U.S. homeland security.
Having an excellent research design is vital as it allows surveyors to acquire adequate information during the study. In this case, questionnaires will be distributed to the participants, and they will be requested to present data about the different agencies of homeland security and their operations. Questionnaires are also essential since they help examiners to acquire raw data from the participants. Furthermore, privacy is observed, which encourages individuals to provide information without any fear. Questionnaires will also have different queries to ensure that adequate information is obtained. For example, forms that will be distributed to lawmakers will have to be different from those issued to the disaster victims. Lawmakers will be requested to answer several forms to ensure that they provide adequate data, which will be used in the survey results.
Moreover, policymakers developed these agencies, and they know the mandates of the different organizations. Legislators also have adequate information regarding how the policies and the laws behind these agencies should be administered. Thus, the research design will be of great significance since it will involve collecting data that will be used in the survey. Members of the public are not sure of what is expected of these agencies. Most of them are not much aware of about existence of these corporations. Thus, the project will help the public with credible information about the operations of these organizations. The survey will also help them learn how they can seek different services from these agencies. The questionnaire will contain questions such as;
- What is expected of homeland security agencies when disbursing their services to the public?
- When do these agencies work together?
- Are these agencies most productive when they are working together or operating independently?
The results of this project will enlighten the public about which agency to visit when they have a particular issue. Moreover, the research will minimize confusion experienced by individuals who may be thinking that the department of homeland security is centralized when it is not and vice versa.
Considerations
When this proposal is conducted, different things should be considered. Researchers will have to consider the literacy of the participants. When choosing the participants from the public members, the best individuals will be literate and people who can recognize the department of homeland security. It is also advisable that examiners consider individuals from rural and urban centers since disasters impact all persons regardless of their residence. Furthermore, the approach can be essential since people have different experiences in life.
Immigrants and native Americans may not provide the same responses as the whites since they may have different experiences with this department. Thus, the researcher will ensure that people from different origins participate in the study. Demographic issues will also be considered when selecting the participants. In this case, the race of the individuals is a crucial point of concern. People of color may have different experiences from the whites when focusing on their experiences with homeland security. This will not be directed in checking and spying if the homeland security members are biased as it is not a point of interest for the project. For demographic factors, adults should be more considered than children since they are much more aware of the homeland security department than the youths. Participants should also be gender-balanced; not only one gender should be included when choosing participants. Privacy will also be exercised, whereby the names of the participants will not be revealed.
Ethical Issues
The Ethical issues that must be considered when conducting the project are minimal. Ethical consideration is encouraged in studies to ensure that valid results are acquired. In this case, participants will be selected randomly, so almost zero ethical issues are to be considered. However, when the participants have already been chosen, ethical issues may apply. The investigator will have to consider hierarchical class when conducting interviews for some of these participants. Individuals must not appear biased or racist at any time when dealing with the participants. If, in any case, a participant realizes that researchers sound biased, then he or she may avoid providing adequate information.
Discussion
This proposal aims to determine whether homeland security agencies work together or each agency conducts its operations independently. The project is expected to provide the public with necessary information on how the homeland security department operates. Over the years, there have been numerous problems and confusion regarding where the citizens can acquire assistance from in times of need (Painter, 2019). People are always not aware of which agency to approach when they are in problems. Hence, the project will help to enlighten the public of different agencies of this department. If the public is educated, then the agencies will be more productive and greatly helpful to the public. Some of the disasters are not predictable and cause many challenges in communities. For instance, hurricanes have left many people displaced, and property worth millions of dollars have been destroyed Painter, 2019). Wildfires have also been experienced, whereby they have led to the loss of lives and businesses’ destruction. Consequently, research regarding different areas where people can acquire help during these threats is vital. Moreover, educating the public can limit people’s challenges since they can report the issues and help authorities handle the situation before it worsens.
Recommendations
I recommend that the different homeland security department agencies conduct their operations independently and combine their efforts when needed. Collaboration is essential since more ideas about how to deal with a particular issue are presented. Similarly, the specific agencies’ productivity will be limited if they handle some of these threats solely. However, in some instances, working independently can be o considered. For example, the agencies can conduct their business individually to be accountable in case of misappropriation. Additionally, working exclusively can make it easy for governments to detect issues relating to violation of standard and expected behavior, whereby a particular agency can be liable for scrutiny and penalties
Communities should also be educated about ensuring that the organizations are working according to the laws and regulations governing them. For instance, people can use social media platforms to inform these agencies about disasters and report misconduct from the homeland security agencies. Agencies can also ensure that they educate the public about different disasters and how to deal with these challenges. For instance, many people have died during terror attacks due to the lack of information about protecting themselves during an attack. Hence, informing the public about these threats should be recommended to limit the difficulties and deaths encountered during these dangers.
Conclusion
To conclude, the project should be exercised to create awareness about people’s rights when dealing with different homeland security agencies. Individuals will learn about the various agencies and how they operate. Moreover, the organizations will; learn about the different ways they can improve their performance. Similarly, the agencies will have to improve their service provision since people are aware of their responsibilities. These agencies were developed to improve the lives of Americans and protect them from different disasters. Consequently, the firms will learn how to ensure that citizens are safeguarded and can exercise their daily activities comfortably. Having a safe country is vital since many people can engage in various businesses without fear of experiencing losses. Economic growth can also be experienced when a state focuses on the safety of its citizens. Thus, this project can be of great significance as it can help people learn about how homeland security can be improved by working together or independently.
References
Morag, N. (2018). Comparative homeland security: Global lessons. John Wiley & Sons.
Givens, A. D., Busch, N. E., & Bersin, A. D. (2018). Going global: The international dimensions of U.S. homeland security policy. Journal of Strategic Security, 11(3), 1-34. Web.
Painter, W. L. (2019). Department of homeland security appropriations: FY2020 (No. R46113). CRS Report.