THE DHS BULLETIN: WEEKLY UPDATE
The DHS Bulletin: Weekly Update provides an in-depth summary of both the current and the previous week’s events and initiatives throughout the Department of Homeland Security on which the news media is focused.
ISSUES IN THE HEADLINES MARCH 22, 2011
SECRETARY NAPOLITANO ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF E-VERIFY SELF CHECK
Secretary Napolitano and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas yesterday announced the launch of E-Verify Self Check – an online tool that allows individuals in the U.S. to check their own employment eligibility status before formally seeking employment.
“E-Verify is a smart, simple, and effective tool that allows us to work with employers to help them maintain a legal work force. The E-Verify Self Check service will help protect workers and streamline the E-Verify process for businesses.” (quote by Secretary Napolitano – DHS press release)
“Put simply, Self Check gives workers fast and secure access to their employment eligibility information before they apply for jobs. In this way, workers are able to identify whether there are any inaccuracies in their Social Security Administration or DHS records before they seek employment, and submit corrections for any inaccuracies ahead of time.” (quote by USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas – The Blog @ Homeland Security)
Read more about E-Verify Self Check.
SECRETARY NAPOLITANO IS TALKING ABOUT: SCIENCE AS PUBLIC SERVICE
Inside Higher Ed published an op-ed by Secretary Napolitano this week emphasizing the important role of science and engineering experts in helping America prepare for and respond to a wide range of ever-evolving threats.
“We have tremendous scientific resources in this country. We lead the world in scientific and technological innovation. We must, therefore, engage our best scientific talent in support of our common security. By doing so, we can build on past success, amplify our current efforts, and greatly accelerate our future progress toward a more secure and resilient America.” (quote by Secretary Napolitano – Inside Higher Ed)
URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS RETURN FROM JAPAN
This past weekend, two Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) teams safely returned home after a nine-day mission to support search and rescue efforts in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. FEMA provides funding and program development support for these locally managed US&R teams. Check the FEMA Blog for more details on the US&R teams.
Weekly Update FOR THE WEEK OF
MARCH 14, 2011
SECRETARY NAPOLITANO HIGHLIGHTS U.S.-MEXICO PARTNERSHIP AT CONGRESSIONAL BORDER ISSUES CONFERENCE
Secretary Napolitano delivered remarks Thursday at the Annual U.S.-Mexico Congressional Border Issues Conference – highlighting the continued partnership between the U.S. and Mexico to ensure our mutual security while facilitating trade and travel along the Southwest border.
“Security and prosperity are mutually reinforcing, and the United States and Mexico are closely linked by a common interest in robust security and growing economies,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are committed to continuing to work with Mexico to foster a safe and secure border zone, while facilitating the legal trade and travel that helps our border regions prosper.”
In her remarks, Secretary Napolitano underscored the Obama Administration’s unprecedented efforts to strengthen security along the Southwest border, which include increasing the number of Border Patrol agents from approximately 10,000 in 2004 to more than 20,700 today; doubling the number of personnel assigned to Border Enforcement Security Task Forces; and deploying approximately one quarter of all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to the Southwest border region – the most ever.
SECRETARY NAPOLITANO ANNOUNCES NEW “IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING™” PARTNERSHIPS
Last Thursday, Secretary Napolitano announced a new partnership between the Department’s “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that will help ensure safety and security during the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament and all 88 NCAA championship games and tournaments.
The “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign – originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign – is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
The “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign partnership with the NCAA launched last Thursday during the NCAA March Madness men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, and will feature both print and video materials – including an “If You See Something, Say Something™” public service announcement featuring Secretary Napolitano and NCAA President Mark Emmert that will play at all tournament games and future NCAA events, which can be viewed here.
On Tuesday, March 15, Secretary Napolitano traveled to Denver where she met with state and major urban area fusion center leaders and announced the expansion of the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign to the state of Colorado. And on Monday, Secretary Napolitano joined Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) officials to launch a new partnership with the MBTA on the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign.
HOMELAND SECURITY ON THE HILL
Last week, senior leaders from across the Department – including FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs Alexander Garza, Deputy Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate Philip Reitinger, Assistant Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator for the Office of Security Technology Robin Kane, Assistant TSA Administrator for Security Operations Lee Kair, Under Secretary for Science and Technology Tara O’Toole, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Director Warren Stern, Coast Guard Prevention Policy Director Rear Admiral Kevin Cook, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Assistant Commissioner for Technology Innovation and Acquisition Mark Borkowski, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher, and CBP Assistant Commissioner of Air and Marine Michael Kostelnick – testified before Congress.
On March 17th, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on how FEMA is working to improve its preparedness for the next catastrophic disaster through the “Whole Community” framework, which includes cooperation with FEMA’s federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governmental partners; non-governmental organizations like faith-based and non-profit groups and the private sector; and individuals, families, and communities.
Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs Alexander Garza testified before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, on the Office of Health Affairs’ (OHA) fiscal year 2012 budget request, highlighting OHA’s perspective on health “through the prism of national security,” providing medical, public health, and scientific expertise in support of the DHS mission to prepare for, respond to and recover from all threats.
On March 16th, National Protection and Programs Directorate Under Secretary Philip Reitinger testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies on the current cyber security environment, the Department’s cyber security mission, and DHS’s coordination with public and private sector partners to address the cyber threat to critical infrastructure and the economy.
Assistant Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator for the Office of Security Technology Robin Kane and Assistant TSA Administrator for Security Operations Lee Kair testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations, on TSA’s use of Advanced Imaging Technology at airport security checkpoints, emphasizing the effectiveness and safety of the technology as well as upcoming improvements to enhance passenger privacy.
On March 15th, Under Secretary for Science and Technology (S&T) Tara O’Toole testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on S&T’s strategic direction and top priorities, as well as some of the challenges facing its research and development organization in supporting the third largest federal agency.
Warren Stern, Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, about DNDO’s research and development programs as it strives to improve the nation’s capability to detect and report unauthorized attempts to import, possess, store, develop, or transport nuclear or radiological material for use against the nation, and to further enhance this capability over time.
Coast Guard Prevention Policy Director Rear Admiral Kevin Cook testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, on the Coast Guard’s efforts to counter global piracy.
Finally, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Assistant Commissioner for Technology Innovation and Acquisition Mark Borkowski, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher, and CBP Assistant Commissioner of Air and Marine Michael Kostelnick testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, on the future of technology at the Southwest border, noting CBP’s efforts to secure the nation’s borders while facilitating the flow of lawful people and goods entering the U.S.
READ ABOUT THE PROGRESS DHS HAS MADE ACROSS OUR KEY MISSION AREAS
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