Bush signs Homeland Security Act, merging customs and border agencies into DHS

President George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, establishing the Department of Homeland Security as the largest federal reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947. The law merged 22 federal agencies and approximately 170,000 employees into a single cabinet department focused on counterterrorism and border security. Tom Ridge became the first DHS Secretary, overseeing the consolidation of Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Border Patrol under one authority.