The Domestic Security Section (DSS) was a component of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws in the United States, except those specifically assigned to other divisions. Criminal Division attorneys prosecute many nationally significant cases and formulate and...

 that was focused on the prosecution of significant alien smuggling

Smuggling

Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...

 organizations, complex immigration frauds, certain violent crime

Violent crime

A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...

 and firearms offenses, crimes committed under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, and serious human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 violations such as war crimes, genocide

Genocide

Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

, and torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

. DSS was the primary DOJ

United States Department of Justice

The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

 office responsible for pursuing justice against perpetrators of human rights violations.
In 2009, the Section was merged was with the Office of Special Investigations

Office of Special Investigations

Office of Special Investigations may refer to:* U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations* Office of Special Investigations * Office of Special Investigations...

 to form a new unit of the Criminal Division: the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.

Former Section Chiefs

The Domestic Security Section, prior to reorganization, was headed by a Section Chief, who in turn reported to the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division through a Deputy Assistant Attorney General.

A former acting chief of the section, John T. Morton

John T. Morton

John T. Morton is the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States. The position makes him "the chief enforcer of US immigration policy" at "the second largest investigative agency in the federal government, with more than 20,000 employees and an annual budget of more than...

, was appointed in mid 2009 by President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 to serve as the Assistant Security of Homeland Security

United States Department of Homeland Security

The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...

 for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...

.

Notable Cases

• United States v. Charles Taylor, Jr.
  Charles Taylor, Jr.
  Dr. Charles "Chuck" Taylor, Jr. is one of the most prolific writers in Texas and founder of the infamous small press Slough Press, publishing since 1973. His contribution to building the literature scene on the Third Coast in Austin, Texas, includes activities as both a writer and publisher...
  
   (aka Chuckie Taylor, aka Charles McArthur Emmanuel
  Charles McArthur Emmanuel
  Charles McArther Emmanuel, also known as Chuckie Taylor, is the son of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor. Raised by his mother in Florida until he was 17, Taylor Jr. traveled to Liberia in 1994 to live with his father...
  
  , aka Roy Belfast) (son of Charles Taylor (Liberia), former warlord of Liberia)
• United States v. Steven D. Green
• United States v. Theodore Stevens (Domestic Security Section was added after allegations of prosecutorial misconduct against original prosecution team)