Quadrennial Homeland Security - Assignment Example

Quadrennial Homeland Security Introduction The Department of Homeland security is man d with securing the united s of American on so many levels and grounds, starting from the borders to the cyberspace. It has recently implemented a new way to meet this mandate. This new strategy has five major missing that the department must achieve in order to fulfill their mandate. However, the department is not without limitations with regard to how it is able to fulfill this mandate. Private corporations have a major role in impacting the way the department is able to fulfill their mandate. Here, these roles played by the private sector are considered. Mission 1: Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security The private sector can be of great importance in this area in a number of ways. To begin with, they have the resources that are necessary and important in curbing technology. Not only does the private sector have access to useful information which can be useful in curbing terrorism, they also have other researches such as international connection that can help them in identifying terrorist activities and help the homeland department to curb terrorism. US international banks and other firm that offer money transfer services are particularly important here because they are able to detect any suspicious financial transaction both from outside US and inside the US1. If they can put the interest of the nation ahead of theirs, they can help in making sure that these terrorists don’t have the way to transfer money. Terrorist organization cannot operate without financing. In fact, these organization have to depending on having a lot of fiancés. For instance, organizing and implementing a terrorist attack such as the 9/11 attach requires a lot of finances. The way this kind of money gets into the country so that these terrorists can use it to find their missions can be curbed by the private sector especially by banks who handle this money and the transactions that brings the money into the country. Mission 2: Secure and Manage our Borders The private sector through firms in various sector has a fundamental impact on the way the homeland security department is able to accomplish this mission. To begin those in the transport sector have a control on how they bring into the USA. As Lee2 argues, if these firms observe total responsibility as to who they bring into the US, the issue of the secure borders will not be a big issue. Technology firm in the private sector can also be very important in helping the department of homeland security to achieve this area. For instance, they can help in the research and development of the technology that can be very helpful in securing the US boarders. This has in fact been happening and the private sector has played a major role in making the US boarders less porous by proving technology such as night vision cameras that can be used to scan boarders to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country through unofficial points. Because it is not economical to erect a wall all around the US, or deploy enforcement officers to man each inch of the boarder, this kind of technology being developed in collaboration between the government and the private sector will be very helpful in the future. Mission 3: Enforce and Administer our Immigration Laws In this particular regard, the private sector has a major role to play. It has been established in the past that the reason why many illegal immigrants are able to survive in the USA because they can easily get a job even with their undocumented status. The private sector can therefore have both negative and positive on this mission because in the way they deal with issues3. For instance, if the private sector agrees to observe laws and completely refuses to offer jobs to people who do not have proper documentation about their citizenship this can help curb the issue of illegal immigrants. On the other hand, if the private sector continues to ignore laws and therefore continue to offer jobs to illegal immigrants, this mean that the efforts of the homeland security department will be thwarted. In the previous times, it has become very clear that most private firms, including very large and successful ones prefer to employ undocumented workers who are usually illegal immigrants because it is cheaper to employ these types of employees. Not only are they not happy with lower pays, they also do not have the right to form or join a union. Because many firms are not comfortable with the issue of unionized labor, this then becomes a very feasible (albeit unethical and illegal) way of having cheap labor and easy-to-control labor force. This has two fundamental impacts in the way the homeland security department is able to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants. To begin with, the fact that these immigrants can easily gets jobs in American even with their undocumented status, makes them find it feasible to illegally enter the USA. Secondly, it makes it possible for them to be able to survive in the USA. This poses a great threat to the way the homeland department is able to accomplish this mission. Mission 4: Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace This is the most challenging of the mission that the homeland security has. This is because the cyberspace is inherently unsecure and any attempt to make it secure can lead to many issues. The private sector can be of great use in helping Home Land Security to achieve this mission. For instance, the private sector can contribute by producing the resources that are needed for this. The technology sector can come up with innovations that are useful in curbing cyberspace security. The private sector is more dynamic with regard to technological innovation. Since cyberspace security is a technology related security issue, it can be very useful in helping in this area by coming up with ways to deal with cyber security without necessarily interfering with the integrity of the cyber activity. This can be very useful for the Homeland Security. It is also good to note that the private sector can have both negative and positive impacts on this mission. On the negative side, their activities can be a risk factor to homeland security with regard to cyberspace security4. For impact, banks, especially those operating across the international boarders can have an impact on this based on how they conduct themselves. If they observe security in the way they conduct their business in the cyberspace, this will be helpful to the mission. However, if they are not secure in the way they conduct their business in the cyberspace, this will mean that this can be used as an opportunity by enemies to attack the US. Mission 5: Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience With regard to this mission, the private sector may not have as much contribution or impact as much as the other four,. However, it still ha can have an impact in some areas. This mission has four main goals one of which is to Ensure Effective Emergency Response to disasters. The private sector can offer support in this area. In fact, it has done that in the past where it works with the government to make sure that when at disaster strikes, whether it is a natural disaster or an artificial one such as a terrorists attack, that the recovery will be quick and efficient. The private firms can offer free support or they can offer their services to the government at a fee to make this possible. For instance, logistic firms can offer logistic services and logistics consultancy in the evacuation as well as the delivery of aid (food, medicine and other basic needs depending on the nature of the crisis) help in quick recovery after a crisis shows up. The government may not have adequate resources to respond to such events and the private sector can offer its helpful hand to the government in order to help in dealing with this issues. Conclusion The private sector can have either a positive or a negative impact on the way the homeland security department is able to achieve its missions. It can use its researches either in favor of the Homeland security or against it. It is therefore important that the homeland security works in conjunction with the private sector for best results. Bibliography Bullock, Jane , G. Haddow, and D.P. Coppola. Homeland Security: The Essentials. New York, NY: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2012. Lee, Elsa. Homeland Security and Private Sector Business: Corporations Role in Critical Infrastructure Protection, Second Edition. New York, NY: CRC Press, 2014. Purpura, Philip. Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Introduction with Applications. New York, NY: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011. White, Jonathan. Terrorism and Homeland Security. London, UK: Cengage Learning, 2013. Read More