The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is an executive division of the United States. The DHS needs to be regulated and controlled by the people of America. After the attacks of 9/11, the government decided that the U.S. needed more protection, security, and a better system to respond to natural disasters. What does the DHS do, you say? Well, from what they tell us, they are keeping the illegal immigrant rate down and protecting us from terrorists in places like airports and major landmarks. Basically, the DHS was and is created to stop terrorists from coming and harming us or anyone else in the Homeland. You are about to find out a few of the many secrets of the DHS.

As you might expect, the DHS was created shortly after the attacks of 9/11. The DHS then was signed on as a new department on November 25, 2001. The DHS combines 22 different federal agencies that had a role in protecting America, into one. As of now it is the third largest cabinet department after the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense. The DHS was made to protect us from domestic terrorism and international terrorism. A few examples of domestic terrorism are: the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan, and the protests against the Vietnam War. A couple examples of international terrorism are; Pearl Harbor, and the 9/11 attack. Some programs in the department include: U.S. Coast Guard, Secret Service and Customs Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration, and last but definitely not least, the Bureau of Border Security.

Then again, we only know what they tell us (either that or what’s leaked out), which is not very much; but we do know this: the DHS’s job is to keep this country safe. What we don’t know is why the DHS would take action towards doing things like stockpiling 450 million rounds of hollow-point ammo. Three years ago, over the time span of ten months, the DHS has acquired 1.6 billion rounds of 9mm ball bullets. In September, the DHS also purchased another 200 million bullets. Perhaps, some people say, they are using them for training. The U.S. soldiers that used to be in Iraq used 5.5 million rounds of ammo per month. To put that into perspective, within 10 months, the government has purchased enough bullets to wage a full on war for 30 years. By the way, these are the same bullets used by NATO when they need lethal force. So, we can infer that the DHS is either having a lot of fun with our parent’s tax dollars, or they are preparing for civil unrest here in the U.S (most likely both).

The DHS has some secrets that we will never know about. We don’t know if the DHS is helping us or not. They might be out there right now stopping hundreds of terrorists from attacking us. They also could be out there figuring out ways to get around laws and rules, such as the PATRIOT Act. This allows police to conduct investigations without tipping off the terrorists. Let me paraphrase that for you. This allows the police to search someone without the consent of the person. This is a direct controversy with the 4th Amendment which states,” The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,…”. What this means is that (if the government even pays attention to the Constitution anymore) the government is breaking one of the Amendments in the Bill of Rights. Are the feds trying to take away our rights? Is America prepared to give up their freedoms just to be safe? Will we surrender our liberty just to be sure that we can sleep without someone coming and bombing the U.S.? After 9/11, all America has done is run to the government, looking for some protection. What good has that done? If anything, the government needs to slack off so that we can become self-reliant and trust in ourselves. We are not the government’s children (although they would like us to think that). The border protection is a huge advantage to having the DHS running; but is it okay in airports to publicly strip someone down to their underwear?

Recently, some things have happened that have a major role in what could end up happening to certain laws that have been discussed. On December 31, 2010, a college kid named Aaron Tobey staged a bare protest. He was 21 when, as a part of an enhanced pat-down screening he stripped to his boxer shorts to reveal that he had the 4th Amendment written on his chest and belly. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) then arrested him on charge of disorderly conduct. Tobey then turned around and sued the TSA $250,000 for violating his 4th Amendment rights. This is the problem here. This is the first account of someone stripping voluntarily; but it is not the first time that the TSA has stripped people to underwear, just to check for weapons. How can we be sure that the DHS isn’t trying to take any other of our rights away? None of us know what the DHS is up to half the time. Now I understand that there are people out there that will always believe anything the government says, even if there is surprisingly huge evidence against it; and that’s the weird part. Why do some people try to find ways to re-word obvious evidence of problems into something that they feel good about? What they need to realize is that the government (and the world) will never be perfect, so stop acting like it is.

Previously, I mentioned that the DHS is preparing for civil unrest (a.k.a. domestic terrorism). What are they doing? Nothing. They aren’t trying to pass any laws that are actually in the favor of us citizens (meanwhile they are passing laws that help illegal immigrants vote). Nope. They are just sitting back, waiting for all of the U.S. to practically fall apart so they can be the heroes and bring it back. Some people are just great at making problems so they can fix them and be glorified. The DHS is one of those “people”. Right now there is a gun/ammo shortage due to new gun laws that are in effect; and still the DHS purchases enough ammo to give about 7 bullets to each man, woman, and child in the United States.

Pretty much, all of the control freaks in the government are waiting for the U.S. to come crashing down so they can come take control and make it the way they want it to be. Yet the DHS is standing there and smiling, saying that they are doing everything in their power (and a ton of it) to keep us safe, while they are waving the hypnotizing stick of destiny. We Americans can’t let the government fool us into thinking that they are practically gods. C’mon, America is better than that. Pretend the fate of the United States is in your hands. Would you rather give up freedom to acquire security; or would you limit the power of certain government agencies to conform to the people’s needs? If you are reading this you are most likely a teenager, so I can’t expect all of you to be able to answer this question. The point here is that the only “person” with enough power to do such things is the DHS; and right now all they are interested in doing is squeezing past laws, and hurting the economy (well… not for the bullet makers). As Americans, it is our right to make sure that the government confides to our liking. One of the Constitutional principles is Popular Sovereignty, which states, which states that the government gets its power from the people. What would the government be without us? Practically a bunch of power hungry men and women with nothing left except their dignity, if that. We need to stand up for what is right. You know, an anonymous study was taken of the DHS to see if any programs were not doing so well. They found that at least 7 of the 22 programs were over spending or not making any progress. Instead of cutting these programs completely, they decided that they were going to lower the funds a little bit, but the programs are still there. This is a huge problem, because our parents are paying taxes that fund programs where the people collect the money and sit back.

All in all, the DHS was created to keep us safe; not take our money. The border security and the natural disaster help are great, but that is only a small part of the bigger picture. We need to stand up for what we believe is right, and spread the word of what is going on. Help keep America going. Don’t let America be fooled into a false sense of security. We are better than this!