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Mission 2— Securing and Managing Our Borders
Overview
The Department’s second mission is “securing and managing our nation’s borders.”
According to the Department’s current strategy, achieving this mission involves accomplishing
“three interrelated goals: effectively securing U.S. air, land, and sea borders; safeguarding and
streamlining lawful trade and travel; and disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal and
terrorist organizations.” 148
In 2014, the challenge and necessity of securing the United States’ land, sea, and air
borders was highlighted by destabilizing and unexpected events both here and abroad,
including the continued mass migration to our Southern border and the emergence of potential
terrorism and public health threats. The number of illegal immigrants—including those known
as unaccompanied alien children (UACs)—arriving at our Southern border and surrendering to
federal authorities was approximately 68,000 as of November 2014, nearly double the 38,000 in
2013. 149 This created a daunting logistical challenge for DHS, as well as other federal agencies,
requiring the redirecting of resources from securing the border to processing and caring for
arriving children and families. 150
Concern also mounted in October over the potential risk to public health associated
with a dramatic increase in mass migration to the Southern border if the Ebola virus reached
Central America. Marine Corps General John F. Kelly, the commander of U.S. Southern
Command (SOUTHCOM), warned about the consequences of an Ebola outbreak spreading to
Central America. As he put it, “If it breaks out, it is literally, ‘Katie bar the door’, and there will
148 “Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2012-2016,” Department of Homeland Security,
February 2012.
149 “Southwest Border Unaccompanied Children,” The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection: Newsroom, at: http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-border-unaccompanied-children,
accessed December 29, 2014.
150 For a thorough discussion of the challenges associated with the Unaccompanied Alien Children problem, see this
analysis by the Congressional Research Service: Lisa Seghetti, et all, “Unaccompanied Alien Children: An
Overview,” Congressional Research Service, September 8, 2014. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee also held a hearing examining the challenges associated with the UAC crisis on July 9, 2014.
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