DHS Creation: 22 Agencies Merged

This document provides detailed historical context about the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the destruction of the Immigration and Naturalization Service – the moves that created ICE.

The DHS Creation: 22 Agencies Merged

In 2003, the Bush administration created the Department of Homeland Security by merging 22 federal agencies or offices into one massive bureaucracy. This was the largest government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947.

The consolidation brought more than 170,000 federal employees under DHS control. The stated goal was to improve security coordination after 9/11. The actual result was creating an accountability void and a contractor feeding trough.

Complete List of 22 Agencies or Offices Merged into DHS

From Justice Department:

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) – split three ways into USCIS, CBP, and ICE
Office for Domestic Preparedness – responsibilities distributed to FEMA
Domestic Emergency Support Team – responsibilities distributed to FEMA
National Domestic Preparedness Office (FBI) – responsibilities distributed to FEMA
National Infrastructure Protection Center (FBI) – integrated into intelligence functions

From Treasury Department:

U.S. Customs Service – split between CBP (inspections) and ICE (investigations)
U.S. Secret Service – transferred to DHS, remains as component
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) – transferred to DHS

From Transportation Department:

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – transferred to DHS, remains as component
U.S. Coast Guard – transferred to DHS, remains as component

From Department of Energy:

Nuclear Incident Response Team – responsibilities to FEMA
CBRN Countermeasures Programs – to Science & Technology Directorate
Environmental Measurements Laboratory – to Science & Technology Directorate
Energy Security and Assurance Program – integrated into CISA

From Department of Agriculture:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (agricultural inspection functions) – transferred to CBP
Plum Island Animal Disease Center – to Science & Technology Directorate

From Department of Defense:

National BW Defense Analysis Center – to Science & Technology Directorate
National Communications System – to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

From Health and Human Services:

Strategic National Stockpile – returned to HHS in 2004
National Disaster Medical System – returned to HHS in 2006

From General Services Administration:

Federal Protective Service – to Management Directorate
Federal Computer Incident Response Center – became US-CERT in Cybersecurity Directorate

Previously Independent:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – absorbed into DHS

Not All Mergers Stuck

Not all mergers stuck. The Strategic National Stockpile and National Disaster Medical System were returned to HHS in 2004 and 2006, showing that even the government recognized some mergers were mistakes.

The most damaging mergers – particularly those creating ICE – remain in place, serving the extraction system exactly as designed.

The Destruction of INS: Immigration Accountability Was Deliberately Fragmented

The Immigration and Naturalization Service destruction exemplifies the extraction strategy and directly created the ICE problem.

INS Before 2003

Single agency under Justice Department with clear oversight:
Handled both immigration services (citizenship, visas, asylum) and enforcement (deportations, investigations)
Subject to Justice Department inspector general, civil rights oversight, constitutional constraints
One agency meant one budget, one set of oversight hearings, clear accountability
Institutional knowledge: people who understood immigration law and worked with immigrants were in the same agency as people doing enforcement
Constitutional framework: operated under Justice Department culture with Fourth Amendment protections

How INS Was Dismembered in 2003

The Bush deliberately fragmented the INS it into three separate agencies:

1. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

The services side: processes citizenship applications, visas, asylum claims, green cards
Separated from enforcement entirely
Cannot coordinate with or oversee what enforcement does
Has no visibility into enforcement priorities or practices

2. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Border enforcement: immigration inspections at ports of entry and Border Patrol operations
Mixed with customs inspection functions from Treasury
Operates at borders with different legal authorities than domestic enforcement

3. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Interior enforcement: deportations and investigations inside the United States
Mixed with customs investigations from Treasury
Operates with border enforcement culture in domestic settings that constitutional protections

This Fragmentation Served Extraction

Before the split:

If INS abused people or wasted money, there was one agency to investigate
One budget to scrutinize or cut
One set of officials to hold accountable
Services and enforcement were coordinated
Constitutional culture applied to all operations

After the split:

Services (USCIS) can’t see or control what enforcement does
Border enforcement (CBP) and interior enforcement (ICE) operate independently with different standards
No single agency is responsible for immigration policy outcomes
Oversight is fragmented across three agencies, multiple congressional committees, confused jurisdiction
Each agency can blame the others when things go wrong
Budget battles are separated – enforcement funding isn’t tied to services funding
No coordination between the people who understand immigration law and the people doing enforcement

Most critically: INS operated under Justice Department culture with constitutional constraints. The three-way split removed those constraints while making coordinated oversight impossible. This was the blueprint for creating unaccountable enforcement with maximum contractor revenue potential.

The Pattern: Fragmentation Enables Extraction

Take an agency with clear mission and accountability
Fragment it into multiple pieces with confused jurisdiction
Mix pieces with functions from other departments to further blur lines
Remove from original oversight structure (Justice Department constitutional framework)
Place in massive new bureaucracy (DHS) where accountability is impossible
Open contractor revenue streams with minimal oversight
Ensure no one can be held responsible when things go wrong

This same pattern was applied to U.S. Customs Service (split between CBP and ICE) and repeated across the 22-agency DHS merger.

The Customs Service Split

The U.S. Customs Service from Treasury was also deliberately fragmented:

Customs inspections went to CBP (Customs and Border Protection)

Inspections at ports of entry
Trade and tariff enforcement at borders
Mixed with immigration inspections and Border Patrol

Customs investigations went to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Investigations of smuggling, trade fraud, contraband
Mixed with immigration enforcement
Removed from Treasury’s trade and revenue focus

Before 2003, Customs was a coherent agency under Treasury focused on legitimate trade, revenue collection, and preventing smuggling. After the split, customs functions were fragmented and mixed with immigration functions, creating the same accountability void.

Unmerging ICE is a Basic First Step

The deliberate fragmentation of INS and Customs Service explains why ICE operates as it does. The violence, the constitutional violations, and the lack of accountability are features created by the 2003 reorganization.

Unmerging ICE requires understanding what was destroyed to create it. We need to restore the accountability structures that existed before post-9/11 extraction consolidation deliberately destroyed them.

‎Related Articles:

ICE: Legal Standards, Mission Creep, and the Erosion of Accountability ICE merged domestic immigration enforcement with border customs under incompatible legal frameworks. Unmerging would return each function to appropriate oversight.

DHS and INS: Supporting Documentation – Primary sources and historical records documenting the creation of DHS and the merger that formed ICE.

Combined References – Complete bibliography and source citations for the unmerge ICE analysis.

Unmerge ICE: Letter to Congress (Substack) – Send this letter to your senators and representatives via Resistbot: text SIGN PIMBYB to 50409 or visit resist.bot/petitions/PIMBYB