Biden helps mark Department of Homeland Security’s 20th anniversary

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Gray News) - President Joe Biden delivered remarks Wednesday at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

The event, hosted by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, will feature performances and special guests, the agency said.

The department came into being in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Eleven days after the attacks, Pennsylvania Gov Tom Ridge was appointed the director of what was then the Office of Homeland Security in the White House. The office was created to help safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks.

With the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security formally came into being, opening its doors as an agency on March 1, 2003.