# DHS *U.S. federal executive department for public security; in the Minnesota record, the agency that counted arrests during Operation Metro Surge.* The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Cabinet department of the U.S. federal government charged with public security. Its portfolio spans counter-terrorism, civil defense, immigration and customs, border control, cybersecurity, transportation and maritime security, sea rescue, and the mitigation of weapons of mass destruction.[^1] Created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 after the September 11 attacks, it began operating on March 1, 2003. With a workforce above 240,000, it is the third-largest Cabinet department, behind Defense and Veterans Affairs.[^1] The department's stated goal, as summarized in its encyclopedia entry, is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, with terrorism foremost.[^2] Its seal is described as representing a mission to prevent attacks and protect Americans on land, at sea and in the air.[^3] In Minnesota, the record documents a different output. The project's at-issue record states that [[Operation Metro Surge]] put as many as 3,000 federal agents into [[Minnesota]] beginning December 1, 2025. The same record states that DHS counted 3,000 arrests by January 19, 2026.[^4] ## Who A secretary of homeland security heads the department, and a deputy secretary assists the secretary.[^5] The first executive office came before the department. After the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security. Tom Ridge, a former Pennsylvania [[governor]], began work as its director on October 8, 2001.[^6] The department's encyclopedia entry lists its secretaries with these dates:[^7] - Tom Ridge, January 24, 2003 – February 1, 2005 - Michael Chertoff, February 15, 2005 – January 21, 2009 - Janet Napolitano, January 20, 2009 – September 6, 2013 - Jeh Charles Johnson, December 23, 2013 – January 20, 2017 - John F. Kelly, January 20, 2017 – July 28, 2017 - Kirstjen M. Nielsen, December 6, 2017 – April 10, 2019 - Alejandro Mayorkas, February 1, 2021 – January 20, 2025 - Kristi Noem, January 25, 2025 – March 31, 2026 - Markwayne Mullin, March 24, 2026 – present On October 15, 2025, Secretary Noem published a notice. It stated a determination of an "acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads" in the U.S. Border Patrol's Big Bend Sector.[^8] Joseph B. Edlow is listed as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Admiral Kevin E. Lunday is listed as commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.[^5] ## What The department took in the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service on March 1, 2003. It then split their enforcement and services work between two new agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services.[^2] The investigative and intelligence units of the two predecessors were merged to form Homeland Security Investigations, the department's main investigative arm. Border functions, including the U.S. Border Patrol, were combined into U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[^2] The Coast Guard falls under DHS in peacetime and under the Department of the Navy in wartime.[^5] The Automated Targeting System is a DHS computer system. It reviews data on each person crossing U.S. borders and automatically assigns a risk rating. The system was put in place in the late 1990s. The public learned of it only in November 2006, through a notice in the Federal Register.[^8] ## When The Homeland Security Act, which established the department, was dated November 25, 2002. In January 2003, the department and the White House Homeland Security Council superseded the Office of Homeland Security.[^6] Operations began on March 1, 2003.[^1] In 2011, DHS replaced the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System with the two-level National Terrorism Advisory System.[^9] Staff began relocating to the St. Elizabeths campus in Anacostia in April 2019. In February 2015, the [[General Services Administration]] had projected that the site would open in 2021.[^10] ## How many The department employs more than 240,000 people.[^1] Seventy percent of them are classed as essential and are not furloughed during government shutdowns.[^11] The seal carries 22 stars, one for each of the original entities that formed the department.[^3] The Minnesota figures in the record are as follows. As many as 3,000 agents were deployed in Operation Metro Surge, which the record compares with a normal state Border Patrol presence of about 150. DHS counted 3,000 arrests by January 19, 2026, and the arrestees were taken to four jails.[^4] ## How much According to a congressional estimate as of September 2008, about $15 billion had been lost to failed contracts.[^12] After Government Accountability Office audits found misuse of government credit cards by DHS employees, the department was blamed for up to $2 billion in waste and fraud.[^12] In early 2007, the department sent Congress a $4.1 billion plan to consolidate more than 60 Washington-area offices at St. Elizabeths.[^10] The construction budget allocated to Customs and Border Protection alone is $53 billion.[^12] ## In the at-issue record DHS appears in at-issue pair AI-Sherburne-027 of the Sherburne package. The pair is ranked 27 and sits in the section *The Warehouse County & the Two Offices Edition*.[^4] The pair sets the enforcement surge beside the detention capacity used to hold those arrested. Its anchor is a May 2026 White House release, and the anchor's stated rationale is that the surge and the detention capacity are one system.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### What The record describes Operation Metro Surge as a federal enforcement deployment of as many as 3,000 agents. By its measure, that was roughly five times the sworn strength of the [[Minneapolis Police Department]].[^4] ### When The surge began on December 1, 2025. The DHS arrest count of 3,000 is dated January 19, 2026.[^4] ### Where Sherburne County's jail is one of the four jails where people arrested in the surge were taken.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (rev. 1382271628, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead — missions, formation under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, start of operations March 1, 2003, workforce above 240,000, Cabinet rank by size. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Function" — stated goal; absorption of Customs and INS on March 1, 2003; creation of ICE, USCIS, HSI and CBP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Seal" — mission symbolism of the seal; 22 stars for the original 22 entities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^4]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — anchor of at-issue pair AI-Sherburne-027 (source: Sherburne_Jail_Brief). The pair's agent, arrest, jail and Minneapolis Police comparison figures come from that brief's sources (cbsnews.com, dhs.gov, minnesotareformer.com), whose URLs are not in this pack. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Organizational structure" — secretary and deputy secretary; USCIS and Coast Guard executives; Coast Guard peacetime and wartime placement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "History: Creation" — Office of Homeland Security; Ridge's start date of October 8, 2001; Homeland Security Act of November 25, 2002; January 2003 supersession. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Secretaries" — list of secretaries and their terms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Border enforcement" — Automated Targeting System and its November 2006 Federal Register disclosure; Noem notice of October 15, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "National Terrorism Advisory System" — 2011 replacement of the advisory system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Headquarters" — $4.1 billion consolidation plan of 2007; GSA projection of February 2015; April 2019 move. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Disaster preparedness and response" — 70 percent of employees classed as essential. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security [^12]: Wikipedia contributors, *United States Department of Homeland Security* (retrieved 2026-10-27), "Criticism" — $15 billion failed-contract estimate (as of September 2008); up to $2 billion after GAO audits; $53 billion CBP construction budget. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security