Origins and Context of U.S. Homeland Security Law

Law is an inseparable element of Homeland Security; it is fundamental to the creation of the U.S. as a nation of laws and justice, and to it's citizens' understanding of the role and purpose of government.  The Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, contains provisions that enable the noble principles of unalienable rights while avoiding the tyranny enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, a guiding historical covenant that laid the foundation for the Constitution as a permanent binding contract.   Both are  very relevant today in defining and achieving homeland security.  In particular, the Constitution provides an authoritative framework for the many derivative laws, directives and decisions that are the result of actions of the three branches to fulfill its purpose. 

The nation's approach to homeland security is based on the inseparability of law from unalienable rights and the pursuit of individual self-determination.  The powers that belonged to the people at the time the Constitution was ratified, were retained by the people--except for those powers granted to the federal government, or to the States.  Homeland Security law is thus grounded in the Constitution and the many actions taken, consistent with its provisions: laws enacted by Congress and the legislatures of the states; executive orders and directives issues by the President and Governors; and court decisions determining whether the laws and directives are Constitutional, and thus legal. 

Query:

By designing a form of governance that was limited and inefficient, yet potentially very powerful, were the Framers not ensuring that the citizens would have neither freedom nor security?