6 U.S.C. § 111 : US Code - Section 111: Executive department; mission

Search 6 U.S.C. § 111 : US Code - Section 111: Executive department; mission

(a) Establishment
There is established a Department of Homeland Security, as an
executive department of the United States within the meaning of
title 5.
(b) Mission
(1) In general
The primary mission of the Department is to - 
(A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States;
(B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to
terrorism;
(C) minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from
terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States;
(D) carry out all functions of entities transferred to the
Department, including by acting as a focal point regarding
natural and manmade crises and emergency planning;
(E) ensure that the functions of the agencies and
subdivisions within the Department that are not related
directly to securing the homeland are not diminished or
neglected except by a specific explicit Act of Congress;
(F) ensure that the overall economic security of the United
States is not diminished by efforts, activities, and programs
aimed at securing the homeland;
(G) ensure that the civil rights and civil liberties of
persons are not diminished by efforts, activities, and programs
aimed at securing the homeland; and
(H) monitor connections between illegal drug trafficking and
terrorism, coordinate efforts to sever such connections, and
otherwise contribute to efforts to interdict illegal drug
trafficking.
(2) Responsibility for investigating and prosecuting terrorism
Except as specifically provided by law with respect to entities
transferred to the Department under this chapter, primary
responsibility for investigating and prosecuting acts of
terrorism shall be vested not in the Department, but rather in
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies with
jurisdiction over the acts in question.