Introduction
When the topic of homeland security legal and ethical issues is mentioned, many people directly link it to the events of 9/11. The bombings led to the loss of more than 3000 people, and resulted in the government taking many legal measures, including the enactment of the homeland security act of 2002 (Siedschlag & Jerkovic, 2022). The act subsequently led to the formation of the department of homeland security in 2003 (Department of Homeland Security, 2022). The department was established despite a department of defense that deals with external security and the military being there. This legislation and department streamlined how homeland security is handled in the country. However, the responsibility of ensuring homeland security in the United States does not rest solely with the homeland security department. All levels of government, including federal, state, territorial, tribal, and private stakeholders, are expected to perform their roles to ensure events like the 9/11 attack or Katrina storm do not occur (Humphries, 2019). Homeland security goals in the United States can only be achieved by considering a range of issues, including legal, social, and ethical concerns.
Background of Homeland Security
Concerns about homeland security in the US started in the 1990s as terrorist attacks in and outside the borders began to increase. In the early part of the decade of the world trade center, a bomb planted in the packing basement exploded, killing six people (Bushnell, 2018). More acts of terrorism were reported in this period, including the Oklahoma City bomb and a discovery of a bomb during the Olympics games in Atlanta (Morag, 2018). Concerns about home security rose further when two United State embassies were bombed by Al-Qaeda in Kenya and Tanzania (Bushnell, 2018). This resulted in commissions being established to investigate how the government would deal with this new problem. The Hart-Rudman Commission, the National Commission on Terrorism, and Gilmore commission concluded that the country has become negligent in security and that a counter-terrorism strategy must be implemented. These recommendations were ignored by the administration, until October 2001, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Legal Issues
Legal and ethical issues must be prioritized when establishing homeland security institutions and practices. Legal issues are defined as the limits society places over each individual (Givens et al., 2018; Siedschlag & Jerkovic, 2022). In homeland security matters, the government must consider ensuring that people’s rights and privileges are not violated when imposing and ensuring homeland security. The bodies charged with homeland security should also ensure that they do not violate the rights of independent nations in pursuing security goals. However, exceptions should be based on case-by-case arrangements, and the leaders in the homeland security department have to know when to violate some legal considerations for the safety of the citizens. There should also be a consideration of the distributive justice principle, which states that actions should lead to a larger degree of goodness than badness.
Social Issues
Social Issues in homeland security deal with the general public acceptance and reception of the matter. The homeland security matter has created departments that have created thousands of opportunities and helped solve discrimination problems. The department of homeland security has been given one of the most diverse social roles, which include ensuring security, preventing disasters, dealing with immigration issues, and handling cyber security concerns. The main strategic objective of the homeland security act and its departments is to ensure that the internal borders of the US are free and secure from acts of terrorism and other disasters. Homeland security seeks to ensure that all citizens are safe from harm or threat by passing laws that boost this safety and implementing them. The national homeland security values, however, are not just internal as they focus on respecting other countries’ values and principles.
Ethical Issues
Ethics are moral principles that govern how people and society behave. In homeland security, decision-makers should integrate ethics into their day-to-day activities to decide what is good and bad. Security experts should incorporate meta-ethics in their dealing and could ask themselves certain ethical questions (Givens et al., 2018). An example of these questions would be, “is it possible to achieve homeland security goals without hurting members of neighboring countries”? The experts could then apply normative ethics to evaluate the degree of goodness or badness of their decisions. Asking questions that make the decision makers question what makes something bad or wrong results in homeland security stakeholders making better decisions. The stakeholders in these departments also ensure that virtual ethics are applied when making homeland security decisions. Therefore the departments seek to employ people who have greater knowledge of homeland security with a view that knowledge drives ethical behavior.
Conclusion
Homeland security goals in the United States can be achieved by ensuring that legal, social, and ethical issues are considered and acted upon prudently. Following legal issues ensured the government would not get into conflicts with other countries and other internal legislations. Considering social issues ensures that most people will support homeland security efforts. Finally, ensuring ethics are followed ensures the departments will serve the majority of people well.
References
Bushnell, P. (2018). Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience: My Story of the 1998 US Embassy Bombings. U of Nebraska Press.
Department of Homeland Security. (2022). Home. Department of Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/
Givens, A. D., Busch, N. E., & Bersin, A. D. (2018). Going global: The international dimensions of US homeland security policy. Journal of Strategic Security, 11(3), 1-34. Web.
Humphries, B. E. (2019). Critical infrastructure: Emerging trends and policy considerations for congress. R45809. Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC. Web.
Morag, N. (2018). Comparative homeland security: Global lessons. John Wiley & Sons.
Siedschlag, A., & Jerkovic, A. (2022). Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Homeland and Civil Security: A Research-Based Introduction. Peter Lang Publishing Group.