ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to identify the major laws, regulations, and executive orders that form and govern the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It explains the reasoning behind budgeting priorities in DHS and why the priorities fluctuate from year to year. The power of DHS emanates from the legal authority that initiated its existence. Laws, regulations, and executive orders enable the agency to carry out its aim and purpose. Soon after his inauguration as president, Barack Obama reiterated his long-held view that the Guantanamo facility and its interrogation practices should be ended. In early 2009, he issued an order setting up a commission to end the status quo and seek transfer and other disposition of those residing in the facility. President Obama, after over 2 years in office, essentially reverses his position on the closure of Guantanamo Bay by an order calling for periodic review and assessment of the prison’s inhabitants.
