Development and Financing:

The development of the X-47B began in 2005, when the U.S. Navy awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman for the UCAS-D program. The program was aimed at developing a UAV that could operate from an aircraft carrier and perform a variety of missions, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike operations.

The X-47B was designed to be a stealthy, tailless aircraft with a wingspan of 62 feet and a weight of approximately 14,000 pounds. The drone is powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U engine and can reach a maximum speed of 0.9 Mach. The X-47B is also equipped with a variety of sensors, including a multi-function active sensor radar, electro-optical and infrared sensors, and a communication system.

The development of the X-47B was financed by the U.S. Navy, which allocated approximately $1.4 billion for the UCAS-D program. Northrop Grumman also contributed to the funding of the project, investing approximately $1 billion of its own money.

Testing:

The X-47B underwent a series of tests and demonstrations before it was deemed ready for operational use. The testing phase began in 2011 and included a variety of ground tests and flight tests.

The first flight of the X-47B took place in 2011 at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The drone was launched and recovered from a land-based catapult and arrested landing system. In 2013, the X-47B made history by becoming the first UAV to take off and land from an aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush.

During the testing phase, the X-47B demonstrated its ability to perform a variety of missions, including autonomous takeoff and landing, aerial refueling, and strike operations. The drone also demonstrated its ability to operate in a variety of weather conditions and navigate through a complex flight path.

Flight History:

The X-47B was used in a variety of operational tests and demonstrations before it was retired in 2015. During its operational history, the drone was used to perform a variety of missions, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike operations.

One of the most notable missions performed by the X-47B was the Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) demonstration, which took place in 2015. During this mission, the X-47B successfully received fuel from a manned tanker aircraft, demonstrating its ability to operate in a complex, dynamic environment.

The X-47B was retired from service in 2015, and its technology was used to develop the Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray, which is currently in development.

Components:

The X-47B is a complex aircraft with a variety of components that work together to enable its mission capabilities. Some of the key components of the X-47B include:

• Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U engine: The X-47B is powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U engine, which provides the drone with a maximum speed of 0.9 Mach.

• Multi-function active sensor radar: The X-47B is equipped with a multi-function active sensor radar, which allows the drone to detect and track targets on the ground and in the air.

• Electro-optical and infrared sensors: The X-47B is also equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors, which provide the drone with the ability to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

• Communication system: The X-47B is equipped with a communication system that allows it to communicate with other aircraft and ground-based control systems.

• Stealth technology: The X-47B was designed with stealth technology, including a low radar cross-section and a reduced infrared signature, to make it less detectable by enemy forces.

Conclusion:

The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a groundbreaking UAV that played a crucial role in the development of carrier-based UAV operations for the U.S. Navy. The drone’s development, financing, testing, and flight history demonstrate the Navy’s commitment to exploring new technologies and capabilities to meet evolving threats. With its advanced components and capabilities, the X-47B paved the way for the development of future UAVs and will continue to have a lasting impact on the Navy’s unmanned aircraft programs.

HLS.Today Source: US.Navy

Chairman Green, Ranking Member Thompson, and distinguished Members of the Committee:

Last month we marked the 20th anniversary of the Department’s creation, which brought together different agencies from across the Federal Government in a determined effort to safeguard the United States against foreign terrorism in the wake of the devastation wrought on September 11, 2001. 

Over the past 20 years, the challenges facing the homeland have grown increasingly dynamic and complex.  The Department’s 260,000 public servants meet these challenges with unflinching dedication to mission.  With acts of targeted violence occurring more and more frequently, we are sharing with local communities the best practice models of detection and intervention when an individual is exhibiting signs of moving towards violence.  We are on the ground assisting communities impacted by increasingly severe and frequent extreme weather events. We are attacking cartels and smugglers through new campaigns and enforcement surges – efforts that have resulted in the arrest of more than 9,100 smugglers, the disruption of over 9,000 human smuggling operations, and record seizures of fentanyl at our ports of entry. We are rescuing victims of human trafficking and child exploitation and bringing perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice – we made 3,655 human trafficking arrests last fiscal year alone. We are defending networks and our hospitals, schools, and electric grids from wide-ranging cyberattacks.  We are on patrol in the Arctic and in the Western Pacific to protect our interests.  This is just a snapshot of the work our extraordinary personnel do every day to keep the homeland safe.

The evolving set of challenges we face requires a modernized budget, and the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for DHS provides the Department with the resources it needs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the threats of today and tomorrow.

The displacement of people across the region is greater than at any time since World War II. I have visited the Southwest Border approximately 16 times as Secretary to meet with our personnel and to see firsthand the challenges they face and the tools they need to do their jobs. The Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposes the hiring of over 1,400 additional personnel to secure the Southwest Border, including 350 additional Border Patrol agents and 310 additional Border Patrol Processing Coordinators to get more agents back into the field performing their critical law enforcement mission.  The budget proposes $535 million in new funds for border technology, $305 million of which is to deploy new technologies and capabilities in our fight against the trafficking of fentanyl through our ports of entry.

The environment across the Southwest Border is dynamic, and the annual appropriations process does not provide the flexibility to address challenges that often change, sector to sector, month to month. We propose that Congress create a fund that can be spent for specific purposes when certain migrant encounter thresholds are met. This would equip our personnel with the tools they need to meet migration surges if and as they occur, like transportation resources, soft-sided facilities for processing, and grants to support state and local community reception.

The budget will also enable the Department to process the increasing number of asylum cases, address the backlog of applications for immigration benefits, support the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, and improve refugee processing to meet the goal of admitting up to 125,000 refugees.

Our critical infrastructure is increasingly the target of cyberattacks launched by transnational criminal organizations and hostile nation states, including the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This budget invests in personnel, infrastructure, and enhanced tools and services to increase our cybersecurity preparedness and resilience. We look forward to working with the Committee this year to codify our Cyber Safety Review Board in law to ensure it has the authorities necessary to be effective.

We must also continue to build a culture of preparedness so that communities that face increasing extreme weather events are ready and resilient. This budget provides $20.1 billion for FEMA to assist individuals and state, local, tribal, and territorial partners impacted by major disasters and funds efforts to build climate resilience.

The United States Coast Guard provides critical capabilities to defend our national interests in the Western Hemisphere, the Arctic, and the Indo Pacific. This budget makes strategic investments in the Coast Guard’s fleet of Offshore Patrol Cutters and Polar Security Cutters that will advance our security and economic prosperity.

Finally, the men and women of DHS who serve our nation are our most important and vital resource. We cannot expect to recruit and retain a world class, diverse workforce if they are not compensated fairly. We are asking for $1.4 billion to honor the promise of pay fairness for our TSA workforce.

This budget will enable the Department to respond to the threats of today and prepare for the threats of tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

The committee will come to order without objection the committee May recess at any point I’d like to go ahead and welcome everyone back to the full committee and I recognize myself for an opening statement good morning secretary mayorkas thanks for joining the committee we look forward to hearing from you as we discuss the Department’s budget and the crisis this Administration has created at our Southwest border this year we recognize the Department’s 20th anniversary and thank the many public servants past and present who have worked tirelessly to keep our homeland safe in the aftermath of 9 11 the department was created to safeguard the American people this Mission includes securing the U.S borders and approaches Mr secretary you took an oath where you swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and well and Faithfully discharge the duties of the office your job is to protect the Homeland and one of those obvious duties is to secure the United States Sovereign borders and to implement the laws duly passed by Congress however you have not secured our borders Mr secretary and I believe you’ve done so intentionally there is no other explanation for the systematic dismantling and transformation of our border into a lawless and dangerous open border you’ve asserted in the past that it’s an issue of resources but the numbers show a very different story in just the two years of your tenure more people have crossed our Southern border into the United States than the previous 12 years of two administrations combined did the budget suddenly decrease and result in this massive surge no did the number of border patrol agents suddenly get cut in January of 2021 no what got cut were 89 effective policies as Chief Ortiz told us in our Hearing in McAllen Texas we don’t have a resource crisis we have a policy crisis we will fulfill Our obligation to the American people and our oath to the Constitution secretary mayorkas need I remind you that congress makes the laws and the executive branch is obligated to follow those laws apparently the answer to that question is yes because since you’ve become Secretary you’ve disregarded the laws written by this branch of government laws passed by both Republicans and Democrats behind me you can see a list of the ways you’ve made our border and our country less secure you intentionally ended all construction of and contracts to build the border wall system you attempted to terminate the migrant protection protocols remain in Mexico policy and when these efforts failed you refused to fully enforce the policy you illegally and without Congressional approval created Mass parole programs for countries like Cuba Haiti Nicaragua and Venezuela and expanded the use of the cvp-1 app to facilitate these programs this is ultimately playing a shell game Mr secretary wherein those who would otherwise come illegally with no justification for entry now get to enter under the pretense of legality you lowered the credible fear standards so even illegal border crossers who’ve broken the laws of the United States can claim Asylum despite knowing that 9 out of 10 claims will be found illegitimate you instructed ice agents not to detain or Deport the vast majority of individuals illegally in the country while also stating that the crime of being in the country illegally is by itself no longer grounds for removal you just made that up you refuse to detain illegal aliens persuade it to the immigration and nationality act and instead allowed them to be processed in Mass into the United States you moved northern border agents to the southwestern border leaving our northern border vulnerable which has led to an increase in Encounters in some sectors as much as 900 percent and finally you ended title 42 in May without any plan to deal with the surge what’s this gotten us well here behind me you can see the results unfortunately the facts are overwhelming more than 5 million encounters at the Southwest border since President Biden took office 1.4 million gotaways known gotaways who evaded U.S border Patrol agents since President Biden took office and these are only the ones we know about we learned from U.S border Patrol Chief Ortiz that these numbers are likely 20 percent higher 80 individuals on the terrorist watch list have crossed the Southwest border so far in FY 23. fourteen thousand one hundred and forty eight pounds of fentanyl seized in 23 enough to kill the entire U.S population the U.S population you swore to defend and protect over nine and a half times and this is only the amount we know about we have no idea how much of this poison is actually being brought into the country by drug smugglers taking advantage of our poorest border and your lacks policies last month this committee held a hearing in McAllen where Chief Ortiz stated under oath that DHS does not have the operational control of our borders contradicting testimony that you previously gave before this committee g4ts went on to say that five of our nine sectors of our Southwest border are under the control of the drug cartels unimaginable secretary mayarch is your Reckless border policies are enriching the drug cartels and these cartels are laughing in our face they find it amusing that the most powerful Nation on Earth is not only unwilling to stop them but is actively facilitating their business model unfortunately your admission during the March 28 23 here Senate Judiciary hearing that you’re unaware that cartels are using illegal aliens as decoys to detract border patrol agents while they smuggle illicit Contraband and illegal aliens across the border only emboldens these cartels honestly your admission reflects incompetence imagine a general officer in the Army who has no clue about the strategy of his enemy we’d fire that General on the spot Mr secretary every time you fail to acknowledge that this is a crisis you lose even more credibility with the men and women of DHS to say nothing of the American people as you ignore the crisis at our border thousands of border patrol agents and CBP officers are on the front lines putting their lives at risk to keep our country safe and what kind of treatment do they receive from you they’re accused of whipping migrants crossing the border and now we find out that your department knew the whole time that this report was bogus you went on national television and vilified these agents of the horse Patrol unit these men and women are proud to fulfill their duty to secure our border and they do this with no thanks no support and quite honestly dishonesty from this Administration it’s downright shameful I don’t blame our border patrol agents for feeling the way they do about you as former as a former Army officer and doctor and CEO I know that when a leader loses the trust of those he’s entrusted to command and serve it’s over now let’s turn our attention to your budget proposal for DHS Mr secretary this budget proposal is an insult to every American it fails to take seriously many of the most pressing National Security threats especially our wide open border President Biden himself likes to quote and I quote him don’t tell me what you value show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value end quote well this budget clearly shows us what this Administration values and it’s not the safety of the American people like your past budgets like your policy decisions and your actions this proposed DHS budget has the singular purpose of continuing to encourage people to come into this country illegally here behind me you can see a this very clearly pet projects at the DHS we’re going to add four billion dollars but for CBP we’re going to cut their budget by 1.2 billion U.S citizenship and Immigration Services the folks that move people into the United States we’re going to give them another one point billion that’s what you want to do ice you’re going to decrease by 421 million this is all about moving people into the country and not about border security the objective of this budget is not to secure our border but to force CBP Personnel to process illegal aliens into the interior of the United States the proposed 4.7 billion Southwest border contingency fund is just another gimmick to spend American taxpayer dollars on a crisis you created with a goal of processing illegal aliens quicker out of DHS custody so that you can settle them into the interior of our country the administration say in the quiet part out loud by requesting funding for Border management instead of border security you’re signaling you have no intention of securing our borders instead of spending money spending any money on wall construction that would actually have both a practical and deterrent impact the Administration has proposed spending 3.9 billion 3.9 billion of DHS money on a climate resilience program meanwhile you propose spending a mere 40 million dollars to combat fentanyl that’s devastating our country do you think the parents and families who will continue to lose their children their brothers their sisters to fentanyl will take comfort in knowing that DHS has at least added more to the massive money already spent by this Administration on climate change I don’t think so Mr secretary I could go on and on but I will yield I do hope you’ve come here today ready to be honest with the American people because if you’re bold enough to make these policy decisions you should be brave enough to own up to them and their consequences I will now yield to the ranking member for his opening statement thank you very much I want to thank secretary milorkers for being here today to testify at the commit his annual budget hearing the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget request 103.2 billion dollars for the Department of Homeland Security to carry out its mission of safeguarding the Homeland and the American people while preserving our values the request reflects the needs of the department given the current threat landscape with mounting challenges at our borders increased fentanyl trafficking primarily by U.S citizens at ports of Entry persistent cyber threats growing domestic terrorism and more frequent and severe natural disasters it also reflects the state of the Department’s 20 years after its establishment in the wake of 9 11 and just two years removed from the damaged wrought by the Trump Administration the Biden Administration inherited a Department of Homeland Security illegal by four years of politicalization and mismanagement among secretary mayorkas’s predecessors were so-called leaders often unqualified and sometimes unlawfully appointed who did the former president’s bidding even if it meant separating small children from their parents pandering to domestic extremists and violating American Civil Rights by detaining peaceful protesters and spying on journalists one of those predecessors was not only unlawfully appointed but also refused to testify at the committee’s annual hearing on worldwide threats to the Homeland even defying a subpoena to appear under the Trump Administration DHS regularly refused to comply with regular Congressional oversight ignoring requests and subpoenas for documents for the last two years secretary mayorkas has had the difficult task of undoing the Damage Done by the last Administration while leading the department and its more than 260 000 employees through challenging times unfortunately Republicans seem intent on making a hard job even harder maybe because they think berating the secretary will get them there five minutes on Fox they spend time tweeting about their quote unquote accomplishments during the first hundred days of the 118th Congress and touting the number of television appearances they’ve made meanwhile they haven’t moved a single Bill through this committee not one I was dismayed to see that speaking to a group of campaign contributors last week about today’s hearing the chairman said and I quote get the popcorn it’s going to be fun I think that tells Americans all they need to know about the Republican agenda here they don’t want solutions to Homeland Security challenges they want to make a headline or photo op they want a political wedge issue and something to talk to that deep pocketed donors about more than what they want to work together to get things done in Washington at its worst and a sad departure from the proud bipartisan history of this committee so today Democrats want to talk to the secretary about the issues facing the Homeland and how the department would use the president’s budget request to address them we want to learn about the proposed border contingency fund and how it would be used to process migrants in an orderly and humane way we want to understand how the budget would allow CBP to deploy more technology at ports of Entry to identify and interdict Fentanyl and other illicit drugs being smothered smuggled across our borders we want to discuss what the department and its partners are doing to stop the southbound flow of American guns that are fueling cartel violence in Mexico we also want to hear about the terrorism landscape and how the budget would support the fight against proliferating domestic terrorist threats and persistent foreign terrorist threats we want to know how the budget would help strengthen our cyber defenses against adversaries like Russia and China and other Milan actors who want to know whether FEMA has resources it needs to respond to the unrelenting pace and scale of disasters in recent years and we want to ask how can we support the DHS Workforce help improve morale and provide better pay in rights for Frontline employees that’s the work of a functional committee on homeland security at a budget hearing and that’s what you hear from the Democratic side of the aisle today I also want to take the opportunity to thank secretary mayorkas for his responsiveness to congress not just to date but since taking the job over two years ago the speed at which the department under his leadership has responded to congressional oversight by both Republicans and Democrats is unprecedented in the 20 years I’ve served on this committee on a personal note I appreciate the secretary and FEMA administrator Criswell being on the ground within hours of an ef4 tornado stracking Mississippi last month and the president and first lady visiting shortly thereafter the tornado devastated parts of my district and the department has worked quickly to help provide resources communities like those I represent were often ignored in times of need by the last Administration it’s good to see that the Biden Administration not only talks to talk on equity and Disaster Response but is also walking the walk when it matters most while we are looking for your continued support Mr secretary as survivors work to get back on their feet as long as the recovery process continues in closing I want to note that today marks the 28th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and last week we commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who were killed or injured in those tragic attacks and their families we are grateful to the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security who work every day to help prevent future attacks and keep Americans safe I look forward to today’s discussion and I yield back a gentleman yields back other members of the committee are reminded that opening statements may be submitted for the record we’re pleased to have secretary Marcus here before us for this time uh I’d ask the secretary if he would rise and raise his right hand do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give before the committee of Homeland Security of the United States House of Representatives will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God thank you let the record reflect that the secretary has answered in the affirmative I appreciate that and we’ll get started I would like to formally introduce our witness The Honorable Alejandro mayorcas is the seventh Secretary of Homeland Security a role in which he served since February the 2nd of 2021 prior to his appointment he served as the deputy secretary of DHS and the director of USCIS I thank you for being here today Mr secretary the witness’s full statement will appear in the record I now recognize secretary mayorkas for five minutes to summarize his opening statement thank you very much chairman Greene ranking member Thompson distinguished members of this committee last month we marked the 20th anniversary of the Department’s creation which brought together different agencies from across the federal government in a determined effort to safeguard the United States against foreign terrorism in the wake of the devastation rot on September 11 2001. over the past 20 years the challenges facing the Homeland have grown increasingly Dynamic and complex the Department’s 260 thousand public servants meet these challenges with unflinching dedication to Mission with acts of targeted violence occurring more and more frequently we are sharing with local communities the best practice models of detection and intervention when an individual is exhibiting signs of moving towards violence we are on the ground assisting communities impacted by increasingly severe and frequent extreme weather events we are attacking cartels and Smugglers through new campaigns and enforcement sergers efforts that have resulted in the arrest of more than 9 100 Smugglers the disruption of over nine thousand human smuggling operations and record seizures of fentanyl at our ports of Entry we are rescuing victims of human trafficking and child exploitation and bringing perpetrators of these heinous crimes to Justice we made 3655 human trafficking arrests last fiscal year alone we are defending networks in our Hospital schools and electric grids from wide-ranging cyber attacks we are on patrol in the Arctic and in the Western Pacific to protect our interests this is just a snapshot of the work our extraordinary Personnel due every day to keep the Homeland safe the evolving set of challenges we Face requires a modernized budget and the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget for DHS provides the department with the resources it needs to prevent prepare for and respond to the threats of today and tomorrow the displacement of people across the region is greater than at any time since World War II I have visited the Southwest border approximately 16 times as secretary to meet with our personnel and to see firsthand the challenges they face and the tools they need to do their jobs the fiscal year 2024 budget proposes the hiring of over 1 400 additional Personnel to secure the Southwest border including 350 additional border patrol agents and 310 additional border patrol processing coordinators to get more agents back into the field performing their critical law enforcement mission the budget proposes 535 million dollars in new funds for Border technology 305 million dollars of which is to deploy new technologies and capabilities in our fight against the trafficking of fentanyl through our ports of Entry the environment across the Southwest border is dynamic and the annual Appropriations process does not provide the flexibility to address challenges that often change sector to sector month to month we propose that Congress create a fund that can be spent for specific purposes when certain migrant encounter thresholds are met this would equip our personnel with the tools they need to meet migration surges if and as they occur like transportation resources soft side of facilities for processing and grants to support state and local community reception the budget will also enable the department to process the increasing number of Asylum cases address the backlog of applications for immigration benefits support the citizenship and integration grant program and improve Refugee processing to meet the goal of admitting up to 125 000 refugees our critical infrastructure is increasingly the target of cyber attacks launched by transnational criminal organizations and hostile Nation States including the People’s Republic of China Russia Iran and North Korea this budget invests in Personnel infrastructure and enhanced tools and services to increase our cyber security preparedness and resilience we look forward to working with the committee this year to codify our cyber safety Review Board in law to ensure that it has the authorities necessary to be effective we must also continue to build a cultural of preparedness so that communities that face increasing extreme weather events are ready and resilient this budget provides 20.1 billion dollars for FEMA to assist individuals and state local tribal and territorial Partners impacted by Major disasters and funds efforts to build climate resilience the United States Coast Guard provides critical capabilities to defend our national interests in the Western Hemisphere the Arctic and the indo-pacific this budget makes strategic investments in the Coast Guard’s Fleet of offshore Patrol Cutters and polar security Cutters that will advance our security and economic prosperity finally the men and women of DHS who serve our nation are our most important and vital resource we cannot expect to recruit and retain a world-class diverse Workforce if they are not compensated fairly we are asking for 1.4 billion dollars to honor the promise of pay fairness for our TSA Workforce this budget will enable the department to respond to the threats of today and prepare for the threats of tomorrow thank you very much thank you Mr secretary members will be recognized by order of seniority for their five minutes of questioning the secretary has a hard stop I believe at 1 30 and so we’ll only probably have time today for one single round I now recognize myself for five minutes of questioning I want to show a video but first need to set the stage earlier in the year we had a hearing at the border with border patrol Chief Ortiz and I asked him if by the definition written into the law we have operational control of our Southwest border he said resoundingly we do not following that Mr secretary you were questioned before the senate about operational control this was March the 28th just a few days ago let’s watch your testimony with respect to the definition of operational control I do not use the definition that appears in the secure fence Act and the security Defense Act provides statutorily that operational control is defined as preventing all unlawful injuries into the United States by that definition no Administration has ever had operational control so here you admit that according to the definition that’s in the code no secretary has ever had operational control so you know that that definition written into the law has not been achieved now let’s go back a few months to the testimony you gave here in the house this is before Chief Ortiz admitted and told the truth that there was no security at the Southwest border next clip will you testify under oath right now do we have operational control yes or no yes we do and we have operational control of the borders yes we do in Congressman we are working two weeks operational control defined in this section the term operational Patrol means the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States including entries by terrorists other unlawful aliens instruments of terrorism narcotics and other Contraband do you stand by on your testimony that we have operational control in light of this definition Congressman I think the Secretary of Homeland Security would have said the same thing in 2020. Mr Roy reads Mr Roy reads the very definition you just admitted last month in the Senate that has not been achieved he said according to this definition do you have operational control according to the definition that you just said no one has operation I’ve ever had operational control he asks you under oath in the United States Congress if you had operational control according to that definition and you said I do that is a false statement because you admitted in the Senate that no one has ever achieved that you make it very clear Mr secretary that you’ve known all along according to the definition that is written in the law passed by the Congress that you do not have operational control and yet in testimony to this house under oath the definition was read to you you’ve asked according to that you’re asked according to that definition whether control exists and you say yes that sounds like a lie under oath now I want to I want to change the subject just a bit I want to set the stage for another clip Senator cornyn just last month is asking you about the cartel strategy and he describes what border patrol officers and leaders have come before this committee Congress told us on trips to the border is the strategy of the drug cartels they’ve been telling us this for 18 months the cartels are overwhelming The Crossing sites tying up the Border Patrol and then they’re slipping the drugs and the human trafficking and the nefarious folks they want to get in the U.S around the CBP when they’re tied up it’s a it’s a distraction in the military we’d call it a neutralizing attack he even says that Merrick Garland the Attorney General of this Administration came before their committee and said yes this is the cartel strategy let’s see clip number three are you familiar with that strategy do you agree with the attorney general I I am not aware of uh that as a strategy so the cartel’s main strategy is something you’re not even aware of I guess there’s no Communications between you and the Attorney General inside this Administration do you you guys don’t talk to one another um that’s insane Mr secretary you just admitted you have no clue about the central strategy of the cartels you’ve created by your open border what again what general officer would we allow to stay on the job in the Army if he didn’t understand the strategy of the enemy not only have you lied under oath you just admitted your own incompetence it’s it’s really quite unacceptable you knew very well the definition wasn’t being fulfilled you told Chip Roy Congressman Roy yes I have operational control by that definition and then later under oath you admit no one’s ever had control by that definition then you tell the senate I don’t even know what the cartel’s main strategy is I’m out of time Mr secretary but that doesn’t paint a very good picture of someone who’s doing their job very well I now yield to the ranking member thank you very much uh since we’re talking about uh the secure fence Act definition uh I was here when Congress voted on it under secure fence act operational control is defined as preventing all unlawful entries into the United States all people and all narcotics 100 percent what wasn’t mentioned at the hearing last month is that the definition of operational control the chief was asked about has never been achieved by any Administration democrat or republican not by Trump not by anyone Republicans have acknowledged that this in the past the former Republican chairman of the committee Peter King the author of The secure offense act said during the 2013 markup you know we had a hundred percent in the secure offense act and we’ve met with secretary shertov and secretary Napolitano and the fact is I think a 100 percent is unreachable at the same marker representative Michael McCall also a former Republican chairman of this committee said but when you put this number as a matrix in the definition of operational control you make it impossible to achieve operational control Perfection shouldn’t be the enemy of the good under this definition again we will never ever get operational control because nothing in life is a hundred percent yet Mr secretary Republicans are criticizing you for not achieving something that no secretary has ever achieved it seems like their standard changes dependent on the administration that’s a double standard that’s partisan politics and that’s Washington for you when I met recently with Chief Ortiz he said that no secretary has been more supportive of the border patrol than you and that you and he are in close regular contact I was glad to hear that and I look forward to heading back to the Border again to see my own view what’s happening so can you for the committee uh share uh the explanation of this hundred percent uh Target as a as a measurement for securing the Border ranking member Thompson Mr chairman the secure fence act provides that operational control means that not a single individual crosses the border illegally and it’s for that reason that prior secretaries and myself have said that under that definition no Administration has a operational control that is why if um Congressman Roy had actually allowed me to answer the question fully and not cut me off at every time I would have continued to say as I did in response to Senator Langford as I have testified under oath multiple times that we use I use a lens of reasonableness in defining operational control are we maximizing the resources that we have to deliver the most effective results and under that definition we are doing so very much to gain operational control so that is my response with respect to secure fence Act of I believe it is 2007 a response that when given the opportunity to provide to Congress under oath I actually have delivered multiple times so this budget that you’re before this committee today uh does that budget move you toward that goal we believe it it does a regular member Thompson and I should say uh this year for the first time since 2011 we have been budgeted to receive an increase in the number of border patrol agents the first time since 2011. 300 to be precise next year for our fiscal year 2004 24 budget we request an additional 350 border patrol agents as just one example of how this advances the security of our Southern border through the extraordinary work of our Personnel in the department and let me say for the record that in each time that the request for increasing the numbers in the border patrol Democrats on this committee have always supported the increase it’s been my Republican colleagues who’ve opposed uh the increase so either you’re going to support the border patrol in securing the Border or you’re not I yield back uh the gentleman yields just point of clarification my comments were not about the content of the definition the fact that you said the definition was happening you you said I did that definition yes so uh it was about integrity and not about success on that particular point I now recognize Mr Higgins from Louisiana thank you Mr chairman Mr secretary you stand in your testimony of the day regarding an operational control of our Southern border which by any reasonable man’s definition certainly been lost you’re standing on a word in this in the legislation that gave birth to the specific loss and all illegal Crossing and no one’s ever we’ll take a drip America be okay with that which you and your execution of your inaugurated president’s policy have given America as a flood we’ve identified over 11 laws that you violated some of the most egregious the secure offense act 2006 concerning operational control immigration nationalization act 236 section c 8 U.S code 1226 concerning detention Ina 241 section 82 U.S code 8 1231 concerning detention immigration and nationalization act section D5 Alpha eight U.S code 1182 concerning parole we’ve given you ample opportunity to to seek some sort of honorable exit from your executive position sir we take no pleasure in witnessing you dismantle yourself as a fellow American before the whole country your legacy millions of illegals enter our country Millions under your watch Lost of operational control of our border aligning DHS policy as an asset to Mexican cartel drug and human trafficking the disintegration of our national sovereignty destruction of countless thousands of Texas family lives overwhelming crime waves sweeping across our country over a million criminal Runners you call gotaways flooding into America many carrying backpacks loaded with deadly Fentanyl and meth or hurting teenage girls into prostitution sex slave networks Across America 225 000 Americans dead from Mexican cartel drug overdose since you took office two years ago you and your inaugurated president but mostly you sir because you have your whole mind about you and you have a highly decorated background in Border operations so you’re supposed to be the expert you sir are the Secretary of Homeland Security who has failed in your sworn oath to protect our nation from invasion you had an obligation to execute the president’s policies or advise the president if his policies were bringing injury to America ultimately your oath requires you to secure our nation’s Sovereign border with Mexico and do anything necessary to stop the Mexican cartels from trafficking endless wave upon human wave of illegals into America along with miserable death unspeakable grief graveyards Filled from sea to shine and sea with the bodies of American Sons and Daughters dead from Fentanyl you’ve brought generational trauma Upon Our Country I believe history will witness your era of service as a transitional time in our country well what was America like before secretary mayorcus what was America like after him it’s stunning that you could sit there and and smugly grin as if you’ve not miserably failed your country we could give you money to to hire a thousand new border agents nobody wants to work for you they’re coming forth we can’t keep up with the whistleblowers that are coming to testify against your command we could give you money to deploy all sorts of new technology I have evidence in my file that you’ve given command to not deploy technology that you currently have because it interfered with the cartel’s business model we’re done done done with your lives to America it’s shameful what you brought Upon Our Country chairman I have no interest in asking this secretary any questions Mr obfus Gates and lies Mr chairman I yield Mr chairman the gentleman yields the chair recognizes Miss Jackson Lee Mr secretary I’ll give you a moment but my question is before as I start my questioning and you know time is short do you take an oath and on behalf of the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security particularly those responsible for border security in the North and the South to protect the American people and are you doing it in the best manner the securest manner the honest man with Integrity to save the lives of the American people and to ensure that Hamlet cities counties and otherwise are safe and that our domestic security is safe yes I am congresswoman and did you want to have a sentence responding to the gentleman oh I’ve chosen not to thank you and so under oath your answer is yes and that is on behalf of yourself and those men and women that are now serving as we speak at the border both North and South yes it is my Republican colleagues have been painting quite the picture today and to hear them tell it you inherited a secure orderly situation at the border I for one have been to the Border many times in the midst of mass confusion and everything would be fine that of course was not under your tenure if only you had kept things just as they were or nothing could be further from the truth now I know that many members of Congress only pay attention to the latest news cycle and whether the clip of their five minutes at this hearing will go viral but some of us remember the previous administration and its disastrous border policies as a 20-year member of this committee I truly believe that comprehensive immigration reform and border security must not be partisan it must be nonpartisan and in actuality that is not what we’re facing today we’re here for your budget presentation the dollars you need to continue to safeguard our cities counties and States so I’d like to direct your attention to a couple of images one that you will see shortly deals with the dhis office was taken by the DHS office of the Inspector General at a border patrol station at McAllen Texas in June 2019. reports on the overcrowded conditions at this and other facilities found that migrants including many children had not been able to shower in weeks were not fed adequate food we’re getting sick from flu outbreaks women and children were forced to drink from toilets when they had access to running water at all hundreds of children were detained for more than 72 hours in violation of the law and that was when our border patrol agents and others were overwhelmed I was present during those times in the past administration and tragically many migrants died while being held in these kinds of conditions including at least five children I guess this is what Republicans idea of operational control it’s a secretary would you please remind me who was president in 2019 when this photo was taken congresswoman that was President Trump that’s right now at least in this picture children seem to be with their families let’s move on to the next image foreign The Pride Administration announced a zero tolerance policy which resulted in children being torn away from their parents I was there then including you have citizen children American Kids worse yet the administration not had no plan to track family separation and allow for reunification as of a couple of months ago more than a thousand children have still not been reunited with their families now some might say that child separations and death and custody are just the cause of achieving border security and if we reinstate the previous administration’s policy we could keep the Border I find that despicable however the truth is that these policies weren’t even effective in securing the Border in fact border patrol recorded 41 percent more illegal entries in the fiscal year 2019 under the then president during the last year under President then during the last year of the Obama Administration again Mr secretary just in case people don’t remember the president was at the time of this picture that speaks to a child yeah doing that time frame congresswoman there was President Trump you’re right again so let me in my final question ask as a refugee yourself do you believe the inhumane and ineffective border policies of the Trump Administration really equal to operational control and does your budget reflect your serious commitment to ensuring more Personnel morale boost and to be able to do this job so we safe guard and secure the American people Mr secretary congresswoman the uh the policies of the past administration those that were cruel and inhumane not only did not achieve operational control under the definition of the secure fence act they also disobeyed our values as a country our budget that we have proposed for fiscal year 2024 advances the position of this department to gain operational control under a reasonable definition as all secretaries have said the um it is unachievable to prevent any alien during a year from crossing the border not a single one we’ll have to get that New York Times article out that’s about the migrants being enslaved uh I recognize Mr uh guest from Mississippi uh thank you Mr chairman Mr secretary we know that uh earlier this week DHS released its National encounters by month uh March the sixth highest month on record ever uh with a total of 257 910 immigrants that were encountered just last month alone uh we know that physical year 2021 that we set a record for Encounters of over 1.9 million fiscal year 22 we shattered that record with more than 2.7 million encounters and currently uh we’re on Pace in physical year 2023 to break that record once again uh March marks the 12th straight month that we’ve had more than 200 000 Encounters in the 24th straight months that we’ve had more than 185 000 encounters uh we see what is going on on the border just within the last two weeks we see that information there behind me g4t’s uh uh put information out on April the 7th he called it his week in review which he does every week for the week of April the 7th four agents assaulted 34 000 apprehensions ten thousand eight hundred gotaways eighty thousand dollar C’s five hundred and eighty pounds of marijuana 202 pounds of fentanyl 15 pounds of meth twelve pounds of heroin two pounds of cocaine 10 Firearms 14 sex offenders nine gang members and four individuals arrested with outstanding warrants all that in the week of the seventh of April the week of April the 14th the chief’s week in review and another 11 agents assaulted 34 600 apprehensions ten thousand one hundred gotaways 1.24 million Seas 146 pounds of methamphetamine 106 pounds of fentanyl 39 pounds of ecstasy 14 pounds of cocaine 29 Firearms 11 sex offenders seven warrants and four gang members uh just last month uh at a field hearing uh down in McAllen g40s was asked about the borders being secure he gave an answer that I thought was very truthful very forthcoming when he said that he could not testify before this committee that the Border was Secure he actually testified that five of the nine sectors along the Southwest border were not secure and so my question to you secretary mayork is is it your testimony that all nine of the Southwest sectors from the Rio Grande Valley to San Diego that under whatever definition you use that you believe that all nine sectors are secure Congressman you and I have spoken about this issue before both under oath and in your office uh I do not understate the challenge that the border and I’m not trying to cut you off I’m very limited on my time is is yes or no do you believe that all nine sectors are secure and I’ll be happy to have a conversation with you outside of this hearing uh but my time is very limited Congressman as I have said before we are devoting all of the resources available to securing the border so currently yes yes or no as we sit here today based on these figures here based upon all the figures we’ve had for the last two years is our every our all nine sector to the Southwest border secure Congressman um it is my testimony that sectors at different times month to month um experience different levels of challenges and and I understand that Mr secretary and I’m not and I’m not trying to cut you off I’m asking you that today as we sit here today are all nine sectors of the Southwest border secure and I’m just asking for a yes or no answer Congressman I know you are asking for a yes or no answer and the fact of the matter is that the challenges of the Border are very complex and dynamic all right well I’m going to take from that that if you can’t answer yes then the answer is no that is that is not true all right so then you’re saying all nine are secure it is my testimony that the border is secure and we are working every day day and night to increase its security the challenges that we are experiencing at the border cannot be overstated all right let me ask you another question more because last year physical year 2022 how many non-citizens were removed from the country bye uh Congressman I I have uh that um it 72 177. that’s what was in the annual ice report in in which fiscal year Congress oh that’d be last year and the physical year 2022 that was released then the report put out by your Agency on December the 30th do you know the number of nine number of cases on the non-detained national docket you know what that docket is correct that’s a number of individuals who have entered the country do you know the number of cases that are on the non-detained national docket as of physical year 2022. so if I may your I believe your figure for 2022 is is incorrect I have a different figure for that all right well what’s in your report and I’m going to say what’s in the report that your agency put out and here’s the report on page 16 it says that the number of non-detained cases was 4.7 million and that was at the close of fiscal year 2022 at a hearing I held that I was in just yesterday the director of ice Mr Johnson testified that that number is now 5.3 million and is expected to grow to over 6 million cases by the end of this year so six million cases of individuals who are in the country 1.2 million who have orders of removal and yet your agency only removes 70 000 last year I think that your agency is not enforcing the law Mr mayorkas and I think that you can do a better job and Mr chairman I know I’m out of time and I yield back gentlemen yields uh the chair recognizes Mr Payne from New Jersey thank you Mr chairman and um you know we we have such short memories uh in this committee um with respect to the situation at the southern border um I was just like to um admonish or condemn the person who came up with the idea of saying hey I know how to stop people from coming across the border when they get here we’ll take their children from them and lock them in a fence and forget about them and walk away let your children find theirselves in that position let you find yourself in that position it’s a shame it’s absolutely a shame to use children as props as a way to get what you want and to also just ignore that the fentanyl problem is that ports of Entry by American citizens whenever you hear that you just close your ears obviously there is some fentanyl coming across the southern border but the fact of the matter is most of the fentanyl coming into the United States is coming through ports of Entry by American citizens keep denying it keep keep not you don’t want to hear it you don’t want to know about that you want The Narrative of the Southern border as the problem everything wrong with this country is the southern border you should look around you should look around because while you’re looking only at the southern border there are folks bringing fentanyl in from every port of entry in this country and they’re doing it because you know they know you’re looking at the southern border amazing Mr secretary I’m going to give you an opportunity to talk about your budget which is what we’re supposed to be here for but you know the buttered popcorn is being given out on the other side so anyway um let’s talk about climate change and uh it’s a profound threat to our national security we’re seeing this threat in many um of the natural disasters that are occurring more frequently and with more intensity but my colleagues on the other side don’t believe that either uh in this um 2021 this committee received expert testimony that stated America lost years of progress on addressing climate change due to the Trump administration’s outright refusal to accept science and its work to dismantle climate science programs bind Administration in contrast has taken commendable steps on focusing on climate change Mr secretary could you please provide a few more examples of how under your tenure DHS is focusing on climate change and the threat it poses to our national security Congressman the gravity and frequency of extreme weather events is only increasing we used to speak of hurricanes tornadoes fires in terms of Seasons we don’t do so anymore as the ranking member Thompson mentioned I was in Mississippi but a few weeks ago to see what a tornado could do to an entire town in just 20 seconds with winds traveling at up to 200 miles per hour I was in Kentucky last year to see another town ripped to shreds by a tornado in light of that what we have to do is build communities Readiness for extreme weather events their ability to withstand them to the best of their abilities their ability to recover from them when they strike and prove resilience we have invested heavily in the building resilient communities fund this past year we doubled it we are seeking in the fiscal year 2024 budget more funds to build communities and protect the American public from extreme weather events that are striking and destroying more than ever before thank you Mr chairman and I will yield back the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Bishop from North Carolina for his testimony our first questions secretary Mario because I’m I’m very glad that the gamesmanship about operational control is finally out in the open you said just a moment ago that if Congressman Roy hadn’t cut you off in that hearing I was in that hearing in the Judiciary Committee as well you are one of the most assiduous bureaucrats I have witnessed at evading and filibustering in response when members have five minutes to ask you questions instead of coming forward directly here’s what you could have said to Congressman Roy no Congressman Roy we do not have operational control but no Administration has achieved the standard of operational control set forth in law that took about two three seconds and then he could have followed up with this and I’d like to secretary mayor orcas given that illegal immigration has been setting records for your entire tenure the fact is that under your leadership the Department of Homeland Security is farther away from the legally mandated standard of operational control than ever much farther away correct Congressman our apprehension rates are consistent with the apprehension rates of Prior administrations over the years and the fact by the numbers by the Numbers if if the standard of operational control is no illegal immigration coming across our border then you’re farther away from that than ever the fact of the matter is the migration that we are experiencing at our Southern border is not exclusive to our Southern border it is gripping the entire Hemisphere and the entire world your policies are causing it Mr secretary Congress set an objective in law you haven’t pursued it you have pursued its opposite who are you you just said a moment ago that by a reasonable definition of operational control you’ve achieved it who are you to displace the legal definition of operational control by this Congress in favor of pursuing one of your own invention I’m not displacing the definition well you just settle reasonable one is a different one right what do you mean by that what how is the one defined by congress not reasonable you understand what law means you’re a law you’re one of you’re an excellent lawyer you know that not to be tenable you’re a member of the administration charged with the duty to execute the laws that congress has passed isn’t that right absolutely and we are doing so not the operational control standard you’ve abandoned it to adopt one that you say is reasonable correct Congressman um that is a definition you’re asking me whether we enforce the laws that congress has passed and the answer is yes we do no you don’t because Congress set forth an objective in law and you have seen fit to disregard it let me ask you this Chief Ortiz when he testified before us in March didn’t just admit that we didn’t have offer don’t have operational control of the Border didn’t just admit that the Border much of the border is not secure there was this I said the cause is change in policy is it not sir will you be candid enough to be unequivocal and clear that that has driven the change and here’s his answer I will tell you sir that when I was a deputy chief an acting Chief down here in 2014 a lot of people described what was happening here in South Texas as a humanitarian crisis or voter crisis and I was very candid and I said I think we have a bit of a policy crisis and I still hold true that we have some policies in place where we need to ensure that the men and women out there patrolling the Border investigating these criminal cartels are actually allowed to do their job each and every day and I said and their job is to detain and remove immigrants and he said yes sir how about you Mr secretary do you admit that your policies have led the country farther away from operational control of the Border as defined by the Congress Congressman no I did not I’m not surprised here’s your admission here’s one of your admissions look at page seven of your own written testimony guess what you have there you’re asking for a 342 percent increase in the funding for combating child exploitation you want to know why that is let me tell you because you won’t tell me candidly the reason is that your policies have led to 345 000 unaccompanied children entering this country which now the New York Times and multiple articles has revealed what has led what that’s led to in the quality of their lives you apparently believe this to be a game Mr my orgas I think that’s why all the acrimonious interchanges that happen over and over even you know the last time that I asked you whether you maintained that we have operational control back in November and you said yes and we’re trying to make it we’re trying to do more every day they played that on 60 Minutes and let me tell you this it wasn’t because 60 Minutes is a fan of mine it is because everybody of any reasonable sensibility looks at what you have been saying and what you continue to say and recognize that it is it blinks at reality and you know it you’re not delusional but you are prepared to be dishonest with this Congress repeatedly I yield back the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Carrera from California thank you Mr chairman um Mr secretary welcome thank you for being here if I’m taking a minute let’s talk about congress’s role in helping you do your job let’s discuss achieving operational control fiscal year 2023 Government funding package provided U.S customs and border patrol with over 7 billion dollars in funding including almost a 20 percent increase in Border Patrol not a single Republican in this committee voted for that package last year 2023 this same funding package was the first to increase border patrol agents since 2011 as he said do you believe these extra border patrol officers help you do your job I most certainly do congressman and that is why our fiscal year 2024 budget seeks an additional 350 border patrol agents as well as other personnel secretary let’s talk about fentanyl deaths in my district I’m very disturbed very concerned Republicans have advocated 20 capping the fiscal year 2022 budget at 2022 levels Republicans seeking to essentially cut the funding for your Department that cap would essentially result in a reduction of 200 2400 2400 CBP agents and officers would that mean essentially that 155 000 pounds of cocaine would not be seized over a thousand pounds of fentanyl would not have been seized over two thousand pounds of heroin would not have been seized how would reducing 2400 agents at the border affect your job sir Congressman if our budget were reduced as you identify it would seriously it would Gravely harm our ability to apprehend individuals who are attempting to cross our border illegally who would Gravely harm our ability to interdict Fentanyl and other narcotics coming through the ports of entry and elsewhere and cause other harm and I should say with respect to fentanyl the challenge that this drug that death and destruction that this drug causes has been um building year over a year for a number of years there were 58 nearly 58 000 fennel overdose deaths in 2020 alone this is a challenge that we all have to work together to address fundamentally fundamentally in the context of immigration thank you Mr secretary we’re dealing with a broken system and we need reform thank you secretary Mr chairman what if I may without any objection I’d like to submit a letter for the record from the office of ledge Affairs to the Appropriations Committee that does a complete analysis of what capping fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending at 2022 levels would mean to the services the Department of Homeland Security without objection so ordered and finally in the last minute I have left let’s talk a big picture here Mr Mr secretary refugees after World War II there were 60 million European refugees moving throughout the world Wars famine covid-19 have an interesting way of affecting the refugee movements you stated a minute ago that this was not only a U.S issue but a issue for the continent is Colombia having issues with refugees are other nations in this continent having to address challenges of the refugees is this a worldwide phenomena Congressman it most certainly is our hemisphere is gripped by an unprecedented level of migration since World War II you mentioned the country of Colombia Colombia now is a residence to approximately 2.5 million Venezuelans who have fled that authoritarian regime the causes of people being on the move of course were spurred by covid-19 pandemic but also because of authoritarian regimes public corruption extraordinary poverty violence and other elements that force people to leave their homes thank you Mr chairman the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Jimenez from Florida thank you Mr chairman um uh Mr majorcus secretary America’s uh you were named uh to be the Secretary of Homeland Security uh I believe on November 23 2020 is that correct I don’t remember the price precise state but I think yes I think that’s probably true okay did you and the and the president have discussions about how the policies that needed to be implemented uh in the department uh during the transition period um a congressman um that’s a simple yes or no answer did you have discussions or not yes yes we do okay thank you uh did you advise the president on his first day to rescind and then issue executive orders in the Department of Homeland Security uh rescinding the migrant protection plan stopping the construction of the wall and then various other uh executive orders that he signed into effect actually on his first day in office a congressman I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to speak of the deliberative process you mean did you did he do that on his own or did you have any say-so in that Congressman I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to speak of the deliberative process interesting do you advise the president on the the issue of Homeland Security I certainly do in the in the course scope of my services secretary all right um the you know my colleagues on the other side say that you inherited a mess at uh at the border um in 2000 fiscal year 2019 um or actually yeah in March of 2019 president then president Trump issued the the MPP the the basically remain in Mexico policy and in that year uh there were 977 000 encounters according to my numbers anyway and and you could see that after he issued that uh that executive order that it took a while for it to take effect but then it started to take effect and we have fewer and fewer encounters at the border where in fiscal 19 you had 977 000 Encounters in fiscal year 20 you had about 458 000 that’s a 50 drop in the number of encounters and then we get to the Biden Administration and your time uh right after the bite Administration rescinded a lot of these orders and issued their new executive orders we went from Encounters in January of 78 000 and jumped to a hundred and one thousand 173 178 180 189 213 209 192 where we had a 1.7 million encounters at the border that’s like a four-fold increase over what we had the previous year then the year after it got even worse so that we’re at 2.3 million Encounters in fiscal year 2022. now in light of this have you advised the president to change his policies at all a congressman I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to speak of the deliberative process but let me say this that the challenge at the border year to year is the function of many different factors so for example no sir I’m just I’m asking you it’s not about I’m asking you do you have you advised them that to change his policies and you refuse to answer that I understand that fair enough okay uh and so these numbers reflect abject failure at the border and so somebody has to take responsibility for it and since I guess you and he don’t talk or maybe if you do you’re not having been very effective at changing policy then maybe we need a new Secretary of Homeland Security uh and with that I yield back thank you the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Carter Mr chairman thank you very much Mr secretary thank you for being with us today the Biden Administration is to be commended for recognizing that disasters exasperate existing inequities and further entrench existing social and economic disparities under your leadership in September 2021 several important actions were taken toward increasing equity in disasters they include ending a policy that prevented many families particularly rural families in the south from getting help to rebuild their inherited homes after natural disasters secretary Marcus can you explain the Biden administration’s approach to supporting communities impacted by disasters is the Border more secure under your leader thank you I don’t remember interrupting anyone when they had the floor I don’t know who said that when did that come who said something you may video a technical issue on the video so we’ll give you uh an extra 20 seconds thank you sir yep secretary Marcus can you explain the Biden administration’s approach to supporting communities impacted by disaster how is FEMA ensuring that communities have more Equitable outcomes and how will you measure whether these efforts are effective Congressman um the extreme weather events are impacting many communities across this country and it is Our obligation and our responsibility to ensure that there is no community that is disenfranchised from receiving the relief to which it is entitled as a result of the damage It suffers by reason of an extreme weather event and so one of the policy changes that we made recognizing that some poor rural communities do not necessarily have the documents that are traditionally evidence of home ownership to reach them where they are and how they live and perhaps for example if an individual does not have a deed of trust or mortgage documents because the home was passed from generation to generation to accept utility bills an affidavit regarding ownership to not leave them disenfranchised because of the traditions in that Community as well as the limited resources they have and Mr secretary I will note that that action has made an incredible difference for not just Democrats but for people throughout Louisiana throughout the country who find themselves in Dire Straits after natural disaster so I commend you and the administration for recognizing that disasters don’t identify party they don’t identify race and neither has this Administration I appreciate that while these policies should be commended I’m concerned about the national flood insurance programs new risk rating 2.0 system the new risk rating 2.0 system may leave my constituents especially in low and moderate income communities priced out of their homes by premium increases or they may have to choose to forego coverage entirely as a climate change as climate change worsens and brings about more frequent disasters which may increase flooding risk how are you insuring communities like mine that are negatively impacted by flood insurance plans that are supposedly aimed to help but in fact sir respectfully are doing just the opposite Congressman their two efforts underway number one as as you know and as you and I have discussed in the past we have significant Grant programs that are intended to reach uh communities and help them uh rebuild as well as to prevent uh harm from initially occurring we are reviewing our grant programs to ensure that again they leave no Community disenfranchised um we are reviewing uh and need to continue to review the risk rating 2.0 given the concerns that have been expressed with it and I can assure you that we are doing so and we will report out our results thank you uh risk rating 2.0 as we have said repeatedly is a game changer for many people um some people have to make determination can they live in the home that they’ve always enjoyed can they live in the community that they’ve always enjoyed so I’m happy to hear you say Secretary of America said this is not a done deal that there is an opportunity for revisiting with the recognition that it has caused harm and we should modify so with that sir I thank you very much net yield back the general had a little extra time if you want to take it you’re good okay the gentleman from Louisiana yelms I now recognize Mr Pfluger from Texas thank you Mr chairman this is a sad day America’s security has never been weaker than it is under the Biden Administration and you’re reign as Secretary of Homeland Security on March 13th of this year a Texas DPS Trooper attempted to stop ration Comer for speeding and Khmer refused to stop in a reckless high-speed chase in student at one point during this chase the suspect began to nonchalantly live stream himself driving at 105 miles per hour and evading the police officer behind him at the same time a 70 year old 71 year old grandmother and her seven-year-old granddaughter were on their way home after a play date their names were Maria and Amelia tembunga Maria is the mother of two of my constituents as Maria passed through the intersection of State Highway 163 and I-10 Service Road Comer blew through a red light and struck Maria in Amelia’s vehicle they were pronounced dead at the scene along with two other people after law enforcement secured that scene it was revealed that Khmer was a human trafficker smuggling 11 illegal aliens in his truck evading the law over the last few weeks I have heard countless stories of this beautiful seven-year-old girl about Amelia and Maria about how Amelia was an outgoing fashionista she wanted to be an influencer about how she loved to play with her friends and dance with her Aunt Jenny and cook with her grandmother Maria I’m wearing a pink tie today Mr secretary in honor of that little girl most importantly Mr secretary the Tim Bunga family is here today Emilio Maria’s husband and Amelia’s grandfather Elisa Maria’s daughter and Amelia’s mother in Virginia Maria’s daughter and Amelia’s ather sitting right behind you they came here today because they want answers they came here today because of the failures of you and your leadership they came here because they want closure they deserve answers Mr mayorkas will you turn around and offer them your condolences and an apology for the failure of your Administration that led to the death of their loved ones they’re right there they’re standing right there Congressman Mr secretary they’re standing there and I think they deserve an apology from you Congressman Mr chairman may I stand and turn certain certainly our heart outbreaks to your loss of heartbreaks for the loss of all victims of criminal activity it is a failure of the policies that have allowed hundreds of thousands of families to go through this grief they want to meet with you today Mr secretary I’ll host it in my office will you commit to meeting with them Congressman I most certainly will as long as you can politicize the meeting Mr secretary the only person politicizing anything here is you the security of this country is not a political matter in fact on September 21 2021 you told me in this committee room that the Border was Secure if we can play that video Mr chairman I think we have a video that is going to play my time is continuing yeah go ahead if you want to ask or talk about something else while they tee that up um see what’s going on here with our here we go we’ll give you a little extra time so it took some time is the Border more secure under your leadership than when you started a congressman the border is secure we’re executing our plan and I’ve been very clear and unequivocal in that regard Mr secretary the question is is the Border more secure now under your leadership honestly this is no less secure than it was previously Mr mayorcus are you going to tell the tambunga family that the border is secure today Congressman you are politicizing it tragedy I’m Not politicizing Tragedy they came here to Washington D.C of their own volition to get accountability for the loss of their family two beloved members of their family this year we had a hearing at the border which no Democrat came to not a single Democrat came to the hearing that we had in McAllen Texas and chief Ortiz said that the border is not secured do you disagree with Chief Ortiz Congressman uh let me return to what you said accountability is brought in a court of law Mr mayork has delivered accountability for 12 years Mr Mayor Chris do you disagree with the head border patrol agent when he said that our border is not secure Congressman I have testified to that issue so you do disagree with him you disagree with your chief of border patrol I respectfully do in that regard not a single border patrol agent that I’ve talked to in the past three years has said that they trust your leadership or have faith that you’re keeping our country secure I look forward to the meeting with the tambunga family and coming up with real solutions and I hope that all of my Democrat colleagues will meet the tambunga family and listen to their story and understand the things that are happening in my state and in others because of the failure of these policies and we have the answers right in front of us I hope that every one of you will do that you have the opportunity in McAllen Texas and it’s time to meet with them I yield back the gentleman yields I now recognize a gentleman from Michigan Mr Theodore Dr thenadar thank you Mr chair secretary America’s my colleagues on the other side have spent a lot of time today talking about securing the Border almost to the exclusion of everything else the fact is our border security challenges are a symptom of the broader failure to overhaul our immigration system we must expand legal Pathways for immigration including by raising the calf for H-1B visas in addition DHS has a broad range of missions Beyond The Border that are critical to securing the Homeland that deserve our attention for example we must make sure the Transportation Security Administration is able to carry out its mission to secure all modes of transportation for far too long TSA employees have labored under unfair working conditions while Frontline officers receiving 30 percent less pay and inferior labor protection when compared to other federal employees doing similar work Republican proposals to address these issues have fallen far short and have only come in response to more sufficient proposals from ranking member Thompson and other Democrats thankfully last year Democrats voted to fund expanded labor rights and pay raises for TSA workers which will take effect this July uh Mr Secretary of the 1.4 billion proposed for TSA pay Equity what percent will go to the tsa’s operational and front line failed positions uh Congressman thank you the the 1.4 billion is sought for a fairness we have we have fought for this a fairness for quite some time I don’t know the precise breakdown but I would be very pleased to Circle back with you and answer your question Mr secretary the data I have from TSA indicates that more than 98 of the funding will go to employees working in those positions additionally administering two separate pay systems within one agency would carry its own costs refusing to fund the initiative because a tiny fraction of funding would go to headquarters employees would be nothing more than a sorry excuse Mr secretary would you please describe what impacts failing to fund the annualization of the pain initiatives and effectively cutting TSA workers pay would have on employee morale and the agency’s ability to carry out its mission a congressman the impact on morale would be um quite negative but it’s not only an impact on morale it would negatively impact our ability to recruit and retain Talent at a at the very time uh that the United States travel industry is once again prospering in a post-covet 19 pandemic environment additionally Republicans have proposed limiting 2024 funding to the 2022 levels however I understand you wrote a letter to appropriators on March 19th describing some of the impacts that would have including wait times of more than two hours to receive security screening at many large airports Mr secretary what kind of security vulnerabilities does it create if airline passengers must wait in large crowds for more than two hours to receive security screenings Congressman your question goes to a fundamental point then we ensure that the Public’s travel is safe and secure we also help promote economic Prosperity through that lawful trade and travel and this not only with the security be impaired but also the facility of travel as well as trade would be impaired if our budget is cut that budget cut would impact negatively our department in so many different ways across so many different agencies and offices thank you Mr secretary the TSS workers must be paid a fair wage and ensure adequate Staffing levels uh Gemini yield back the gentleman yields the chair recognizes the gentleman from New York Miss Garbarino thank you chairman um secretary there’s been a lot of focus on the southern border today and as there should be um is my third year on the committee and I’ve been to the Border several times and have really seen the travesty that’s happening down there and there really needs to be a focus on fixing it and uh I hope we can somehow work together to get that way but uh Homeland Department oversees several other agencies and I have some questions regarding uh cisa uh cyber security because that’s another border that we have to make sure is protected and CIS is required uh to do that so the fiscal year 20 24 assists a budget requests relatively few additional full-time employees despite a persistent Workforce shortage in addition seven years after Congress gave Homeland DHS Authority it finally launched the Cyber intelligence cyber talent management system in November 2021 but public reporting indicates that hiring has been slow painfully slow both factors are very concerning considering the nation’s cyber Workforce Gap or cis’s current Staffing level sufficient to meet all of its current obligations a congressman um I’m sorry I didn’t or is is cis’s current Staffing levels sufficient to meet all of its existing obligations um this is a cyber security and infrastructure Security Agency is doing phenomenal work across its many different responsibilities we do have vacancies one of the things that we are seeking to overcome because we are very focused on recruitment is to pay disparity between government service and the private sector but we have indeed engaged in an intense focused effort to recruit talent for the very reason Congressman that you identify and I have spoken with directories she’s come in front of my subcommittee next week and she has been trying to make an effort but the department DHS has still not submitted cis’s for structure assessment which is over a year late that sisa is that’s assessment is crucial to understand cis’s Workforce and resource needs what is the delay when can we expect that report Congressman I’ll look into that and we will get back to your office promptly okay so what concerns me is that the delay in that report plus the delay I think there’s over eight reports that congresses do from DHS and cisa and and I believe there were I don’t know where the holdup is sister said they’re done I think and it might not even be with with with you but there is a delay in them getting to Congress some of them are over a year late and we’re here talking about the budget and budget requests and these reports are how we do our oversight that’s you know we we passed these and we want to we want to see what the information we want to make sure the money’s being spent properly we want to make sure that plans are going but we can’t do that if these reports come to us late and to have these budget requests keep coming for more money for other money to go to other projects there’s no we can’t just keep sending money without getting these reports so I don’t know where the hold up is there’s at least eight uh by my Accord that are late just from cisa and DHS so if you could have your team figure out when we will see these uh reports that would be uh that would be great because there’s a lot of good reports that were passed on a bipartisan level that we really need to see uh what’s going on Congressman let me let me assure you that work mightily to be responsive to Congress and to be responsive to Congress in a prompt manner one I think the only recommendation of the 911 Commission that has not been adopted is a restructuring of the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security I believe that there are more than 90 committees with jurisdiction over the department so you can well imagine the number of reports that we are obligated to prepare we understand the importance of this those reports which is why we work so diligently to prepare them for Congress and I am sorry for the delay in some we’re doing the best that we can I understand that just with cyber security it’s another border that we have to protect and we have to make sure that uh we have not only you’re acting with your proper authorities but we have the proper oversight in putting money where it needs to be I want to go back to the the the employment situation because of how slow and I want to emphasize this there’s a request for some for some more money but last year we actually rescinded over 50 million dollars because of how slow hiring has been system yeah it was over I think it was 53 million dollars what is the plan to make sure that we are properly staffed up and that we can do our job and make sure the federal cyberspace is protected Congressman you correctly noted that in 2021 we we undertook an effort an intense effort to recruit cyber Talent before that we engage in a cyber Sprint uh that I announced earlier in that year we are developing different models to reach Talent we understand the importance of Recruitment and we’re very very focused on it I’m out of time so I yield back thank you the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr magazine thank you chairman and thank you secretary one of the greatest threats to our nation’s Homeland Security is the rise of far-right and racially motivated violent extremism over the past decade more than 145 Americans were killed in domestic extremist attacks the most common motivations of the attackers have been racially motivated extremism and anti-government extremism accounting for 67 percent of domestic extremist attacks easy access to weapons of war and particularly assault weapons have only emboldened the extremists hear me now when it comes to racist and anti-semitic and anti-government violence there are not fine people on both sides the extremists who ran over and killed Heather heyer in Charlottesville was not a fine person he was a terrorist the white supremacists who killed 10 people in Buffalo and 23 in El Paso are terrorists the anti-semite who killed 11 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh was a terrorist the far-right militia group that attempted to kidnap the governor of Michigan are terrorists the January 6 rioters are not political prisoners they are criminals who attacked police officers and paramilitary groups like The Proud Boys The Oath Keepers and the three percenters wrapped themselves in the flag but they are not Patriots they are bigots with guns nothing more but the victims of these extremist attacks are what we should focus on because they were innocent Americans all of whom deserve to be alive today victims like Roberta Drury a woman in Buffalo who dedicated her time to helping her brother treat his leukemia and assisting her family and running their restaurant Andre McNeil a father who was picking up a surprise birthday cake for his three-year-old son Jordan and Andre akinodo two parents in El Paso who died shielding their two-month-old baby from gunfire Javier Rodriguez a 15 year old who loved playing video games in soccer Angie inglesby a grandmother who raised seven children by herself and worked multiple jobs to support them officer Brian sicknick a healthy 42 year old former Air National Guardsman who served our country in the Middle East and succumbed to his injuries after he was beaten and maced by a violent mob of insurrectionists at the Capitol on January 6 2021 among many others many of these attacks have been inspired by the racist great replacement Theory which falsely claims that there is some Grand conspiracy to replace white Americans with non-whites in order to eliminate the so-called white race this false conspiracy theory has seeped into the media with some members of Congress and Fox News personalities repeating it and inspiring domestic terrorists and their heinous attacks I want to be clear because it’s important not to paint with a broad brush I commend many of my colleagues including some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for condemning domestic violent extremism in all of its forms however it is infuriating that some of our Republican colleagues have taken to cheerleading extremism and many others have stayed shamefully silent the fact is this more Americans have been killed by domestic extremism over the past five years than by International terrorism cracking down on domestic extremism is vital to protecting our American Homeland and our citizens I commend the Biden Administration for launching a national strategy for countering domestic extremism and I encourage you secretary mayorkis and the administration to continue to prioritize this growing threat I ask you secretary can you describe the efforts of the Biden Administration to combat domestic extremism Congressman um we have taken a number of different steps over the past two years to address this increasing threat I created a domestic terrorism Branch within the Office of Intelligence and Analysis we have increased the level of our information sharing to State local tribal and territorial Partners so that they understand the threat landscape in their respective communities we have increased our grant funding to equip and Empower communities to address the threat we are sharing best practice models on how to detect and intervene when an individual is moving towards Violence by reason of an ideology of hate anti-government sentiment personal grievance whatever the motive we are focused on the connectivity between an ideology and violence it is violence that we are focused upon thank you my time has expired so I’ll yield back the gentleman yields the chair now recognizes the former chairman of this committee and the current chairman of Foreign Affairs Mr Mike McCall from Texas famous chairman and I just want to say in response what about the hundred thousand Americans who died due to fentanyl poisoning more than Vietnam over 20 years in just one year you know Mr Secretary of United Federal prosecutors on border states we’ve known each other for a long time when you took office we were securing the Border um you said that you have operational control the last month your border patrol Chief Mr Ortiz testified before this committee that DHS does not have operational control of the border and I agree with him in my 20 years in Congress as a former chair of this committee and as a federal prosecutor tasked with securing the Border in Texas I’ve never seen this border more out of control and I believe it’s because on day one you rescinded the migrant protection protocols Otherwise Known remain in Mexico and at that time two years ago you said it was necessary to terminate this program that was working because quote it was unjustifiable human cost associated with it but I ask you is it justifiable that migrant encounters have risen to 5 million people since you took office is it justifiable that more than a hundred thousand Americans have died from fentanyl flowing across the border is it justifiable that 98 suspected terrorists attempted to enter the Homeland last year alone and who knows how many have made it in when I was chairman I wanted that stat every week I got briefed is it justifiable at least twelve thousand criminals attempted to enter the Homeland last year a thousand with assault related charges and 62 with homicide related charges is it justifiable to human costs at least 853 migrants died trying to make the dangerous journey across the border last year the most on record in the history of this country I don’t always quote CNN but they had a phenomenal documentary The Journey the dangerous Journey from South America to the United States is it justifiable that in my state First Responders found stacks of bodies that’s a quote abandoned by human smugglers in a trailer who suffocated to death are these human costs justifiable because they align with your political agenda because I don’t think any of these things none of this is justifiable this is the biggest human trafficking crisis of my lifetime and you sir are complicit with it I’ve been down there so many times but now it’s completely out of control what do we got to do with five million people that have no legal status in this country how do you deal with this problem they’re going to live in the shadows where are they going to go the women the girls are going to be sex trafficked and the young men are going to go to MS-13 that’s going to be their family and you know it and I know you know it because you know better you’re a smart man you were a U.S attorney like me that’s why I’m supporting our bill that we’re going to mark up to try to get control of this thing once and for all and as chairman of the house Foreign Affairs committee I’m going to compel this Administration to renegotiate remain in Mexico you know in the final analysis or your job is a solemn one it’s probably one of the most important cabinet jobs because your job is to protect the American people from threats your job is to secure borders air Land and Sea and in my judgment it’s hard for me to say this I’ve known you for quite some time but you have failed in your job and I think you know this and I agree with our border patrol agents this is one of the most to me most profound things that I saw in their tenure when you went down to the Border and the border patrol agents turned their backs on you because quote you have turned your back on them I think that speaks volumes that your tenure in office for God’s sakes work with us to get this done it is out of control and it’s a great human cost and none of it’s justifiable and one recision one stroke of the pen we’re sending migrant protection protocol remained in Mexico it was a direct cause and effect and your agents On the Border tell me this what caused this crisis I ask it’s because the president rescinded remain in Mexico because they couldn’t get in the United States before that and now they get in and it’s catch and release all over again and now we have this crisis at the border so I uh I know my time is running out but I would like to entertain in your response you have Congressman you um you invited me to work with you and work with this committee uh to address the challenges at the border and I welcome that invitation and I accept it our immigration system has been broken for decades for decades and it is in dire need of legislative reform you ask about what is justifiable and what is not evidence of a broken immigration system is compelling for years and years you know that in the Years 2006 2007 2008 there were more than one million gotaways per year the challenge of fentanyl we you and I have both prosecuted narcotics trafficking cases I have prosecuted cocaine trafficking methamphetamine trafficking black tar heroin trafficking we’ve seen nothing very much but we’re going to sanction China for the precursors coming in and my bill will sanction Mexican officials for being complicit with this drug trafficking that’s killing a hundred thousand Americans for God’s sakes and you sir I believe are complicit with this by your inaction at the border oh we are taking more action than the gentleman’s time has expired um and uh gentleman yields I now recognize Mr swalwell from California for his five minutes question Congress Mr you want to respond today 20 seconds to say that we are doing nothing is an absolute falsehood we are taking it to the cartels do I think that nearly 58 000 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2020 are quote unquote justifiable this department has worked to stop the trafficking of Narcotics since its very Inception and we both know very well that the drug problem in this country requires a two-prong approach to address the supply and to address the demand and this Fight Continues and we are taking it to the cartels in an unprecedented way and Operation Blue Lotus that we launch in the middle of March is one powerful example of what we are doing to only increase our effort to address this Scourge that is killing so many Americans but to say that we are doing nothing is unequivocally false Mr secretary you oversee one of the largest law enforcement Personnel in America is it the position of the bite Administration to fund or defund the police it is to fund the police and does that include to also train them to catch the bad guys and also not to harm the good guys Congressman that is the sworn oath of officers and you would agree that unlike any time before in our history police officers are in danger today they have a Target on their back violence committed against them um Congressman I know that law enforcement officers are under tremendous uh attack and do you think go ahead do you think anti-police rhetoric hurts morale or helps morale as you’re trying to recruit people to be law enforcement officers Congressman it hurts morale and that is why it is so important that law enforcement leaders continue to communicate their Mobility the nobility of the law enforcement profession I’m very proud to say that and does anti-police rhetoric put Targets on the back of law enforcement for their safety Congressman it does that’s why I’m disturbed about a recent tweet from the former president that says republicans in Congress should defund the Department of Justice and the FBI I’m also concerned about people on this committee and their own anti-police rhetoric this is a defund the FBI campaign effort again thousands of FBI agents who work hard every day to take bad guys off the streets in fact after the FBI rated Mar-A-Lago someone armed the teeth went to an FBI field office to try and kill FBI agents I’m also concerned that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee invited a witness when you could have any person who walks this Earth as a chairman of a committee to come in and Testify the chairman of the Judiciary Committee invited the author of this tweet well the gentleman yield the gentleman yield so it concerns me that there is this anti-police rhetoric that’s happening among some in the mega Republican party because they vote against police funding that was included in the covid relief package they vote against police reform efforts that would put millions of dollars in community police officers on our street they vote and are against the union protections that allow them to collectively bargain and as we honor the hundreds of January 6 officers who were hurt that day too many of them gave comfort and Aid at the D.C jail I also want to ask is anti-Semitism on the rise in America Mr secretary Congressman yes it is and are we seeing increases in violence toward Jewish Americans Congressman yes we are and we are seeing that for other minority groups as well and so when an influencer like Kanye West who has millions of followers on social media says that he’s going to declare Defcon 3 on the Jews do you think that increases threats to Jewish Americans or decreases threats words like that increase the threat to minority groups congressman and that’s why it surprises me that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee tweeted out Kanye Elon Trump well we know what Trump thinks about law enforcement and what is happening in law enforcement right now with Targets on their back but this tweet was kept up for months after Kanye West said that he was going to declare Defcon 3 on the Jews Mr secretary do you believe that all of us have a responsibility to elevate our rhetoric and to denounce anti-Semitism and anti-police rhetoric in this country so that Jewish Americans and police officers can be safer Congressman I do thank you now you’re back the gentleman yields and now I recognize the gentlelady from Georgia Miss Green that was quite entertaining from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy and everyone knows it but they moved to take our words down completely inappropriate yeah stand by just a second while we research the rule um give me just a second I need to reclaim my make sure I have my full five minutes a motion has been made the gentleman will uh the committee will suspend and the gentleman will state the words that he wishes taken down everything that the gentlelady from Georgia has said no you need to be more specific accusations of an affair with a Chinese spy those are engaging in personalities and this those words should be taken down and the gentlelady should not be able to speak anymore in this hearing that is not the latter part of that is not an appropriate motion but we will evaluate the Striking of those words give me just a second the chair uh recognizes the gentlelady from Georgia and asks if she would like to retract those words no I will not for those members who are wondering uh we are looking into rule um Clause one of rule 17 and the rules of the house foreign okay the chair rules that those uh words that were spoken are not going to be stricken from the record let’s hear the gentleman the gentleman from Mississippi is recognized um I don’t think there’s any question about uh what the young lady said I’ve been on this committee uh from day one we’ve never had an accusation made of any member like that and I’m appalled at it we all ought to be embarrassed at it we are better committed than what the general lady is trying to make of this committee so I appeal the ruling of the chair the ruling of the chair has been appealed we will now gentleman moose Mr chairman of point of order yeah right over here could you explain what part of those words are not engaging in personalities and what the basis of your ruling is no we’re gonna let the vice chair take over uh the committee at this point thank you now Mr chairman I moved to table the motion there’s been a motion to table all in favor say aye aye aye those opposed say no no no and the opinion of the chair the eyes have it and the motion to table is agreed to most here the gentleman is recognized a request a recorded vote a recorded vote has been requested the clerk will call the roll Mr chairman with the gentleman from New York Mr Goldman yield the clerk will call the roll Mr McCall aye Mr McCall ‘s eye Mr Mr guest Mr Bishop Mr Jimenez Mr fluger Mr fluger votes eye Mr Garbarino Miss Greene aye Ms Green votes eye Mr Gonzalez Mr Gonzalez votes I Mr lalota Mr loloto votes eye Mr Ezell aye Mr Isel votes I Mr diasposito Miss Lee I miss Lee votes eye Mr Latrell Mr strong Mr burkine aye Mr burkine votes eye Mr Crane Mr Crane votes I Mr Thompson no Mr Thompson votes no Miss Jackson Lee Mr Payne Mr swalwell no Mr swalwell votes no Mr Correa Mr Carter no Mr Carter votes no Mr tanadar Mr magaziner Mr Ivy no Mr Ivy votes no Mr Goldman no Mr Goldman votes no Mr Garcia no Mr Garcia votes no Mrs Ramirez no Mrs Ramirez votes no Mr Menendez no Mr Menendez votes no Miss Clark no Miss Clark votes no Miss Titus Mr Higgins Mr guest Mr Bishop Mr Jimenez Mr Garbarino Mr diasposito Mr Latrell Mr Latrell votes I Mr strong Miss Jackson Lee Mr Payne Mr Correa Mr tanadar Mr magaziner Miss Titus are there other members in the room who wish to have their vote recorded Clark how am I recorded you are not recorded the chair votes I chairman green votesai the clerk will report to tally Mr chairman on that vote there were 11 years and nine no’s the eyes have it and the motion is agreed to the motion the previous motion is tabled uh the gentlelady from Georgia is recognized and we will give her her time the time when the clock was stopped and we’ll give you an extra 10 or 15 seconds thank you Mr chairman secretary mayorkas since you have been in charge of the Department of Homeland Security there have been zero miles of border wall added there have been over 5.5 million illegal alien encounters at our border 1.3 million known gotaways and approximately 870 percent increase in apprehensions in just one sector of the northern border American Mothers and infants suffered a severe baby formula shortage all while this Administration was happily stocking the shelves for illegal aliens at one of one of the largest processing centers in the country American Mothers were forced to delay inductions at the Yuma Regional Medical Center because of your policies they have flooded their maternity unit with illegal aliens tens of thousands of Migrant children have been forced into slave labor in our country but because of your policies at least 853 dead migrants and Counting the most ever in a 12-month period died trying to cross the southern Border in 2022 and now there are over 300 Americans a day dying every single day every single day without without fail every single day because of fentanyl deadly fentanyl which is the number one cause of death in young people between ages 18 and 45. now we have rain rainbow fentanyl which even NBC News was acknowledging that the cartels were bringing across our border and it comes from China this rainbow fentanyl looks like Sweet Tarts or Skittles clearly made to Target America’s school children 50 times more potent than heroin 100 times more potent than morphine and now under your tenure secretary Marcus schools All Over America have to have Narcan to save children that overdose on this deadly poison let me explain something to you I’m not from Texas I’m not from any border state I represent a district in Georgia which is in Northwest Georgia we’re not anywhere near Mexico we’re not anywhere near the ocean but in my district in my district people die nearly every single day from Fentanyl and I want to know from you how many more people do we have to watch die every single day in America how many more young people do we have to see die how many more teenagers how many more parents cry themselves to sleep at night if they can even sleep because their child overdosed on Fentanyl how long are you going to continue this outrage complete outrage where China is poisoning America’s children poisoning our teenagers poisoning our young people how long are you going to let this go on congresswoman let me assure you that we’re not letting it go on we are fighting this no I reclaim my time you’re a liar you are letting this go on and the numbers prove it you lie about the facts secretary secretary mayorkas while you live in denial and sit over there with this attitude that you’re doing everything right you are killing Americans with your policies and that is a fact your policies are killing people over 300 Americans a day over 300 and it’s outrageous let me ask you another question we talk about here um the the ranking members recognized you know we can disagree but just the fact that we have people watching uh you don’t have to call uh a witness a lion and and I just excuse me this ranking member have a point of order well no actually I want you to take the words of the speaker down so uh I mean but I need to explain so the gentleman does have a is Raising report yes so the point is uh in raising this point of order in general age time will be restored you know we have a history of being a bipartisan committee that work on Solutions now we can disagree but we’ve gotten to the point of the language that we’re using uh is not the kind of language that historically we as members of this committee uh we’ve used and again I just think in the interest of Civility of this committee I would employ all of the members that understand the strength and concern but you know there’s a way that we ought to conduct ourselves and what I’m hearing uh is not how a majority is committed conducts business and we can do better so I asked it the words be taken down committee will suspend the gentleman will state the words that he wishes to be taken down the generator uh referenced the secretary and called him a liar uh chairs the gentle lady if she wishes to see unanimous consent to modify or withdraw her remarks I will not withdraw my remarks because the facts show the proof okay um so in making a ruling on this uh it’s pretty clear that the rules State you can’t impugn someone’s character identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable in this committee and I make the ruling that we strike those words sorry just a point of order legitimate question you’re recognized thank you Mr chairman did you move to take the words down or to strike them Mr Thompson yeah sorry I just stepped in to take them down so that’s what we do yeah yeah my understanding is if words are taken down that means that the the member can no longer speak in whatever the proceeding is that those words were set I personal inquiry point of personal inquiry that’s there’s no such thing by just a second so in Consulting the roles of the house uh when we strike it does terminate the time of the individual who is speaking so uh the gentlelady is no longer recognized uh the chair now recognizes Mr Ivy I believe uh can I make a point of inquiry Mr chairman you can so the the ruling was that because she used the word liar um that was taken down which I agree with yes but but accusing a statement of fact is very similar to the posters that uh Mr there’s no stable effect No statement of there’s no there’s no basis for the statement we’re not here to debate this okay and the ruling was made by the chair that these previous words were not against the rules of Clause 1 and class four of rule 17 but to tell someone that they are a liar is it’s pretty clear in the rules slander is clearly covered by the rules the the impurement I can’t imagine an allegation worse than the one that she just made I mean that has got to be certain the category of taking the taking the words down no no it it is not it does not fit the rules by the ruling of the chair and we’ve already voted on that it has passed us we have the secretary until about 1 30. we’re going to move on and Mr Ivy you’re recognized for your your five minutes of questioning well Mr chairman let me say this I appreciated your opening statement where you st you admonished actually Mr secretary about the reasons the committee was formed and and the department was for which is to protect the United States uh from enemies foreign and domestic and I I certainly agree with that you reminded the Secretary of his oath um and I appreciate that and I recognize also that all of us took similar Oaths to that so one of the reasons I was excited about being assigned to this committee was because I thought that was the work that we were going to be doing I thought we were going to be focusing on issues like cyber security yes we have issues at the border but I sure thought there’d be a good faith effort to try and address it for example like putting up budget budget dollars to address the issues expanding resources and the like this committee’s done nothing with any of those the disinformation issues that are before this committee not touched at all so I’m a little distressed and so I got really distressed when I read your comments in the New York Times I couldn’t believe look I I first came to the hill in 1987. so I understand Congressional politics I know how the game is played but to joke about trying to have the secretary removed let me read the quote I know the the ranking member did before I said on April 19 next week get the popcorn Alejandro mayorcas comes before our committee and it’s going to be fun that’ll be really that’ll really be just the beginning for him that is totally Off the Mark for what we’re supposed to be doing on this committee we were sent here not to have fun not to eat popcorn not to try and take somebody down I was also amazed to see the five-phase plan that you discussed at this donor meeting too on top of that this is about raising money this isn’t even talking to a group this is Raising dollars just like the the FBI t-shirt that Mr swalwell showed a few minutes ago just like do you uh Mr Mr Trump raising 12 million dollars after he makes a statement about we should defund the Department of Justice and the FBI but keep in mind if you defund the Department of Justice and the FBI who’s going to deal with the the types of issues the international prosecutions that we need and by the way we’ve got another colleague that has a bill actually to defund the ATF I was very heartened to see Mr mayorkas that on Friday you didn’t they didn’t mention this but there was a huge takedown of the Sinaloa cartel the Department of Justice working with DHS and DHA and other agencies um you know had a huge takedown of the cartel and that’s one of the things I think we’re supposed to be talking about I think it should be commended for that and it’s important to remember that if we don’t have doj FBI ATF to do that kind of work it won’t get done and so all of the things we’re talking about especially the the fentanyl issue won’t get addressed because we won’t have the apparatus to do it and just a quick reminder on the fentanyl piece 92 percent of the fentanyl that comes into the United States is not coming across with these people walking across the border it’s coming through the ports uh we learned from the the takedown when they briefed us on Friday that they have planes and tunnels that they also used to bring these materials into the United States so you know we can talk about people walking across the border and I think that’s important we should deal with it but if we really want to get at the fentanyl issue building a wall doesn’t address it because the planes fly over them the tunnels go under them and the cars drive by them and all of these are driven by Americans by the way or almost all of them are driven by American so I hope one last point I got one last minute on Monday I went to New York City uh with Mr Jordan and the the Judiciary Committee and that was ostensibly about crime in New York City and I said at the time you know what I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt I’m not I’m not going to try and look into your heart and attribute any kind of ill motives you know things line up I kind of wonder why we were actually there but I’m not going to do that but when I see this kind of statement um it was kind of an eye-opener for me and I unfortunately was the day after I had just made those statements in public about not attributing bad motives to the people who went up there for the Committee hearing now I can see it’s a five-phase plan it’s an effort to remove Mr mayorkas and damage the Biden Administration Mr Jordan had said that earlier anyway but you know I try and give people the benefit of the doubt the gentleman’s time is expired and I’m going to make a point of clarification about the New York Times article they did misquote me so you might want to get with me later and I’ll give you the exact details of what I said but uh I some of what you said was right some of you what you said was incorrect this is about Mr mayorka’s time here in front of the committee and not about what the chairman said about us holding him accountable and any phases that we might have in holding him accountable uh this is about him and so I now recognize Mr chairman I would move for unanimous consent to enter this article into the wreck oh yeah absolutely uh without objections so ordered foreign Mr Gonzalez from Texas uh thank you chairman thank you chairman for your leadership thank you secretary mayorkas for coming before us you’ve had a hell of a week uh I’d say uh in my district we’ve had a hell of a three years I represent 42 percent of the Southern border over 800 miles places nobody knew of three years ago that are in the news every single day Eagle Pass El Paso Del Rio Uvalde knippa Hondo Ozona you heard from the tambungas earlier today Ozona is 120 miles from the southern border and yet we’re having Smugglers going 100 miles through an hour in my district killing Americans and what I’ve seen is this crisis continue to spiral and I’ve also seen the politics around it it’s very lucrative for a lot of people to just constantly go to the well I do not have that option you do not have that option A lot of us who are trying to solve this problem don’t have this option this is what I am seeing I am seeing and and to me border security should bring this country together more than anything else and I want to talk about one thing in particular when I think of border security because I think this is something we can all agree on certainly you and I can our children the children if we can’t agree we need to protect American children and P and and children that aren’t Americans We can’t agree on anything else and right now I’ve got a family that lost a seven-year-old daughter a month ago I sat with them in Ozona uh last week um the grandfather Emilio served in the Marine Corps he’s an honorable man he served 20 years in law enforcement while I’m sitting with him there his phone goes off and that’s the alarm that he would go pick up his granddaughter and so this is affecting everybody on the other side I see um children that that aren’t American citizens that are abandoned in fields uh one border patrol agent gave me a story when there was a baby that they came across that was covered in fire ants thankfully they were able to save that baby it was just an endless amount in kanipa a couple weeks ago there were there were some illegal aliens that were found cooked to death in San Antonio about a year ago 53 migrants guess whose District I was in yeah my District 53 migrants found cooked to death uh you know the last uh uh last Administration Democrats came out and they said the Trump Administration no more kids in cages I’m asking that the Biden Administration have no more kids in graveyards that’s where this is at and we need help um I spent 20 years in the military and um and what I am worried about is this round and round we go pointing fingers pointing blame I know you’ve been in this this uh process a long time you understand what it takes you you know uh how to implement some policies that work I am concerned that that um the department has lost its way and I go back to my time in the Navy where the goal and I hope the goal for you is the same the goal was always make the place better than how you found it and turn it over to your predecessor so they could make the place better for how they found it what I see right now is it might be time for a change in DHS and what I would like to look at is what does that change look like at some point I don’t know how I don’t know when at some point you will no longer be the DHS secretary and you will move on to something else I want to see what does the department go from here how do we strengthen it how do we get back to making this committee a bipartisan committee that is focused on the DHS the Department of Homeland Security being successful I I give a lot of credit to uh to Chairman Greene and his staff for working on this border package I think there’s going to be a lot of good things in there as we shake through this as we go into markup next week some things that are very important to me I I think instead of instead of demonizing children I think we should demonize the cartels they are the enemy it’s not what each and us it’s not all of us the cartels are the enemy I’ve been pushing I will continue to push to label cartels as terrorist organizations I think it’s important that we throw the book at Smugglers you can’t just give them a slap on the wrist we have to throw this the book at the Smugglers the tambunga family you know Emilio he’s a quiet man he wasn’t asking for an apology the man doesn’t need an apology you know what the man needs he needs action he wants the people that killed his wife and his daughter his granddaughter to be held accountable so I would just ask I have no questions for you today you’ve been you’ve been very generous working with me on various different things I would ask that you look internally and you go whenever your time is expired and it’s time for you to move on that the Department of Homeland Security have a plan to be successful for your predecessor for that I yield back the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Goldman from New York thank you Mr chairman um secretary mayorkas is it the uh policy of the Biden Administration to allow as much fentanyl in this country as possible no it is not Congressman it is our um our plan to interdict and prevent as much fennel of that is being sought to enter the country from preventing it from and is it the policy of the Biden Administration to allow as many children to be smuggled into this country as possible no it is not Congress no of course it’s not and we’re sitting here with a shocking lack of decorum to have a secretary cabinet secretary in front of us who has been subject to ad hominem insults and accusations that are completely baseless I have now counted that six of my Republican colleagues have not asked you a single question they have used their five minutes to speechify to accuse you of lying to accuse you of making false statements and what is a clear effort to try to set up I suppose the first step of the five-phase plan to impeach you well I have a little experience with impeachment and I can tell you as well as everybody else that there is no grounds for impeachment based on a policy dispute and there is absolutely nothing that I’ve seen here today that amounts to a false statement under oath in fact Mr Bishop my colleague in referencing operational control and that standard stated himself that it is an objective it is the objective of the Department of Homeland Security to have operational control and as you pointed out that is to allow no unlawful entry into this country that of course is an impossible standard and you are certainly to be applauded for recognizing the problem that we have at the border and providing more resources and asking for more resources to solve that I have another question secretary mayorkas if there are more encounters at the border between Homeland Security officials and Smugglers migrants coming in you name it does that mean that the Department of Homeland Security is doing its job better or worse Congressman I’m not sure I understand your question but let me just say this that encounters are a function of a number of factors um and what we are seeing is an increase in migration around the hemisphere and the factors involve why people leave their countries of origin their home for a better life because of authoritarian regimes because of extreme poverty violence persecution by reason of their membership in a particular social group of because of the adverse impacts of covid-19 our country our country um has advanced in conquering the covid-19 pandemic more than any country to the South our country has 10 to 11 million vacant jobs that are incredibly meaningful for people who are fleeing extreme poverty the United States of America Remains the greatest country in the world the country in which so many people want to live for a better life the number of encounters often reflect all of those factors including right the fact that your officials are doing their job and encountering people who are trying to come across without a lawful Visa I had a whole lot of questioning that I’m not going to be able to get to but I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter an editorial into the record that is entitled in today’s Washington Post how to stop the Mexican cartels question mark stop supplying them with guns without objection so ordered the there are over 200 000 guns that are exported from gun manufacturers and gun dealers in the United States two Mexican cartels that allow them to control the border and send fentanyl back into this country the laws in Mexico are incredibly strict there is one gun store in the entire country so if we are going to stop the fentanyl crisis and if we are going to stop the cartels then we need to stop the exportation of assault weapons to Mexico from this country and I yield back the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr lilota from New York thank you Mr chairman secretary mayorkas month after month members of this committee receive reports regarding fentanyl seizures fentanyl deaths gotaways and other important data that paints a clear picture of the uh an unsettling image of what is going on in our Southwest border and Mr secretary I want to make sure that we’re all on the same page with respect to that data so so please direct your attention to the board behind me I’m going to ask you what should be some very straightforward multiple choice questions using data from CBP Homeland Security DEA and the Census Bureau and sir I know that we’re limited on time so I would appreciate if when you responded you just say A B C or D and these multiple choice questions sir and so my first question is according to CBP how much fentanyl has CBP seized along the Southwest border in FY 23 and you see the answers uh behind me sir so uh Congressman two quick things number one my distance vision isn’t what it used to be so I can’t actually see that and number two I’m not taking a multiple choice test that you administered let me assure you of that on point number one so the clerk has a physical copy of the questions so you can see them in front of you so I’ll narrate the questions Sir with respect to the amount of drugs specifically fentanyl seeds at the border the answer is 13 800 pounds seized in the first six months of f y23 that is enough to kill 2.5 billion people every American eight times over sir the next question sir according to the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration how many Americans died from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl between January 2021 and January 2022 your first year an officer uh congressman from approximately 2021 uh to the the data in 2022 is not yet available approximately let me give you some stats in 2020 close to 58 000 people died from fentanyl overdose deaths in 2018 uh almost 47 000 people died from fentanyl overdose deaths the challenge of fentanyl the scourge of fentanyl with respect years I’m going to reclaim my time Mr chairman the answer is d uh 71 941 that’s almost 200 per day sir that exceeds the population of Portland Maine uh in essence we lost a small City because of fentanyl in 2021 next slide please uh sir the next question is how many known gotaways was DHS aware of in fiscal year 21. in 2021 I believe the number was almost 390 000. yes the answer is D 389 000 godaways and finally the last slide um sir of which of the following cities um which have pop which of the following cities have populations less than 389 000 the same number as the known gotaways that we just mentioned earlier Congressman I think you know the answer to the question perhaps you could provide it to us well it’s actually a trick question Mr secretary each of the four cities behind me uh are well-known American cities that populations less than the total number of known godaways last year and let that sink in America could have a whole new city based solely how uneffective you’ve been at securing the borders sir and Mr secretary it’s clear to me by your inability to swiftly answer these seemingly easy questions that you and this committee are not on the same page I know sir that you’re well aware of this data and it’s unfortunate you cannot be proud of it in your testimony you only mentioned the word crisis once and it wasn’t even in relation to America’s border crisis in fact it had nothing even to do with our homeland and Surah as the leader of the Homeland Security Department you have a duty to secure the border and to keep Americans safe and Sir with all due respect there is a crisis at our Southwest border and you are failing in your very important duty and the only question remaining is whether you’re doing so out of negligence recklessness or if it’s intentional so let this data serve as a stark reminder of the severity of the crisis at our Southwest border Mr secretary time is of the essence American lives are being lost every day and I beg of you to please act immediately the American people deserve nothing less Mr chairman now yelbeck the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Garcia from California thank you Mr chairman and thank you Mr secretary for your service and for being here with us today I know that you’re working under very difficult circumstances and you’re trying your best with a team across many departments and we also know the challenges that we Face the Border are not challenges that you can take on uh your own and not and not just the responsibility of your department now we all know we’re battling a functional crisis with also inadequate Mental Health and Drug Treatment programs and we’re also acknowledging the fact that drugs can be easily transported by Americans through illegal ports eventually you’ve heard this numerous times today I also just want to remind us that we also don’t have legal orderly Pathways to citizenship which forces people to come in other ways to our country but Mr secretary I’d like to get your your thoughts on some proposed potential border policies that many of us have heard and that I have heard here in this Congress if you don’t mind I’d like to ask a few questions about these proposed policies uh Mr secretary do you think it would be a good idea to fill and build a trench with alligators along the border like actually building a moat full of alligators across the border would that be a good idea no it would not Congressman uh Mr secretary do you think it would be a good idea to shoot migrants in the legs um as they’re crossing the border would that would that be a good idea Congressman no it would not uh Mr secretary do you think it would be a good idea if the United States launched a military attacks along the northern border of Mexico uh would that be a good idea Congressman no it would not thank you and I I of course agree with you sir and I just want to note that these uh insane ideas have been proposed by former president Trump and members of our very body here in the Congress and so I thank you for uh for your answers I think it’s important to to note that by uh seeing what’s happened today in the rhetoric around this a really important conversation that the majority is not really serious about any solutions but they are serious about a radical anti-immigrant agenda and getting any protections for the rights to Legal Asylum and immigration I like many others Remember When Donald Trump’s attorney general said that we need to take away children clearly a cruel statement that continues to be repeated over and over by by many members of this majority now house Democrats want an orderly system at the border where people have legal Pathways to come to build better lives and we can work together to actually solve the issues that exist along our border and I want to thank you for your work as we continue to do that and Mr secretary finally can you describe the importance of safeguarding the legal right to Asylum so that vulnerable people can get the opportunity to build safe lives like you and I both as immigrants have been able to do Congressman our Asylum system is one of the crown jewels of our country we have taken great pride since our founding as a to be a country of Refuge for those people fleeing persecution I came to this country with my parents and my sister as political refugees from Cuba fleeing the Communist takeover there we understand the meaning of this country as a place of Refuge it is why I have sought to give back to this great country by my more than 20 years of Public Service absolutely sir and I I came to this country as a young child also I became a U.S citizen in my early 20s and like you a proud immigrant of this country and um uh it’s unfortunate that so many choose to forget that immigrants make contributions to this country and can become secretaries of departments and members of congress with that I yield back the rest of my time thank you the gentleman Neons I now recognize Mr Ezell from Mississippi thank you thank you Mr chairman and thank you secretary mayorkun for being here today it’s been a been a tough day but I would like to address uh since the Biden Administration took office CBP reports that nearly 1200 border patrol agents have been assaulted on the job morale is is pretty low and and these agents are being overwhelmed emotionally and physically this increase in agent assaults should alarm all of us uh Mr secretary can you please tell me how your support your front line agents and your officers that are going through this ordeal Congressman thank you very much for your question we are supporting the members of U.S customs and board of protection every single day and let me share with you you mentioned assaults against our border patrol agents as such an assault as a violation of Title 18 of the United States code section 111 and as Chief Ortiz and I and other sector Chiefs have addressed we are seeking the prosecution of individuals who assault our border patrol agents they are doing heroic work our border patrol agents under significant challenges and they deserve and are receiving our support I think I’m also concerned how the body Administration is making it more difficult for our ice agents to do their job uh adding some bureaucratic red tape and an example for my home state of Mississippi uh your department required an agent to call and ask permission from DC to remove an illegal alien who had been convicted a possession with intent to distribute 10 kilos of methamphetamine Mr secretary uh I know if I didn’t enforce the law while I was a sheriff uh you know I’d have been I’d been removed from office and will you help remove some of these obstacles like having to call D.C to get rid of a guy that’s been convicted of 10 kilos of methamphetamine you help remove some of this red tape so these guys can do their job a congressman they look forward to learning more about the particular case that came to your attention because I will tell you that the field office director in Immigration and Customs Enforcement has the authority to approve a removal and in fact in this Administration more aggravated felons have been removed per month than in the prior Administration our focus is indeed on individuals who pose a threat to Public Safety and National Security thank you uh it’s been more than two decades since the Department of Homeland Security was established as a standalone cabinet level department the department has significantly grown it’s now consist of nearly 30 components and offices with more than 240 000 employees I am concerned about the homeland security as being weaponized in ways that distract from its originally intended mission specifically experts have suggested that it’s time to overhaul the Department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis citing the office of inconsistent struggle to provide timely and accurate intelligence as the Secretary of homelandic security can you give me three concrete ways in which you could recommend Congress reform the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to improve the efficient flow of information Congressman let me share with you that we have an under secretary Ken Weinstein who leads the Office of Intelligence and Analysis who served as a United States Attorney has served as the homeland security advisor to former President Bush has served as the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security division of the U.S Department of Justice an extraordinary leader I’m very proud that he agreed to join our department and he is very focused on growing the strength of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis and one of the ways in which Congress can do so is to properly fund that office which is so critical to equipping not only the federal government but but also our state local tribal Territorial and campus Partners in securing communities across this country the men and women the Personnel of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis are extraordinary public servants and I’m incredibly proud to work alongside them thank you Mr chairman I yield back the gentleman from Mississippi yields I now recognize Mr Ramirez of Illinois thank you chairman Greene and ranking member Thompson for convenient convening us into this hearing I can I gotta move a little so I can see you here but I want to start with thanking the secretary and acknowledging that your work is constantly criticized and while the border is in your portfolio it is not the only Department’s responsibility as you’re also responsible in addressing issues when disasters strike you’re responsible in protecting our economy securing cyberspace and critical infrastructure why are we not talking about those issues who we know continue to expand the threats to our country every single day my colleagues to the right only care about the Border because they want to cure the narrative that Asylum Seekers and refugees are illegals they’re they’re an invasion when we know this is really about a denial of Human Rights and our commitment to being a country that welcomes immigrants the way we’ve done in Generations before what we should be discussing today is when is Congress going to pass a law to increase access to legal representation for individuals making sure families are kept together and providing a pathway to citizenship for dreamers and TPS holders what we should be talking about today is cyber security attacks what we should be talking today about is funding that addresses natural disasters what we should be talking today about is supporting infrastructure protections the capacity for our TSA workers to do their job but that is not what we’re talking about today it is nice to see my Republican colleagues suddenly care about migrant children like my little sister across the border at 60 pounds 20 years ago but where were they when the Trump Administration was separating families when were they where were they to protect kids in our schools from gun violence thoughts and prayers I grew up in church and I know that prayer also requires action Mr secretary I want to be clear the administration can do a better job in protecting migrant children I agree with that and I also look forward to working with you and all of you to make that happen I also have to say that I am concerned that the Department of Homeland Security is considering Reviving family detention very simply any duration of the tension is harmful it is inhumane and it is unacceptable it undermines the fundamental right to seek Asylum we want to argue that children are at risk we alternatively have to argue that shutting off Avenues to claim Asylum will keep Kids Safe by keeping them in their in their home countries but we have heard it if any of you have ever been to Guatemala to chikimula to San Ysidro you will know what poverty actually feels like what it’s like to have to live every single day in danger why you would walk 1811 miles to get to this country these people are fleeing their countries with unimaginable poverty and from my own experience you’ve heard me talk about in Central America they’re forced to leave their homes all the time we must take this problem of child exploitation seriously but we cannot do it at the expanse of our children this is why I want to talk a little bit more about family detention and I am aware that there’s been conversations around reinstating that but as you know people are leaving everything and everyone they know behind and Mr secretary where is that it is not a final decision on this policy but I hope to see your department and the administration lead with Humanity as you have done and urge not to reinstate any policy that results in families being placed in detention centers Mr secretary can you provide a full written update on the status of the consideration of family detention to this committee a congresswoman no decision has been made I encourage an environment a work environment where people feel free to present their ideas and we discuss those ideas in a thoughtful and deliberate manner thank you secretary so there’s an update at any time I would like to be able to receive that uh Mr secretary I just want to wrap up here and I know that we talked about TSA and I have a few seconds left but I do want to come back uh to ask you a quick question about TSA would you please explain how expanded bargaining rights combine with increased pay are critical to improving working conditions for TSA officers congresswoman we have had challenges over the years given the um unequal pay the unfair pay of our TSA personnel and the lack of bargaining rights that they have suffered we’ve had a very difficult time recruiting and retaining personnel and we believe in Fair pay for our extraordinary Frontline Personnel for all of the people in the Department of Homeland Security which is why we are seeking the funding to support that fair pay and the bargaining rights they richly deserve thank you secretary and I yield back the general lady yields I now recognize Mr D Esposito from New York well thank you Mr chairman and I want to start by thanking you for your leadership because I think one of the most important things that we’re addressing today is leadership there’s so much to talk about it seems like over the last few hours we’ve spent time going back and forth about funding for border patrol agents what we’ve failed to recognize is that we could provide all the funding that we want for border patrol agents they don’t want to work for you Mr secretary I’ve spoken to them I’ve visited the Border in fact I visited the border before even having the honor to serve as a member of Congress I proudly served the New York City Police Department as a detective for over a decade so I got to speak to these individuals cop on cop they don’t like how you’re operating they don’t like how they’re being treated and there are many people in this room that have served this nation in our military have served in law enforcement and I will tell you there is nothing worse there is no more terrible feeling than going out each and every day and having that understanding that your so-called leader doesn’t have your back and that’s exactly how they feel we talked someone from the other side of the aisle mentioned the fact that the border is just part of the news cycle well I would have to argue that and I’m pretty confident that the victims that we’ve seen of fentanyl overdoses those that we’ve seen as victims of crime of those individuals coming over our border illegally those that have been captured and now completely at the hand of the cartel they don’t think it’s just a news cycle what it is it’s become a disaster you mentioned that you believe we have operational control and you see that operational control in quote a lens of reasonableness well I will speak as a New Yorker and tell you that lens stinks because none of us see it as reasonable you also mentioned the extraordinary personnel and again as many members of this committee have had the opportunity to visit the border and we’ve spoken to those Brave Customs and Border Patrol agents and when they are able to speak freely and talk about what they do on a day-to-day basis when they don’t have one of your henchmen standing around making sure they don’t say anything terrible about you or about Homeland Security they tell the truth they are doing the best work that they possibly can under a terrible Act of leadership and I will say that we are here today your failures your dereliction of Duty your failure to uphold the oath that you took to protect this Homeland it is not a Democrat issue it’s not a republican issue it’s an American issue and when we go back to our home States and we talk to individuals they don’t care what party we’re from you know what they care about they care about crime increasing in their Community they talk about they want people to have the American dream and I think that’s what we’re missing here today we want people to have the American dream you know what we want we want them to come through the front door that’s what we’re asking and that’s what you’re failing to do so I’m going to bring it back home your lack of leadership has created not just the States along the border to be border states every state in this great nation has become a border state in New York City alone there are projections that the city could spend up to one billion dollars with a B to support more than 50 000 migrants have who that have arrived over the past year now there’s talk that they actually want want to take these migrants from New York City and bring them to the Nassau Coliseum right in the middle of my district so I have to ask have you or any member of your Administration been in talks with New York City to move these migrants from New York City to the Nassau Coliseum Congressman not to my knowledge but the uh and and I have to say in what world because if there’s no discussions it’s a yes or no question in what world do you think that housing migrants in a sports facility is a good idea a congressman the the issues that you speak of um very strongly reflect the dire and decades-long need for immigration reform we are working within a broken immigration system we’re also working with a broken Mr secretary with all due respect we’re also working with a broken border and when you took the oath to be the Secretary of Homeland Security it is your job when you wake up in the morning every waking hour you should be dedicating it to protecting our border and to make sure that this Homeland the Homeland that we all represent is secure and you’re not you’re failing it you’re failing Americans and you’re failing your oath Mr chairman I yield back thank you the gentleman yields and I now recognize Mr Menendez thank you Mr chairman and thank you Mr secretary thank you for your service to this country thank you for being a man of integrity because I’m that somehow got lost today you wake up every day and you serve this great country so thank you thank you for doing that thank you to you your department and the public servants you serve with to protect the American people I also want to apologize to not just you but to anyone watching to the staff this Committee of all of us for what you’ve had to experience here today we are so much better than this our country needs us to be so much better in this and to think about the origin of this committee as a select committee put together after 9 11 to find ourselves here today engaging the way that we are is unacceptable and we shouldn’t accept it so many challenges this country faces this committee has jurisdiction over that we need to address together so let’s go through some of those things Mr secretary your department defends our nation against cyber threats to a wide range of critical infrastructure is that correct we do congressman and that critical infrastructure ranges from commercial facilities to Emergency Services to transportation systems and Beyond is that correct yes it is Congressman these cyber threats often come from certain hostile Nations like Iran China Russia and North Korea is that correct yes it is Congressman are those States the origin of some of the most frequent and severe cyber attacks on our nation yes it is yes they are and would you agree that their targets and methods are wide-ranging and ever-changing and developing it’s a very Dynamic and complex threat landscape and this would include ransomware malware and phishing attacks is that correct yes they come from adverse nation states as well as criminal organizations resident in them and you’re here to talk about the budget is that correct I am Congressman Will President Biden’s budget proposal allow DHS to combat the Cyber threat posed by these countries yes it does Congressman it calls for an increase of almost 150 million dollars for the budget of the cyber security and infrastructure Security Agency and on that point with this increase which includes I believe almost 100 million dollars for implementing the Cyber incident reporting for critical infrastructure act allow the agency to better understand manage and reduce the risk to our critical infrastructure yes it will Congressman we’re very grateful for that legislation Mr secretary would you agree that domestic terrorism has emerged as one of the greatest threats to our homeland a threat that has the potential to cause Devastation to our places of worship to our schools yes it has congressman is that why your department designated domestic violent extremism as a national priority area reconstitute the faith-based security advisory Council and provide over 250 million dollars through the non-profit security grant program to support physical security enhancements to non-profits at high risk of terrorist attacks yes it is Congressman and I’m so glad that DHS is focused on this critical issue because here in this committee as you might be aware Republicans refuse to include any reference domestic terrorism in their partisan committee oversight plan for this Congress which is just completely unacceptable Mr secretary has your department had to respond to increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events yes we have congressman and correct me if I’m wrong but emergencies like those aren’t unique to red or blue States is that correct that is correct Mr secretary when providing support after a natural disaster does FEMA discriminate based on the political affiliation of the elected officials from those States or localities no it does not no it doesn’t so the two 20.1 billion dollars for the disaster relief fund in your budget would help American families recover from devastating events regardless of where they’re from is that correct that is correct Congressman thank you my first official trip as a member of Congress was to El Paso to visit the Border because we do care about the situation at the border but I want to be very clear about something Congress is responsible for passing comprehensive immigration and Border solutions to mitigate some of the challenges your department is facing is that correct yes so let’s talk about the Border your budget provides actual solutions to border challenges including 865 million dollars for CIS to process Asylum cases applications for immigration benefits improve Refugee processing is that correct yes it is Congressman so far this year department has encountered more than one million migrants at the southern border is that correct I’m sorry Congressman the the time frame about what you’re asking um so far this year uh so far this year the point is is that you are preventing people from entering the country so when we talk about the number of instances we are preventing the DHS is doing its job and I would just say thank you for doing your job thank you to all the members of your department for doing what you doing I’m so sorry again that you had to deal with what you encountered here today thank you for your service to this country I yield back the remainder of my time gentleman uh yields I now recognize Miss Lee thank you Mr chairman and I appreciate you holding this important Hearing in my home state of Florida human trafficking is a problem that we are working very hard to combat and to stop the exploitation and trafficking of children it is very important we need the federal government to partner with us and eliminate policies that are making children more vulnerable I have here today A Florida Statewide grand jury report dated March 29 2023 containing alarming details about federal agencies roles in the placement of minors unaccompanied alien children or uacs into unsafe and exploitative environments Mr chairman I requested this report be entered into the record without objection so ordered among other things the report shows that the number of us the southern Border in in 27 000 to 7 000 between fiscal years 2015 and 2022 in fiscal year 2022 over 13 000 of these minors were housed in Florida according to the report the children interviewed knew very little about the individuals that transported them during their Journey to the border and disclosed that the individuals who transported them were coyotes one child disclosed that during her journey several members of her group were robbed attacked by gang members decapitated and raped and she disclosed that she herself was one of the victims of rape the Florida grand jury report also found that roughly 40 percent of those initially categorized as uacs were age 17 or above and included reference to the case of a 24 year old murderer who made his way through the UAC system in order to ultimately murder his Florida sponsor the Killer’s mother reported that he had entered the U.S fraudulently because right there at the shelter they helped me this was a reference to financial aid and other assistance given by charitable organizations on both sides of the Border he presented fraudulent documents which were not spotted as we work to protect children from being exploited trafficked and left vulnerable to deadly drugs we need to have a clear picture of the role that our federal government including the policies of the Department of Homeland Security what they are and how they are affecting these children and where we need to continue to improve them so secretary mayorkas I’d like to start there when border patrol agents encounter an unaccompanied child does DHS cross-reference the UC portal to determine any simple details such as has this child been through our system and been processed before congresswoman I very much appreciate your concern for the well-being of children and your concern in the fight against human trafficking it is precisely why for the first time in the Department’s history we have created a sixth Mission set in our quadrennial homeland security review and that is the fight against human trafficking it is precisely why we are devoting increased funds to the Center for combating human trafficking the CC HT just so that you understand if I may our role when we receive an unaccompanied child at the border when we encounter an unaccompanied child it is our legal responsibility under the law to transfer that unaccompanied child to the Department of Health and Human Services after 72 hours correct now when you have that child for 72 hours are you in fact verifying that that child is a minor we yeah of course we seek to verify the age of that child the identity of that child before we transfer that child to the Department of Health and Human Services do you cross-reference the portal to make a determination of whether or not that child has actually been put into our system whether that child has been processed through your system before congresswoman I would be pleased to provide you after this hearing with the details of what exactly our border patrol agents do when they encounter an unaccompanied child and how they verify the identity and age of that child I’d be very pleased to provide you with that information and I must say that our border patrol agents do extra ordinary work in the most difficult of circumstances for caring for those children do those agents who are on that front line of their first point of contact for their children have any any trauma-informed care or verification of legal documents such that there’s any quality control on ensuring that they know what they’re seeing and they understand how to speak to these children congresswoman the border patrol agents are trained in a number of different areas given the dynamism and complexity of the challenges that they confront and I’d also be very pleased to provide you with details about that Mr chairman I yield back the gentle lady yields I now recognize Miss Clark from New York thank you very much Mr chairman good afternoon let me first start by thanking you secretary mariakis for joining us today as well as uh thank our chairman uh green and ranking member Thompson for convening this afternoon’s hearing or this morning’s hearing let me also say how disgraceful the display of rhetoric here today targeting our secretary was for this committee is a member of the committee for my entire tenure here in the House of Representatives this committee has always been bipartisan it’s always been focused on the preservation protection of the Homeland but today’s display of um of of just downright disgusting Behavior Uh is not indicative of of who we should be and who we are as a committee uh so I’d like to first of all lift up and thank and commend the Biden Administration and you secretary mariakas for rebuilding the department uh and your critical efforts to support dhs’s overall mission your job is not an easy one and since 9 11 it has never been easy it’s easier when you have cooperation from a bipartisan panel of of members of Congress that want to seek out Solutions uh to the Myriad of challenges that we face so today I’d like to focus on cyber security Mr secretary my first question is about the Cyber incident reporting for critical infrastructure act or cersea a landmark piece of legislation that I authored in the last Congress which directs cisa to stand up mandatory cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure it’s been a little over a year since Congress passed cersea and I’d like to know what progress has been made in that one year and how quickly might we expect to see a final rule congresswoman one of the the key elements of our cyber security and infrastructure security agency’s work is to partner um to really to be an agency of partnership because we so much rely on the private sector the majority of our country’s critical infrastructure rests in the private sector so cisa as it is known by its acronym has engaged with the public in preparation for the issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the regulations bringing that’s important legislation to life I believe if I recall correctly that the agency was given 18 months to promulgate those regulations and it is well underway in its work in that regard very well uh how is DHS working with the other Regulators like FCC and CEC excuse me sec to streamline and harmonize incident reporting requirements congresswoman one of the critical needs for our country is to harmonize uh the different regulations that we have with respect to cyber security and we actually have a council that we chair in the Department of Homeland Security to bring the different agencies together to achieve to the best of our abilities to the best of the authorities that each respective agency holds to bring that harmonization to life and we are well underway in that regard I know that Council has met if I’m not mistaken several times already uh last Congress I offered legislation to authorize a critical system OT security program called Cypress cyber Century which allows cisa to enter into enhanced strategic Partnerships to monitor cyber threats to OT systems since that program was authorized how has DHS worked to grow and stabilize cyber century and what do you see is next for the program a congresswoman I will have to um follow up with you in response to your question to provide you with the information you have asked of me very well Mr chairman um I’m concerned about political theater within our committee the only well there are multiple ways that we can address the issues that have been raised with respect to our Southwest border the only one that we have not discussed in this committee which is part of our jurisdiction is comprehensive immigration reform I hope that you will work with the Judiciary Committee um as the daughter of immigrants um this I find the discussion here abhorrent this is a nation built by immigrants for immigrants not anyone sitting here today is native to this land and for us to have this type of rhetoric in the 21st century grown adults who um espouse Christian values um I think uh we need to rethink and recalibrate who we are as human beings because the discussion that was held here today was disgraceful despicable I yield back the gentlelady yields I now recognize uh Mr Latrell from Texas secretary how are you today good afternoon Congressman um you know I had a live a line of questioning I was going to ask you and I got to tell you just um you know to mimic Miss Clark’s statements I think this committee needs to do a better job if we spend as much time solving problems instead of wire brushing ourselves there’s a point in time I forgot you were in here and I want to ask you face to face man-to-man will you meet with me in the next few weeks so we can hash us out because What I Hear What I seem to think that I’m hearing is there’s a breakdown of communication and the understanding of either vernacular or language that either makes you responsible for what we have of our expectation and I think there’s a breakdown there so will you I’m asking you would you meet with me so I can tell you what I’m seeing from my district in Texas yes or no thank you I would gladly meet with you thank you and I gotta I got so I represent Texas eight we are basically a landing zone for the Border okay and I want to bring two names to your attention Mr Ethan Griffin age 22. Mr Joshua Gillihan age 14 both perished from fentanyl okay and I don’t care what administration you’re talking about now right I’m past red and blue okay Joshua died 18 eight months ago okay here here are my numbers sir in my district in 2020 325 deaths in 2021 538 deaths 2022 600 plus and the number is growing this year now sir you are the commander of the ship I have to point my finger at you I wanted you to address me and say what would you say to the mothers of these two young men those babies because they’re in the room I’m not going to politicize you sir but I would ask you when you go to Mr pfluger’s office I’m going to have those mothers day would you please dress it because here’s my issue sir every day every day I run into those mamas every day and I have to tell them I’m working on it every day in my district they ask me why isn’t the border secure what can we do to enhance border security so we are not overwhelmed and every day your name comes up and I can’t imagine after seeing what I’ve seen today how challenging it is to you to lead this department we will do better I give you my word as a Texan and as a congressman that with this committee we will do better to provide you guidance as a United body so you can secure our border that’s what we need do you agree to that congresswoman Congress whoa all right hey back that up buddy I identify as a man and I don’t have any pronouns congressman I apologize congressman we need to work together to address the challenges that have been the subject of this hearing and Fentanyl and the scourge of fennel is one of them let me share with you that the scourge of fentanyl is not new to 2023 it is not I’m not saying it is I’m not saying this I’m not saying that also what I’m saying is these numbers and again you heard me say I don’t care what administrator talking about these numbers are progressively getting worse so you and I and this committee and this body politic need to put aside our differences because it is the American public that are suffering no wonder they’re pissed at us yes agreed congressman let me share with you one thing that we could do just one example of what we can do together fund the Department of Homeland Security for 305 million dollars so we have a greater level of non-intrusive inspection technology to detect it I agree that we need to fund however sir if we’re going to spend what three million dollars on a private Law Firm to help you prep for hearings from what I understand the documentations that I saw today 1.5 million already gone out the door as a fiscally conservative man if we want to fund a department let’s fund it and let’s not let’s just not go spending things that we don’t need to spend taxpayer dollars on how about that honest and I respectfully um must say that you are conflating very serious issues with other issues that do not relate which which serious issue am I conflating the Border problem hey be careful because I’m kind of on your side right now but that can switch especially after you call me a woman Congressman I have I apologize it’s been a number of hours I’ve been here with you the whole time I get it yeah um well let me share with you your seat over these last few hours has been very very different than my seat so my level so I apologize for the error and if you think so you just think because you’re taking darts from this committee and oh didn’t you just hear me say that I got to stand in front of those two mothers back there and explain to them how what I’m doing to make sure they’re babies and other babies you know what the reason that they died I didn’t think so I yield back gentleman yields I now recognize Miss Titus uh of Nevada thank you Mr chairman and thank you Mr secretary for so patiently and honorably responding to the slings and eras that have been thrown at you today I’m sorry that Ms Lee left that she has such a concern for uh human trafficking I was going to invite her to join me on a bill that I’ve introduced with the representative David Joyce called the impact act human trafficking it would enhance your ability to combat human trafficking by establishing a Homeland Security investigation Victim Assistance Program to train investigators and Specialists which is what she seemed to think we needed more of uh I’m glad that there’s 66 million dollars in president’s budget for this very purpose and I would just ask you if you’ll be able to leverage some of that for training and for helping that your own employees who have to deal with the trauma of these cases themselves and the impact it has on their Mental Health congresswoman uh yes we would um and I’m very appreciative of the fact that you recognize how difficult this work is on the Personnel who do it yeah back to another point that was made about TSA and I certainly agreed with it Las Vegas has the seventh busiest airport it’s in my district we have four just millions of tourists who come through there I’ve just lost the figure right here but anyway uh need to have this funding for TSA and we’ve seen that it’s already working here you mentioned that you’ve got longer retention better recruiting better benefits maybe the labor union issue but I hear from my colleagues across the aisle that they want to cut non-defense spending and I’m concerned that the pay raises for TSA might be on their list of things to do away with can you just one more time talk about how we need to do that for the safety of the traveling public and how much that impacts the economy of every District of people who can fly in and out safely knowing TSA is there for them congresswoman there are three elements to this number one the the pay fairness that we are hoping to achieve for our TSA Personnel will um better ensure their well-being it will improve our recruiting and retention number one number two are extraordinary TSA Personnel who work on the front lines ensure the safety and security of the traveling public and third they facilitate that travel by uh streamlining the process and making sure that the experience at the airport is as positive as possible we know that our travelers to Las Vegas we want them to have the best experience from the time they leave home to the time they get back and that includes the whole airport experience so we appreciate what TSA folks do and they put themselves In Harm’s Way on those check lines once you’ve seen angry Travelers you’ve seen them confiscate weapons it’s not just easy job it is certainly not none of our front line jobs are easy but the the individuals who perform them are extraordinary public servants I’m incredibly proud to work alongside them and to support them I’d like to see more people thank them when they search their bags as opposed to be angry and be in a hurry and get aggravated because they’ve had to have another search is for the safety of all our Travelers I can’t let you leave without asking you about the Sears rating for Las Vegas you know we’re going to have the Formula One race it’s going to go right down the strip it’s going to go right through the heart of my district you’ve got hotel rooms looking down on it you’ve got people in those hotels we know that can be a problem from the October 1 shooting I know you’ve been working with our local agencies I want to ask you to look very carefully at that see if there’s a way we can get a three rating because there are a lot of special circumstances there and as you over review that I think you told the senate committee that you’re looking at that process generally is it going to be a fluid process can you change from one category to another depending on what you may find out or what kind of resources are brought to bear congresswoman the The Seer rating the special event assessment rating process is indeed a fluent one are experts and they are indeed experts evaluate the information and if there is additional information that would inform their decision with respect to the rating an event receives then they certainly will consider it and alter their rating according to their determinations we want that to be successful so thank you I yield back thank you Miss Titus uh the chair now recognizes Mr strong from Alabama thank you Mr chairman ranking member uh Mr secretary over the last two years Americans have watched as this Administration has rolled back successful border policies instead choosing chaos at the southern border it’s no wonder when under your direction we no longer handcuff those breaking the law but instead handcuff our border patrol Agents from being able to do their job I’ve been able to visit the southern border twice this year already what I witness concerns every American and from both sides of the aisle cartels are taking advantage of our open borders to smuggle humans and drugs into our country at an alarming rate these cartels have gained complete control of the Southwest border and a significant portion of the U.S drug Market by establishing diverse Transportation routes and Advanced Communications capabilities drones are one such tool cartels are using to conduct counter surveillance pinpoint the location of law enforcement at the border and increase the success success of smuggling operations in a February 7th house oversight hearing U.S border Patrol testified that in the last year one sector of the Southern border alone had more than ten thousand illegal drone incursions and 25 000 detections not only is this a grave concern for the safety of our law enforcement officers at the border but it is a serious threat to our national security during that same hearing usbp shared that our adversaries had 17 times the number of drones to con continue to grow their operations we have mentioned this already today but I believe it were worth noting again cartels have learned to use illegal immigrants to smuggle illicit Contraband across the border according to Homeland Security investigation revenues from migrant smuggling have increased from roughly 500 million in 2018 to 13 billion in 2022 again it has been reported that cartel Rush waves of aliens to the border to overwhelm border patrol as a decoy to allow for smuggling to go relatively unnoticed as we have already established today during your testimony at the Senate Judiciary hearing on March the 28th you claim that you were unaware this was happening Mr secretary I want to ask you specifically in the three weeks that have followed have you personally examined these tactics yourself Congressman I have in fact focused on these tactics for some time and let me share with you that I am so appreciative of the fact that you’ve brought up the issue of drones because our countertrone our counter uas Authority expires at the end of this year and it is absolutely critical that that Authority not only be extended that we be reauthorized but that it be expanded we need to be able to work with local law enforcement drones are being used in a myriad of ways in a number of different ways to to create a public safety risk like you have to have the authority to counter them thank you the U.S military needs to be notified also secretary marwark is the facts speak volumes and let’s get the facts straight under the previous administration president trump it is the fact our borders were much more secure our country was safer under this Administration those that cross the border were apprehended processed and president Trump immediately returned them by Ice Air under your leadership it appears our border patrol agents are the ones that are being handcuffed while illegal aliens from Mexico Guatemala Honduras Ecuador Haiti Cuba Iran and yes China too are pouring in into America this budget is baffling to say the least it proves that returning illegal aliens immediately rather than turning them loose in America is telling the big thing in this budget that I’m concerned about there was not increases in air transportation or for fuel and that’s one of the things that we can do that I believe will reduce costs is to return these illegals back it is proven that it worked the other thing Mr secretary can you provide details about how the department intends to spend 91 million for electric vehicles charging stations and 32 million for electric vehicles how many stations and vehicles will 120 million be used for and who created this initiative congresswoman a congressman um two points I’ll be very pleased to provide you with the request the details after this hearing with respect to the electric rate that our Office of Management is working on I want you to know that in 2021 our apprehension rate at the southern border was 81 percent in 2020 it was 75 thank you secretary Mr chairman of yo back the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr McCain from Oklahoma thank you Mr chairman secretary my workers thanks for being here um today earlier in this committee you said I use a lens of reasonableness in defining operational control when you were talking about if we have operational control at the border so I want to kind of go through a series of comments and I want to discuss the concept of being reasonable under your watch the body Administration we’ve had over four and a half million people encountered in entrants illegally in the United States the highest ever in the history of our nation that’s more than the population of Oklahoma the state of which I am in service of and I would contend that’s not reasonable um I’ve got in front of me here 11 different places where your office is in violation of federal law or regulation I’m happy to just apply this the will of Congress the the will of the people and uh I my office just sent you a letter about one of those in regards to this expansion of parole instead of on a case-by-case basis it’s designed to give 30 000 illegals entrants in the United States to lower numbers to make the numbers look better I would contend this is not reasonable I want to talk about tax dollars the way our tax dollars are being spent El Paso the sector is overwhelmed DHS right now at one of nine sectors El Paso is is spending ninety thousand dollars per flight sitting four of them per week to another sector of the of the wall area border and just to process them and I would contend this is not reasonable it’s just a reshuffling of the deck chairs to make sure El Paso is not overrun because of climate ideology as my colleague just talked about your ul’s request to spend 91 million for electric vehicle charging stations 32 million for electric vehicles which is not going to secure the Border it’s not going to there’s a chance those Vehicles could run out of of energy um and and in its adherence to the Church of nature I would continue it’s not reasonable um last month your your border and Customs patrol leader the chief of the border patrol overseas 19 000 of our Patrol agents testified to this committee that he disagreed with President Biden’s decision to shut down construction of the border wall what is reasonable and I’ve heard it talked about a couple of times that you’re in cost of communication with him I would continue would be to listen to your expert the guy who’s in cost of communication was Nineteen thousand who disagrees with that decision and and and so let me kind of give the context of this in 2021 the CD report said that there was 15 billion that was allocated to build a rehab a wall the wall in southern border 738 miles of that with 15 billion around 450 miles was completed in the prior Administration the Trump Administration and then President Biden within his first 30 days said not another foot and shut down what was what was appropriated by Congress 250 miles of border wall construction and and he made the state not another foot um because of this the Department of Defense then had to spend two billion dollars to terminate the contracts that was for something that Congress had needed to happen I would contend that’s not reasonable it’s not a good exponential taxpayer monies uh and it’s a it’s usurping article one section one that says that all legislative powers should be invested in the congress not by executive order letting the president over my undermine Congress now we continue to spend 130 000 a day to store and maintain those those sections of wall rusting and wasting on the ground it’s not reasonable um you were in looking at your history you were under President Obama you served as a deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 13 to 16 when Obama built 150 mile of wall in in tandem with the secure fence Act of 2006. the the Biden budget that now proposes is you all proposing to spend 4.7 billion at this for a Southwest board contingency funds contingency fund that’s set up to deal with the surge um we look at it we look as a slush fund instead of building physical barriers and I saved physical barriers because I think it’s important to note you served on an Administration where you at some time adhered to the belief in physical barriers there was a time where both Democrats and Republicans believed in it don’t forget that President Biden when he was Senator Biden voted for the secured offense act which included physical barriers um it’s not reasonable where we’re at when the experts even serving directly under you are saying they disagree with that decision um do you agree with your export expert Uh custom and and Patrol border Chief Raul Ortiz who said before this committee last month that he disagreed with Biden’s decision to shut down the construction of that 250 mile of border wall that Congress appropriated funds for um Congressman um I I stand by the decision of this Administration to cease construction of the wall I should say it’s okay and I have a I have approved uh the closing of approximately 129 gaps in completion of gates Mr chairman you said a little diligence here 10 seconds 10 seconds okay um you were secretary under Obama when 150 mile of border wall was was built your secretary of Department of Homeland Security do you disagree with what Obama directed your office to do in in during your time there when Democrats agree with Republicans there’s a three-part solution uh with respect to security uh Personnel technology and barriers the wall um is a particular discrete aspect of barriers with which we respectfully disagree thank you the gentleman yields I now recognize Mr Craig I’m sorry what for a level three rating I should have said level two okay taken care of thank you Miss Titus uh the gentleman from Texas is now recognized Texas Arizona Arizona my apology come on Mr Crane I I will do push-ups for you push them out sir we’ll give you seven seconds back all right thank you secretary mayarkas for appearing uh before our committee I know it’s been a tough day for you um and I think that’s for good reason I want to start my comments um with looking at the causation of this crisis at our Southern border you know it wasn’t more than a couple years ago during the Democratic primary that your boss now President Biden said during a debate We’re a nation that says you want to flee your fleeing oppression you should come everybody with a brain saw this coming sir we all saw this coming we saw this president during his race roll out the red carpet we knew what it was going to cause we everybody shouted it from the rooftops and now it’s here and you all want to act like it’s some it it’s something else you all want to act like you didn’t invite this and you most certainly did sir you said in your opening statements that um you’re attacking cartels and smugglers in an unequivalent unequivocal way you most certainly are not sir as a matter of fact if they were in this room right now the heads of these cartels you know what they tell us they’d say hey re-elect these guys again and by by all means keep that guy right in his seat because he’s our MVP he’s making it so easy for us to smuggle drugs smuggle people get gangs into this country distract our border patrol agents and at the same time destroy the U.S economy so you’re do you’re not doing a good job sir and that is why right here you see that sir you see that one on on your left that resolution those are articles of impeachment that Andy Biggs Congressman Andy Biggs and several of us supported now I’ve never met you before in my life you and I have no personal beef no there’s no animosity as far personally the reason that I agreed to sign on to these articles and P of impeachment with my colleague and others is because of the dereliction of Duty you know I’ve got graphs up here too you see these graphs showing what what it was like at the border before you got into office and what it’s like now here’s the sad thing sir these aren’t just graphs they’re not just numbers that have been thrown at you today they’re American families and I’m so glad that my colleague made you or asked you to get up turn around and face one of them I’m glad that you had to look at something that wasn’t just a data point or a graph but you actually had to look at a family because there’s tens of thousands of them tens of thousands seventy thousand because of fentanyl alone that doesn’t count all the families that have been destroyed by gangsters that have come come up through South America or the families that have been destroyed because of sex trafficking I’m glad you had to face them you know what sir I actually had to face one of them in my district last week I had to face one of them up in my district last week and it was hard this woman was choking back tears asking me Congressman crane what are you gonna do my daughter was killed my beautiful daughter was killed because of Fentanyl and I said you know what we’ve drafted articles of impeachment to remove secretary mayorkas for his dereliction of Duty you know it’s interesting sir because Mr Higgins one of my colleagues up here noticed your smugness I noticed it too and you know for some somebody that has a history of working in border security like yourself and knowing it and and my colleague right here Mr breachen he just pointed out that you work for administrations where they were actually building walls but you know what me and this gentleman right here went on a helicopter tour down in Texas where we flew around the border and guess what we saw piles of Steel just stacked up on the ground like he said of a wall that we’ve all the American taxpayers have already paid for and because of your dereliction of Duty and because of this President and this Administration we continue to have drugs gang members sex trafficking pouring into this country and you sit there with the smug look on your face but I noticed for a second because I was watching your face I was watching your face when the family behind you stood up Mr fluger asked you if you would address them I noticed that just for a second the smugness left your face sir and I’m glad that you had to feel uncomfortable today and that’s not because I don’t have any Humanity at all I look at your story I looked at you immigrated here from Cuba and you know what I think that’s great I really do sir and you might not you might not think that in this exchange right here I think that it’s a great thing that America has so many amazing immigrants here and this side of the aisle we’re not hung up about immigration we’re not hung up about legal immigration what we’re hung up about is how you all day one in office came in and changed policies and started getting rid of infrastructure that was keeping our states our counties and our Cities Safe the gentleman’s time has expired the members of the committee may have some additional questions for you Mr secretary and we would ask that you respond to those in writing I know you’ve made some commitments today to do that and I thank you for that persuant committee rule 7D the hearing record will be held open for 10 days for those written statements and I now recognize uh and yield to the ranking member for his closing statement if he’d like to make one uh thank you very much Mr chairman you and I have had some sidebar conversations uh during this hearing um I think what has been displayed uh by the committee is not who we are as a committee and you and I pledge that uh going forward will make every effort uh to get back to the civility that this committee has been long known for ever since we’ve been in existence all of us represent districts all of us have opinions but as a manner in which we can present the opinion and still disagree and uh you know we talk about our families uh I’m a grandfather and some of the language and and things that have gone on today and as a grandparent I’m embarrassed uh I know we are better as a committee than what we saw today and uh I hope the public if they watched don’t judge the work of this committed by this one hearing we’re better than that uh we have a budget with the third largest agency in government we do a lot uh no system is perfect uh we have to work toward the fashion Perfection so I work at that uh whatever I challenge along the southern border uh it didn’t start two years ago it’s been here uh and so I’ve seen the surges I’ve seen uh the low points but we continue to work on it and and so it’s in that spirit that I I say that we need to continue uh to work on all the problems we have 22 agencies that make up the Department of Homeland Security uh and awful lot of work awful lot of good people uh I’m happy uh as a general lady from Nevada mentioned our tsos they absolutely uh have worked uh on the difficult situations treated less than other government employees and in this budget is money to pay them that that increase that gets them up to where other fellow employees are we absolutely need to take care of them apart from that um we have a lot of missions cyber security it is a constant challenge to us in making sure our sister maintains its integrity and ability uh to protect our cyber systems as I indicated I’m in the midst of a tornado in my district the response has been phenomenal the fact that we’ve been able to Marshal the resources of DHS to address the needs in my district I appreciate it but as I look at all our other districts that are represented sooner or later you’ll have those similar kind of situations and and I want the department to be just as Nimble in that so uh this was supposed to be a budget here it has lasted over three and a half hours uh and and uh Ms secretary uh you labored long and hard I I wish we could have talked about some other issues that uh equal is important as the Border but unfortunately we got uh focused on a single point and your budget is very large and and that that request uh is how we keep America safe and the border is only one we did not talk about uh Maritime border uh we did not talk about uh northern border uh you know it I just want us to get back uh Mr chairman uh and as I said we’ve talked about it and there’s nothing wrong with disagreeing I mean it’s it’s in those disagreements that we have some meeting of the minds and we’ll set an example uh but not just this country but the rest of the world are adversaries uh look at us and when I look at our population makeup uh you know my ancestors came to this country in the belly of a ship as slaves and I don’t think any of us can claim the the purity of being just Americans but we have to understand our America is a global America and and we all have stories to tell and I don’t think we need to impugn uh anybody who’s trying to come to this great country and and for a long time uh Ellis Island and other places we worshiped and encourage people to come and and celebrate uh uh this greatness and and a comprehensive immigration policy will get us to where we need to be and so I look for a budget uh that moves Us in that direction uh look for a budget that we all can support but if this budget uh that ultimately is presented to the house allows us not to work at securing our borders and not giving our tsos raises uh that they so desperately need compromise some of our cyber security Admissions and other missions it’ll be impossible for a lot of us to support because the numbers that this budget uh if cut will make us more vulnerable as a nation rather than more secure and with that I yield back the ranking member yields uh thank you for your for your comments um I’ll now recognize myself for a closing statement um Mr secretary I I have to thank you for sitting there for as long as you have I know we’re close to the same age and I’ve had to leave twice so I deeply appreciate your staying there and staying in the seat and for your time today you know I I agree with the chairman or the former chairman now ranking member that we disagree on a lot of policies we really do and we don’t have to despise someone because they disagree with us we don’t have to disparage someone because they disagree with us um and we do need to dial the rhetoric down in the country and apparently in the committee but um today I want I wanted to focus on the differences of opinion and you know I look at 1.4 million gotaways and I wonder who’s in that group and I know since you don’t know who they are you can’t tell me the border patrol guys can’t tell me because I know right now under your policies that if they just turn themselves in they’re going to get processed and released into the country so who would who would not want to go turn themselves into border patrol well probably people that have some ill intent you mentioned the increase in the detention and and capture of felons and and things like that under your watch how many felons are in that 1.4 million gotaways how many murderers how many rapists when you drug traffickers you can’t tell me and I was really heartbroken to hear that you didn’t understand the strategy of the cartel it’s it’s almost intuitively obvious that they’re sending Mass waves of coyote paid people to tie up the Border Patrol so they can send those godaways whether it’s Contraband or whatever into our country that that really disappoints me I think it’s I think it’s a failure um and what’s caused it is the the incentives you’ve you’ve taken migrant protection protocols all these policies you know we go back to the resources right as I made in my in my opening statement we hadn’t cut border patrol we haven’t cut yet this massive increase in people again more than 12 years of two previous presidents one of which you served under it’s interesting too when I talk to your boss from your the first Administration you served some of the things he suggested we do or the pop were undoing essentially the policies that you’ve undone returning to some things like remain in Mexico this is this is a policy issue it’s decisions made by you and your boss that have caused this Spike it’s incentivized people and when I talked to the chief of the Border Patrol and to some of your sector Chiefs as we prepare to do our transcribed interviews with them um they’re saying that the return agreements have all been allowed to expire so ice can’t even send people back to certain countries because those are this is willful decisions to undo policies that were bringing the numbers down no one can you can’t argue with that and now suddenly we did away with those policies and the numbers are going right I mean it’s astronomical and it’s that surge of people and it can be well intentioned you can say man I I want to help I ran a medical missions we went to Honduras we went to Haiti we went to I want to help people who are hurting but the drug cartels are taking advantage of this with that open border the mass waves of people coming and they’re taking advantage of us and they are making billions of dollars and we’re empowering evil people with these policies you talk about resources and wanting more resources I want to tell you we’re going to drop a bill Friday and uh that Bill’s going to have a lot more resources in some areas than you’ve even asked for um and I think you’ll be very happy with many of the things in it now we do undo what we believe are some of these policies that have resulted in this Mass wave and the cartels being able to manipulate the situation and control five of our nine sectors assisted border Chief has said um but you’re going to like a lot of the resource piece if it’s really if you really believe that it’s resources I also want to talk a little bit about some of my colleagues a lot of my colleagues talk about immigration reforming nobody I’m a small business guy we’re in a Healthcare company and you know employee we need employees in this country 10 million uh empty jobs in America right now I want to fix our immigration system but if we fix that first before we secure the Border we’re just doing more of what you’ve done which is to incentivize people to come without the security being present and that’s just going to make it worse and so if we can secure our border I’m ready to sit down and do immigration reform but not make the incentives even greater so that even more come the the through the illegal mechanisms um so I I just wanted to share that uh very quickly about the budget I think the budget that you presented today increases a lot of money for processing people into the country and takes away money from stopping the illegal Crossings and deporting people who’ve come here illegally I mean I think that’s obvious if you look at the budget and add it all up and again your budget’s just going to incentivize more people to come the cartels are just going to take more advantage of it and more Americans are going to die because of the fentanyl that will come into this country and so that’s why we’re opposed to this um and as I said I believe in the testimony that you gave chip Roy I think you gave some false testimony and I elaborated on that with video and you and I can have a dialogue about that but that’s genuinely what I believe um I will say that you requested this hearing to bring your budget to our committee I appreciate that and it has been alluded to or actually stated out we have plans to bring you back so we’ll see you again um I I will tell you this Mark green has never I’ve resisted any any Temptations to say impeachment because I don’t have the authority this committee doesn’t have the authority to do that so when someone says Mark green said impeach that that’s just not true but what I have said is that we’ve got a five-phase plan of oversight and uh we’re going to look at five specific areas and do oversight that’s that’s my job that’s our job on both sides of this aisle up here and so that is going to happen and we’ll look forward talking to you again um thank you again for being here and with that the committee is adjourned.

Source HLS.Today: DHS.GOV

A member of the media was asked to leave a conference room at his DPS headquarters in Weslaco, where the named individual was conducting his nearly hour-long border security roundtable. Following the discussion, Abbott once again invited the media to the conference room to provide an update on the state of the Texas-Mexico border and the current challenges faced by border officials.

“Three years ago, we had the lowest number of border crossings in decades,” Abbott said at the start of the news conference. “There was a reason why we had such a low number of border crossings three years ago. It’s because we had a president who had implemented four very simple policies that led to that dramatic decrease in illegal border crossings.”

The primary reason for the low number of crossings three years ago was then-President Donald Trump’s implementation of Title 42 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave authority to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to immediately expel anyone who crossed into the country because of the public health emergency.

The governor also referenced the end to “catch and release,” the implementation of the Remain in Mexico policy and the border wall, without citing data.

“As soon as President Biden took office, he eliminated all of those policies that President Trump put in place, and also issued basically an open invitation to anybody in the world that they can come here to the United States and cross our border illegally with no consequences,” Abbott said. “The result was extraordinarily predictable.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott holds a press conference concerning border security along the Texas border with Mexico at the Weslaco DPS Headquarters on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Weslaco. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

Abbott said that the state saw the highest number of apprehensions in history. He criticized what he called Biden’s open border policy, adding that he had declared securing the border to be an emergency item during the legislative session as a result.

He said that with Title 42 expected to expire in May, he is anticipating up to 18,000 border crossings per day. Abbott cited federal estimates but did not disclose what federal agency those estimates came from.

“We’re sending a message today, and that is to say that if you’re coming towards the United States of America and you are thinking about crossing our border, and you’re thinking about making the border crossing in the state of Texas, you’re picking the wrong state to enter into or try to enter into,” he said. “Because we’re going to do everything we can to keep you out of our border, out of our country.”

Guillen said that based on data points shared during the closed-door discussion, he is convinced that Operation Lone Star is impacting illegal border crossings into Texas. He said that despite that, he believes that there is much that needs to be done to stop drugs from entering the US through Texas.

Guillen did not share any of that data.

“When you look back to 2020 and compare 2019 and 2020 to today, you have probably a 500 or 600% increase in illegal crossings and the fentanyl and illicit substances,” Guillen said. “Substances that are coming across have grown exponentially as well. That’s very concerning, so we as a state are committed to continue trying to address it.”

HLS.Today Source: RioGrandeValley.GOV

1. With this 2022 Communications Marketplace Report, the Commission fulfills its mandate to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the state of competition in the communications marketplace in the United States.6 As required, this third Report  assesses the state of all forms of competition in the communications marketplace; the state of deployment of communications capabilities, including advanced telecommunications capability; and barriers to competitive entry, including market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses.
2. At the outset, we note that the U.S. communications marketplace is in a substantial state of change and re-examination. During the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic drove millions of people to work and learn remotely, and consumers’ demand for fixed and mobile broadband, video, and audio services increased significantly. At the same time, there were considerable developments in the regulatory, technological, and business environment that will likely influence competition in the sector in the coming years. We see an emerging set of issues and opportunities presented by these changes in the marketplace: some trends that are encouraging and others that may pose challenges.
3. First is the potential for more competitive broadband markets. Currently available data demonstrates that millions of Americans lack access to high-speed broadband or can only access high-speed broadband through a single provider. However, this market is on the cusp of generational change. The $1 trillion Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act has earmarked $65 billion for continued broadband adoption and deployment throughout the country. The Commission’s effort to develop new broadband maps that will help identify broadband gaps and better target federal support is well underway. New technologies like 5G fixed wireless services are deploying and may provide new competition to traditional fixed broadband services, particularly in rural areas. And while these trends develop, the Commission has taken steps to create more accountability in markets where competition may be lagging. For example, the Commission has adopted new rules that prohibit ISPs from entering into certain agreements with landlords that keep competitors locked out as well as new rules that require them to display clear “nutrition labels” to help consumers comparison shop. More recently, the Commission started a proceeding to combat and prevent digital discrimination and to promote equal access to broadband.
4. Second is change in the wireless sector in the 5G era. The sector landscape has been reshaped in recent years by multibillion-dollar horizontal and vertical acquisitions. T-Mobile acquired Sprint, shrinking the number of U.S. nationwide mobile service providers from four to three. Verizon also completed its acquisition of TracFone, previously the largest wireless reseller in the United States. Meanwhile, DISH has entered the wireless sector, started to deploy a cloud-native 5G Open RAN network, and has committed to emerging as a nationwide competitor. In addition to acquisitions, wireless service providers have spent approximately $108.5 billion in 5G spectrum auctions over the past two years and made multibillion-dollar capital investments to deploy next generation 5G networks, doing so twice as fast as the previous generation of wireless technology. Mobile wireless providers are also increasingly providing fixed, home broadband service. Against this backdrop, there is also rising interest in edge computing and private cellular networks and ongoing work to reassess cybersecurity and risk management in 5G networks and equipment markets.
5. Third is the rapid expansion of LEO satellite constellations and the emergence of new players in the commercial satellite industry. Reductions in launch costs and other innovations have helped make it possible to cheaply put thousands of satellites in orbit. Approximately 98% of all satellite launches in 2021 were deployed into LEO to provide internet connectivity back here on Earth. Starlink has a significant head start, having launched more than 3,350 of its Starlink satellites. However, over roughly the last two years, the Commission also has approved new satellite constellations from Kuiper and Boeing, with applications representing thousands of additional satellites still under review. In addition, the Commission has taken a range of actions to support competition, including making more spectrum available to support commercial space launches and satellite communications, updating processing round rules for non-geostationary satellites to encourage spectrum sharing and information sharing, and adopting new rules to address orbital debris risks. And the video and audio industries are also experiencing a great deal of change, as technological change and consumer preferences transform the marketplace.
6. In the coming years, the Commission will continue to monitor these trends and what they mean for the state of competition and consumer choice in the communications marketplace, as advanced communications services play an ever-larger role in our lives.

ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF COMPETITION

1. The RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018 requires the Commission to assess the state of competition in the communications marketplace. In section II, we assess the state of competition separately within several specific components of the broader communications marketplace, including the fixed broadband marketplace, the mobile wireless marketplace, the voice services marketplace, the satellite marketplace, the video marketplace, including cable industry prices, and the audio marketplace. In section III, we present information on access to advanced telecommunications capability, and provide a summary of the International Broadband Data Report.
2. In assessing the state of competition, we report on several economic indicators. These include indirect measures of competition—such as the number of providers, along with barometers of market concentration—that are recognized as being associated with the level of competition. We also report, among other things, prices and product offerings. This entails looking at the major factors that affect prices, including inputs such as spectrum, infrastructure, or video content, as well as the quality of the service being offered to consumers and quality-enhancing investment. This Report further recognizes that some markets are interrelated, and so assesses competition between some of these markets, such as between fixed and mobile broadband and between multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), online video distributors (OVDs), and broadcast television stations.
3. The Broadband Data Collection (BDC), FCC Form 477, and Network Deployment. As noted above, the Commission is required to assess the state of communications capability deployment, including advanced telecommunications capability. As the Commission has repeatedly stated, having accurate and reliable broadband deployment data is critical, not only to the Commission, but also to other federal policymakers, state policymakers, and consumers.
4. In August 2019, the Commission adopted new requirements for broadband availability mapping to collect more granular, precise coverage data, and in March 2020, Congress enacted the Broadband DATA Act.12 This Act bolstered the Commission’s data collection improvement effort, but also established additional requirements for the Commission to adopt rules and carry out other steps for the collection and publication of data on the quality and availability of broadband Internet access service. In July 2020 and January 2021, the Commission adopted additional new requirements for the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) consistent with the Broadband DATA Act, and in January 2021, the Commission received an appropriation from Congress for the implementation of the data collection. Chairwoman Rosenworcel established the Broadband Data Task Force (Task Force) in February 2021 to lead the cross-agency effort to implement improvements to the Commission’s broadband data and mapping tools.
5. During 2021 and 2022, the Commission has continued to develop and refine the BDC and provide guidance regarding the requirements,16 including through the release of a number of items that furthered the Commission’s ongoing effort to improve broadband availability data. These efforts have included contracting for the development of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric), system development, project management consulting services, system testing, a mobile speed test app, and technical assistance; internal policy development; conducting a rulemaking on the mobile challenge, crowdsourcing, and verification processes; and inter-governmental and consumer outreach. In February 2022, the Task Force and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) announced that the first BDC filing window for the collection of coverage data as of June 30, 2022, would open on June 30, 2022 and run through September 1, 2022. The new Broadband Maps based on the first BDC filing windows were published on November 18, 2022 (for data as of June 30, 2022).
6. As directed by Congress in the Broadband DATA Act, the Commission has also started two separate challenge processes to improve the data and the maps.20 First, starting in September 2022,21 parties have been able to file bulk challenges to improve the location data contained in the Fabric.22 Improvements to the Fabric are included in the most recent version; since the week of December 27, 2022, providers have been matching their fixed broadband availability data with the new Fabric in preparation for the next BDC filing window for data as of December 31, 2022, which will open on January 3, 2023. Next, shortly after the first maps were published in November 2022, the Commission began accepting individual challenges to the Fabric data and challenges to the broadband availability data reflected in that first map. Through these challenge processes, stakeholders including consumers, States, Tribes, local government entities, and ISPs can submit data to improve the accuracy of the Fabric and the BDC broadband availability data. Given that the BDC is still in its early stages, with one collection round complete and the challenge processes in their early stages, we do not rely on the BDC data as the primary source of data for this Report. For purposes of our assessment in this Report, we therefore continue to rely primarily on FCC Form 477 data.24 In the next Report, we expect to rely on the BDC for our analysis of broadband availability.

HLS.Today Source:  FCC.GOV  (Download Full Report PDF)

Statement by the Department of Homeland Security on Supreme Court Title 42 Order

As required by today’s Supreme Court order, the Title 42 public health order will remain in effect and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico or their home country.

People should not listen to the lies of smugglers who take advantage of vulnerable migrants, putting lives at risk. The border is not open, and we will continue to fully enforce our immigration laws.

We will continue to manage the border, but we do so within the constraints of a decades-old immigration system that everyone agrees is broken. We need Congress to pass the comprehensive immigration reform legislation President Biden proposed the day he took office.

Title 42, United States Code, Section 290dd–2(g) authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations. Such regulations may contain such definitions, and may provide for such safeguards and procedures, including procedures and criteria for the issuance and scope of orders, as in the judgment of the Secretary are necessary or proper to effectuate the purposes of this statute, to prevent circumvention or evasion thereof, or to facilitate compliance therewith.

• 2.2 Purpose and effect. (a) Purpose. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 290dd–2(g), the regulations in this part impose restrictions upon the disclosure and use of substance use disorder patient records which are maintained in connection with the performance of any part 2 program. The regulations in this part include the following subparts: (1) Subpart B of this part: General Provisions, including definitions, applicability, and general restrictions; (2) Subpart C of this part: Disclosures with Patient Consent, including disclosures which require patient consent and the consent form requirements; (3) Subpart D of this part: Disclosures without Patient Consent, including disclosures which do not require patient consent or an authorizing court order; and (4) Subpart E of this part: Court Orders Authorizing Disclosure and Use, including disclosures and uses of patient records which may be made with an authorizing court order and the procedures and criteria for the entry and scope of those orders. (b) Effect. (1) The regulations in this part prohibit the disclosure and use of patient records unless certain circumstances exist. If any circumstance exists under which disclosure is permitted, that circumstance acts to remove the prohibition on disclosure but it does not compel disclosure. Thus, the regulations do not require disclosure under any circumstances. (2) The regulations in this part are not intended to direct the manner in which substantive functions such as research, treatment, and evaluation are carried out. They are intended to ensure that a patient receiving treatment for a substance use disorder in a part 2 program is not made more vulnerable by reason of the availability of their patient record than an individual with a substance use disorder who does not seek treatment. (3) Because there is a criminal penalty for violating the regulations, they are to be construed strictly in favor of the potential violator in the same manner as a criminal statute (see M. Kraus & Brothers v. United States, 327 U.S. 614, 621–22, 66 S. Ct. 705, 707–08 (1946)). § 2.3 Criminal penalty for violation

Physicians for Human Rights take on Article 42

Early in the pandemic, the Trump administration exploited the emergency to completely close U.S. doors to asylum seekers at the border, while continuing to allow many other, non-asylum-seeking travelers across. On March 20, 2020, the CDC issued an order citing section 265 of U.S. Code Title 42 (U.S. health law), allowing the U.S. federal government to immediately turn away and expel people arriving at the border seeking asylum protection. Such actions constitute violations of U.S. and international law. The order, which can be rescinded at any time, has been used by the Department of Homeland Security to carry out more than 750,000 expulsions and to essentially eliminate asylum at the border, resulting in dire humanitarian consequences, such as the severe overcrowding of families in migrant shelters and encampments in northern Mexico.

There is no public health rationale to categorically exclude asylum seekers while millions of other travelers cross the border without testing or contact tracing.

The Title 42 order is not based on public health rationale or data. It was implemented despite objections from senior CDC medical experts and it has been widely criticized by public health and medical experts, who state that the order has no scientific basis as a public health measure. International borders remain largely open to other travelers. People fleeing persecution are protected under U.S. and international law, and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has confirmed that countries must not deny entry or discriminate against asylum seekers solely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in spite of promising to bring humanity to the immigration system, President Biden has yet to repeal the Title 42 order; on May 19, 2020, it was extended indefinitely, with the CDC director stating the order will continue “until I determine that the danger of further introduction of COVID-19 into the United States has ceased to be a serious danger to the public health, and continuation of the Order is no longer necessary to protect the public health.” More than 70 million pedestrians and vehicle passengers were permitted to enter the United States through ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border from April to December 2020 without testing or tracing, while a much smaller number of asylum seekers have not even had the chance to have their case heard.

Banning only asylum seekers asking for protection in the United States is discriminatory, racist, and puts thousands of lives at risk.

USA SUPREME COURT  ARIZONA, ET AL. v. ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, SEC. OF HOMELAND SECURITY

The application for stay pending certiorari presented toTHE CHIEF JUSTICE and by him referred to the Court is granted. The November 15, 2022 order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, case No. 1:21– cv–00100, is hereby stayed. Applicants suggested thisCourt treat the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari; doing so, the petition is granted. The parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: Whether the State applicants may intervene to challenge the DistrictCourt’s summary judgment order.

This stay precludes giving effect to the District Court order setting aside and vacating the Title 42 policy; the state itself does not prevent the federal government from taking any action with respect to that policy. The Court’s review on certiorari is limited to the question of intervention. While the underlying merits of the District Court’s summary judgment order are pertinent to that analysis, the Court does not grant review of those merits, which have not yet been addressed by the Court of Appeals.

The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the February 2023 argument session. The stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. The order heretofore entered by THE CHIEF JUSTICE is vacated.

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and JUSTICE KAGAN would deny the application.

JUSTICE GORSUCH, with whom JUSTICE JACKSON joins, dissenting.

From March 2020 to April 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention responded to the COVID–19 pandemic by issuing a series of emergency decrees. Those decrees—often called “Title 42 orders”—severely restricted immigration to this country on the ground that it posed a “serious danger” of “introduc[ing]” a “communicable disease.” 58 Stat. 704, 42 U. S. C. §265. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. A district court held that the Title 42 orders were arbitrary and capricious, vacated them, and enjoined their operation. On appeal, Arizona and certain other States moved to intervene to challenge the district court’s ruling, arguing that the federal government would not defend the Title 42 orders as vigorously as they might. The

1. C. Circuit denied the States’ motion. In response, the States have now come to this Court seeking two things. First, the States ask us to grant expedited review of the
2. C. Circuit’s intervention ruling. Second, the States ask us to stay the district court’s judgment while we review the
3. C. Circuit’s intervention ruling. This stay would effectively require the federal government to continue enforcing the Title 42 orders indefinitely. Today, the Court obliges both requests. Respectfully, I believe these decisions are unwise.

Reasonable minds can disagree about the merits of the:

19. C. Circuit’s intervention ruling. But that case-specific decision is not of special importance in its own right and would not normally warrant expedited review. The D. C. Circuit’s intervention ruling takes on whatever salience it has only because of its presence in a larger underlying dispute about the Title 42 orders. And on that score, it is unclear what we might accomplish. Even if at the end of it all we find that the States are permitted to intervene, and even if the States manage on remand to demonstrate that the Title 42 orders were lawfully adopted, the emergency on which those orders were premised has long since lapsed. In April 2022, the federal government terminated the Title 42 orders after determining that emergency immigration restrictions were no longer necessary or appropriate to address COVID–19. 87 Fed. Reg. 19944. The States may question whether the government followed the right administrative steps before issuing this decision (an issue on which I express no view). But they do not seriously dispute that the public-health justification undergirding the Title 42 orders has lapsed. And it is hardly obvious why we should rush in to review a ruling on a motion to intervene in a case concerning emergency decrees that have outlived their shelf life.

The only plausible reason for stepping in at this stage that I can discern has to do with the States’ second request. The States contend that they face an immigration crisis at the border and policymakers have failed to agree on adequate measures to address it. The only means left to mitigate the crisis, the States suggest, is an order from this Court directing the federal government to continue its COVID-era Title 42 policies as long as possible—at the very least during the pendency of our review. Today, the Court Supplies just such an order. For my part, I do not discount the States’ concerns. Even the federal government acknowledges “that the end of the Title 42 orders will likely have disruptive consequences.” Brief in Opposition for Federal Respondents 6. But the current border crisis is not a COVID crisis. And courts should not be in the business of perpetuating administrative edicts designed for one emergency only because elected officials have failed to address a different emergency. We are a court of law, not policymakers of last resort.

HLS.Today Source: DHS.GOV

1. Air, Land, and Port of Entry (POE) Security
2. Biometrics and Identity Management
3. Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS)
4. Forensics and Criminal Investigations
5. Immigration Services
6. Maritime Safety and Security

1. Air, Land, and Port of Entry (POE) Security  

Border security refers to the measures taken by a country to protect its borders from illegal crossings, smuggling, and other forms of illegal activity. Border security is a critical component of a nation’s national security strategy, as it helps to prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons, and other illicit goods into the country. Border security can be achieved through a variety of means, including air, land, and port of entry security.

Air security involves measures taken to protect the country’s airspace from unauthorized entry or attacks. This can include the use of radar and other surveillance technologies to detect and track aircraft, as well as the deployment of fighter jets and other aircraft to intercept and escort potentially threatening planes. Air security is particularly important given the potential for terrorists to use commercial airliners as weapons.

Land security refers to the measures taken to secure a country’s land borders from illegal crossings and smuggling. This can include the use of physical barriers, such as fences and walls, as well as patrols by border guards and law enforcement officers. In addition, land security may involve the use of technology, such as sensors and cameras, to detect and deter illegal crossings. Land security is important for preventing the entry of unauthorized individuals, as well as for intercepting smugglers and traffickers.

Port of entry security refers to the measures taken to secure a country’s ports of entry, such as airports and seaports. This can include the use of security checkpoints, scanning technologies, and other measures to ensure that only authorized individuals and goods are allowed to enter the country. Port of entry security is critical for preventing the entry of terrorists and other threats, as well as for intercepting smuggled goods and contraband.

Effective border security requires a combination of physical and technological measures, as well as well-trained and equipped personnel. It is also important for countries to work closely with one another to share information and coordinate efforts to secure their shared borders. In addition, border security should be implemented in a way that respects human rights and the rule of law, while also ensuring that legitimate travelers and trade are not unduly disrupted.

One of the key challenges of border security is balancing the need for security with the need to facilitate the flow of people and goods. Borders play a vital role in facilitating trade and other economic activities, and it is important to ensure that border security measures do not unduly hinder these activities. In addition, border security measures can have unintended consequences, such as increasing the risk of human rights abuses or encouraging the use of more dangerous and illicit routes for smugglers.

One approach to addressing these challenges is the use of targeted and risk-based border security measures. This involves using intelligence and other information to identify and prioritize the most significant threats, and focusing resources and efforts on these areas. This approach can help to maximize the effectiveness of border security measures, while minimizing the impact on legitimate trade and travel.

In conclusion, border security is a critical component of a nation’s national security strategy. It involves a range of measures to protect the country’s airspace, land borders, and ports of entry from illegal crossings, smuggling, and other forms of illegal activity. Effective border security requires a combination of physical and technological measures, as well as well-trained and equipped personnel, and should be implemented in a way that respects human rights and the rule of law. To address the challenges of border security, it is important to use targeted and risk-based measures that focus on the most significant threats and minimize the impact on legitimate trade and travel.

2. Biometrics and Identity Management 

Border security is a critical component of a nation’s national security strategy, as it helps to prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons, and other illicit goods into the country. One important aspect of border security is the use of biometrics and identity management technologies to verify the identity of individuals crossing the border and to ensure that only authorized individuals are allowed to enter the country.

Biometrics refers to the use of physical or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial features, or voice, to identify individuals. Biometric identification systems can be used to verify the identity of individuals at border crossings, airports, and other points of entry, as well as to access secure facilities or information. Biometric technologies have the advantage of being unique to an individual, making them difficult to forge or alter.

Identity management refers to the processes and technologies used to verify and manage the identity of individuals. This can include the use of documents, such as passports or visas, as well as biometric technologies. Identity management is critical for border security, as it helps to ensure that only authorized individuals are allowed to enter the country and that those who do enter can be tracked and monitored.

One common approach to border security is the use of biometric and identity management technologies to create a “virtual border.” This involves the use of sensors, cameras, and other technologies to detect and track the movement of individuals across the border, without the need for physical barriers or patrols. This approach can help to reduce the risk of illegal crossings and smuggling, while also minimizing the impact on legitimate trade and travel.

Another important aspect of border security is the use of biometric and identity management technologies to facilitate the flow of legitimate travelers and trade. For example, automated passport control kiosks can be used to verify the identity of travelers and expedite the process of crossing the border. Similarly, biometric technologies can be used to create trusted traveler programs, which allow pre-screened and trusted individuals to expedite their border crossings.

However, the use of biometric and identity management technologies also raises a number of concerns and challenges. One key concern is the potential for these technologies to be used to violate privacy and civil liberties. For example, the collection and storage of biometric data could be used to track and monitor the movements and activities of individuals. In addition, there is the potential for these technologies to be used to discriminate against certain groups of individuals, or to be misused or abused by corrupt officials.

To address these concerns, it is important for countries to have strong privacy and data protection laws in place, and to ensure that these laws are enforced. In addition, it is important for countries to be transparent about their use of biometric and identity management technologies, and to provide individuals with information about how their data is being collected and used.

In conclusion, biometrics and identity management technologies play a critical role in border security, helping to verify the identity of individuals and to ensure that only authorized individuals are allowed to enter the country. These technologies can be used to create a “virtual border” and to facilitate the flow of legitimate travelers and trade. However, it is important to address the potential concerns and challenges associated with these technologies, including the potential for violations of privacy and civil liberties, and to ensure that strong privacy and data protection laws are in place.

3. Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS)

Border security is a critical component of a nation’s national security strategy, as it helps to prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons, and other illicit goods into the country. One emerging threat to border security is the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as drones. UAS can be used to smuggle drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods across the border, as well as to carry out surveillance and other malicious activities. To address this threat, it is important for countries to have effective counter-UAS measures in place.

Counter-UAS measures refer to the technologies and tactics used to detect, track, and mitigate the threat posed by UAS. These measures can be divided into three main categories: detection, tracking, and neutralization. Detection refers to the ability to identify the presence of UAS in an area, while tracking involves following the movement of UAS to determine their trajectory and intended target. Neutralization refers to the measures taken to mitigate the threat posed by UAS, such as through the use of physical barriers, electronic jamming, or kinetic means.

One common approach to counter-UAS is the use of radar and other sensors to detect the presence of UAS in an area. These sensors can be integrated into existing border security systems, such as ground-based radar or surveillance cameras, or they can be stand-alone systems specifically designed to detect UAS. The use of radar and other sensors can help to provide early warning of the presence of UAS, enabling border security personnel to take appropriate action.

Another approach to counter-UAS is the use of electronic jamming technologies. These technologies work by emitting radio frequency (RF) signals that interfere with the operation of UAS, disrupting their communication with their controllers and rendering them inoperable. Electronic jamming can be effective in certain situations, such as when UAS are flying at low altitudes or are operating in a confined space. However, it is important to note that electronic jamming can also disrupt the operation of other RF-based systems, such as cell phones and other communication devices, and may therefore be restricted in certain areas.

A third approach to counter-UAS is the use of kinetic means, such as bullets or other projectiles, to physically disable or destroy UAS. This approach is typically used as a last resort, when other measures have failed or are not feasible. The use of kinetic means can be effective in certain situations, such as when UAS are flying at low altitudes or are operating in a confined space. However, there is a risk that the use of kinetic means could result in collateral damage or injury to bystanders.

In addition to these technical measures, it is also important for countries to have well-trained and equipped personnel to respond to UAS threats. This can include border security personnel, as well as specialized counter-UAS units. Training and exercises can help to ensure that personnel are prepared to detect, track, and mitigate the threat posed by UAS.

In conclusion, the threat posed by UAS to border security is an emerging issue that requires effective counter-UAS measures. These measures can include the use of radar and other sensors to detect the presence of UAS, electronic jamming technologies to disrupt their operation, and kinetic means to physically disable or destroy UAS. It is also important for countries to have well-trained and equipped personnel to respond to UAS threats. By implementing a range of counter-UAS measures, countries can effectively mitigate the threat posed by UAS to border security.

4. Forensics and Criminal Investigations 

Border security is a critical component of a nation’s national security strategy, as it helps to prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons, and other illicit goods into the country. One important aspect of border security is the use of forensic and criminal investigative techniques to identify and prosecute those responsible for illegal activities at the border.

Forensic science refers to the use of scientific methods and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence for use in criminal investigations and court proceedings. Forensic techniques can be used to identify and analyze various types of evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, firearm and tool marks, and digital evidence. Forensic evidence can be critical in establishing the guilt or innocence of individuals, as well as in linking suspects to specific crimes.

Criminal investigations refer to the process of collecting and analyzing evidence to identify and prosecute those responsible for criminal offenses. This can involve a range of activities, including interviews and interrogations, surveillance, and the execution of search warrants. Criminal investigations can be conducted by law enforcement agencies at the local, state, or federal level, depending on the nature and scope of the offense.

One important aspect of border security is the use of forensic and criminal investigative techniques to identify and prosecute individuals involved in smuggling and other illegal activities at the border. This can include the use of forensic techniques to analyze physical evidence, such as drugs or weapons, seized at the border, as well as the use of digital forensic techniques to analyze electronic devices and other digital evidence. In addition, criminal investigations can be used to identify and track the networks and organizations involved in illegal activities at the border.

Effective border security requires close cooperation between law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories, as well as the use of advanced forensic and investigative technologies. This can include the use of DNA analysis to identify individuals, the use of fingerprint analysis to link suspects to specific crimes, and the use of digital forensic techniques to analyze electronic devices and other digital evidence.

One challenge of using forensic and criminal investigative techniques in border security is the need to ensure that evidence is collected and analyzed in a way that meets legal standards and is admissible in court. This requires the use of standardized and validated forensic techniques, as well as the proper handling and storage of evidence to ensure its integrity. In addition, it is important for law enforcement agencies to have access to the necessary training and resources to effectively collect and analyze forensic evidence.

In conclusion, forensic and criminal investigative techniques play a critical role in border security, helping to identify and prosecute individuals involved in illegal activities at the border. Effective border security requires the use of advanced forensic and investigative technologies, as well as close cooperation between law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories. It is also important to ensure that evidence is collected and analyzed in a way that meets legal standards and is admissible in court. By using forensic and criminal investigative techniques, countries can effectively disrupt and dismantle the networks and organizations involved in illegal activities at the border, and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

5. Immigration Services 

Border security is an important aspect of immigration services, as it helps to ensure the safety and security of a country’s borders and its citizens. Effective border security involves a combination of physical and technological measures, as well as policies and procedures for managing the flow of people and goods across national borders.

One key component of border security is immigration services, which are responsible for managing the process of granting visas and other immigration benefits to individuals seeking to enter a country. This includes issuing visas to tourists, students, and workers, as well as processing applications for permanent residency and citizenship.

Immigration services also play a critical role in enforcing immigration laws and regulations, including those related to border security. This can involve working with other government agencies to identify and detain individuals who are attempting to enter a country illegally, or who are in violation of immigration laws.

Effective immigration services can help to ensure that only individuals who are properly vetted and meet the necessary criteria are granted entry into a country. This can help to prevent the entry of individuals who may pose a threat to public safety or national security.

However, the process of managing immigration and ensuring border security can also be complex and controversial. There are often competing interests at play, including the need to protect national security, the desire to promote economic growth and cultural exchange, and the rights and needs of individuals seeking to enter a country.

One challenge in managing immigration is finding the right balance between security and accessibility. On the one hand, strict immigration policies can help to deter illegal immigration and reduce the risk of terrorism and other criminal activity. However, overly restrictive policies can also discourage legal immigration and hinder economic growth, as well as potentially violating the rights of individuals seeking to enter a country.

Another challenge is addressing the root causes of illegal immigration. Many individuals who seek to enter a country illegally do so due to poverty, persecution, or other difficult circumstances in their home countries. Addressing these underlying issues can help to reduce the incentives for illegal immigration and improve border security.

One approach to addressing these challenges is to focus on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of immigration services. This can involve investing in technology and infrastructure to facilitate the flow of legal immigration, as well as streamlining the process for granting visas and other immigration benefits.

Another approach is to work with other countries to address the root causes of illegal immigration, such as poverty, conflict, and persecution. This can involve providing development aid, supporting efforts to promote stability and good governance, and addressing human rights abuses.

Ultimately, effective border security and immigration services are essential for protecting national security and promoting the economic and social well-being of a country. By finding the right balance between security and accessibility, and addressing the root causes of illegal immigration, countries can better manage the flow of people and goods across their borders and ensure the safety and security of their citizens.

6. Maritime Safety and Security

Maritime safety and security are essential components of border security, as they help to ensure the safety and security of a country’s territorial waters and coastlines. Effective maritime security involves a combination of physical and technological measures, as well as policies and procedures for managing the flow of people and goods across national borders.

One key element of maritime security is the protection of critical infrastructure, such as ports and shipping lanes. This can involve the use of physical barriers, such as fences and walls, as well as the deployment of patrols and surveillance systems to monitor and detect potential threats.

Another important aspect of maritime security is the enforcement of laws and regulations governing the use of territorial waters and coastlines. This can involve working with other government agencies and international partners to enforce laws related to smuggling, piracy, and other criminal activity.

Effective maritime security can also involve the use of technology to enhance situational awareness and improve response capabilities. This can include the use of radar, sonar, and other sensors to detect and track potential threats, as well as the use of unmanned vehicles and other advanced technologies to assist in search and rescue operations.

Maritime security also plays a critical role in disaster response and recovery efforts. In the event of a natural disaster or other emergency, effective maritime security can help to coordinate the flow of resources and personnel to affected areas, as well as protect against potential threats such as looting or other criminal activity.

However, the challenges of managing maritime safety and security can be complex and multifaceted. One challenge is the need to balance security concerns with the need to facilitate the flow of commerce and other legitimate activities. Restrictive security measures can disrupt trade and economic activity, while insufficient measures can leave ports and shipping lanes vulnerable to threats.

Another challenge is the need to coordinate with other countries and international partners to effectively manage maritime security. This can involve working with other navies and coast guards to enforce laws and regulations, as well as collaborating on intelligence gathering and other activities.

Ultimately, effective maritime safety and security are essential for protecting a country’s territorial waters and coastlines, as well as supporting economic and social development. By investing in technology and infrastructure, enforcing laws and regulations, and collaborating with other countries and international partners, countries can better manage the flow of people and goods across their borders and ensure the safety and security of their citizens.

HLS.Today Source: DHS.GOV

Although the disease is not a human health concern, the impacts are severe. African swine fever is fatal and spreads quickly among domestic and wild swine herds; currently there is no vaccine or cure. The disease would be an extremely dangerous threat to the country’s livestock and catastrophic for industry if it were discovered in the U.S. “A single positive case of African swine fever in the U.S. would cease all exports immediately,” said John Sagle, acting executive director of CBP’s Agriculture Programs and Trade Liaison division. “We want to do everything we can to keep it out of the United States.”

The pork industry supports more than 613,800 U.S. jobs and generates more than $57 billion of gross national product to the U.S. economy, according to the National Pork Producers Council, a trade association representing U.S. pork producers and other industry stakeholders. U.S. pork exports surpassed $8.1 billion in value and more than 6.4 billion pounds of pork were exported to other markets in 2021, making the U.S. one of the top two exporters of pork globally. “The industry exports somewhere between 25 and 30 percent of all products we produce,” said Dr. Liz Wagstrom, chief veterinarian for the National Pork Producers Council. “Shutting off exports would be devastating as far as creating a crash in the price of pork and an oversupply of pork in the United States.”

Moreover, the disease would be costly to eliminate. “If we contracted African swine fever and it became endemic in the U.S., it would take us over 10 years to eradicate the disease to the tune of about $80 billion and that’s just the swine industry,” said Dr. Jack Shere, the associate administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and one of the world’s foremost experts in infectious veterinary diseases. “Economists can formulate it any way they want, but if we get it, it’s bad. It’s really bad. It’s going to cost the U.S. a lot.”

CBP’s efforts to prevent the disease from entering the U.S. intensified when African swine fever was reported in the Dominican Republic in July 2021. This proximity to the U.S. added a new element of concern. “It’s the first time in 40 years that the virus has been in the Western Hemisphere,” said Shere. “It’s at our backdoor and even though we don’t import pork from these countries, it just brings it closer.”

The close proximity added more pathways of introduction. “We already had been dealing with the threat from other countries,” said Sagle. “Travelers and cargo had been the main potential sources of transporting the disease, but now our CBP agriculture specialists are also focused on smaller boats, vessels, and aircraft. All modes of entry into the United States for people and goods are a potential risk.”

Movement and Spread of Disease

The movement and spread of African swine fever are of major concern. “It’s a highly infectious and contagious hemorrhagic disease that affects only swine,” said Shere. “There are many strains that range in severity from rapid death to chronic disease, but eventually almost all pigs that contract it will die from it.” African swine fever predominately spreads from feces, but any excretion from a pig that carries the virus including nasal secretions or a cough can infect healthy pigs. “It’s a contact disease pig-to-pig,” said Shere. “It’s also moved as a fomite. If I get the feces on my shoes, my clothes, or my hands and go from one pig pen that’s infected to one that’s not, that’s how I spread it.” The virus also can be spread by vehicles that have driven through infected soil.

Pigs that eat infected pork can contract the disease too. “It’s not a human health hazard, but uncooked pork could still have the virus. Pigs will eat anything, and that food waste, if it’s fed to pigs, can spread the virus,” said Sherrilyn Wainwright, a senior veterinary epidemiologist/risk analyst for the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service who monitors the global spread of African swine fever and other diseases of economic and public health consequences in the U.S.

African swine fever is resilient. The virus can survive at least 15 weeks in edible products such as chilled meat, for over a year in frozen meat and up to three to six months in processed hams and sausages that have not been cooked or smoked at a high temperature, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Historically, the virus was pretty much confined to the African continent until 2007, when a ship from Africa carrying pork infected with African swine fever entered a port in the country of Georgia. “Uncooked food waste from that ship, including pork, was likely fed to pigs or was scavenged by wild boar that ate the pork,” said Wainwright. “The virus was then introduced into Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

From there, African swine fever spread into Russia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, China and other parts of Asia. “2018 was the widest expansion. Once the virus entered China, it swept through the country and killed millions of pigs,” said Shere. “That’s when everyone started to get nervous.” A total of 17 Asian countries and Hong Kong have reported first-time infections of African swine fever since August 2018.

“It continues to move and that’s a concern,” said Shere, noting that the carelessness of people and wild boar are the two main drivers that have spread African swine fever across the world. “Wild boar do not look at boundaries of countries,” said Wainwright. “They can travel across lines and cause infection as they go. In many instances, that is how it is believed the virus moved across Europe.”

CBP agriculture specialists find smuggled pork mooncakes while conducting an exam at the seaport.

The port of New York/Newark seized 20,000 pounds of prohibited pork sausage after receiving an intelligence tip from industry. Above, CBP agriculture specialists find smuggled pork mooncakes while conducting an exam at the seaport. Photo by Thomas Broking

A recent example of how people have transported the infection occurred when African swine fever was introduced in the Czech Republic in 2017 and in Belgium in 2018. “It is believed that African swine fever traveled from Poland to the Czech Republic and Belgium because of humans carrying infected meat and unintentionally discarding it in areas where there were wild boar that ate it,” said Wainwright. “In both countries, the virus only infected wild boar and authorities were able to systematically eradicate it by focusing on a strategic plan to contain the wild boar in the area and depopulate them.” The Czech Republic declared itself free of the disease in April 2019 and Belgium made a similar declaration in the fall of 2020. “These are the only two countries that have successfully eradicated African swine fever in this global outbreak,” said Wainwright.

A CBP supervisory agriculture specialist finds a sandwich left behind by a passenger on a flight from the Dominican Republic at JFK Airport. The JFK Agriculture Compliance Team ensures that all regulated garbage is disposed of properly to prevent animal diseases from entering the U.S. Photo by Michael Nicholas

The Dominican Republic and Haiti are currently the only two countries in the Western Hemisphere affected by African swine fever. “We want to eliminate the virus before it travels to other countries and, most importantly, before it gets to the United States,” said Shere, whose agency leads the U.S. government’s effort. “When you consider CBP’s role in protecting us and intercepting infected meat, it’s huge. Without that partnership, it’s like leaving the barn door open and putting the entire population of swine in the United States at risk. What CBP does is very important for us.”

Action Plan in Place

CBP’s agriculture specialists at John F. Kennedy Airport immediately put an action plan in place to respond to the increasing threat of the virus once African swine fever was detected in the Dominican Republic in July 2021. The main goal of the plan was to board flights arriving from the Dominican Republic and Haiti to ensure that the regulated garbage was disposed of properly. “Our agriculture specialists who work on our cargo compliance team make sure that the folks who cater and clean the aircraft are doing so in accordance with compliance agreements,” said Paul Gunther, CBP’s deputy chief agriculture specialist at JFK Airport.

Standing on a jetway at JFK Airport, a CBP agriculture specialist observes as regulated garbage is being taken off a flight from the Dominican Republic. The JFK agriculture specialists monitor 41 kitchens, caterers, and garbage haulers to ensure that regulated garbage is handled in accordance with USDA compliance agreements. Photo by Michael Nicholas

“We walk through the cabin and check the seats to make sure there’s no leftover food from the passengers. Many times, we find fruits and vegetables or uneaten sandwiches that may contain pork. We ensure that all of that food gets collected and disposed of in accordance with the regulated garbage regulations,” said Gunther. “All of the trash that comes off of the aircraft has to go into a quarantine compactor. Then the compactor is brought to an incinerator.”

The JFK agriculture specialists monitor 41 kitchens, caterers and garbage haulers that fall under USDA compliance agreements. “At the outbreak of African swine fever in the Dominican Republic, we made a concerted effort to perform outreach to all of the companies that hold compliance agreements,” said Gunther. “We discussed the importance of keeping the regulated garbage safe and making sure the companies followed the stipulations of the agreements,” he said. “Regulated garbage is a major risk factor for introducing animal disease into the United States. We monitor regulated garbage for all animal diseases. We don’t just do this for African swine fever.”

Dedicated agriculture specialists also were added at JFK’s express courier facility. “We knew there was a threat of pork products from African swine fever affected countries coming through express consignment, so in October 2021, we assigned more individuals to inspect a higher volume of packages,” said Gunther. “We were performing exams in the express courier facility on a daily basis, but we didn’t have a dedicated team that went there seven days a week.”

The agriculture specialists performed 12,500 exams in the express courier facility during fiscal year 2021. The JFK agriculture specialists surpassed that figure with the addition of the dedicated team this fiscal year, conducting 12,800 examinations of express courier shipments by mid-May. “Of those exams, we made 1,100 animal product seizures; 133 of them were pork products from African swine fever affected countries,” said Gunther. “In seven months, we seized over 1,000 pounds of prohibited pork products that were destined for multiple locations throughout the country.”

A CBP supervisory agriculture specialist, left, examines a pork soup mix while a veterinary medical officer from USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service looks on. 

CBP and USDA work in close partnership to keep African swine fever and other animal diseases out of the U.S. Here, a CBP supervisory agriculture specialist, left, examines a pork soup mix that was smuggled in an e-commerce shipment at the L.A.-Long Beach Seaport while a veterinary medical officer from USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service looks on. Photo by Eric Hakopian

Smuggling at Seaports

But the largest quantities of prohibited pork products are smuggled in containerized shipments that arrive at seaports. “Smuggling prohibited meat products is nothing new in the maritime environment, but we definitely have seen an increase in the large quantities of animal products attempting to enter the United States, especially pork,” said Peter Wawrzyniak, a CBP supervisory agriculture specialist at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport, the largest seaport in the country. “Most of the products we’re seeing are in e-commerce shipments, which could be anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 boxes in an 80-foot container.”

Nearly 230,000 pounds of pork-related products were seized at the seaport during fiscal year 2021. The majority of the shipments, more than 90%, are from China and then Southeast Asian countries. “After we target shipments, it’s not uncommon to find that 60% to 80% of the contents are meat products,” said Wawrzyniak. However, the meat products are not manifested. “The trend over the last several years, especially during the last 18 months, has been an increase in unmanifested shipments of prohibited pork and meat products,” explained Wawrzyniak. The shipments are mostly from China and falsely labeled, lacking required USDA documentation.

For example, a shipment from China manifested as “plastic parts” was targeted for an agriculture inspection at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in late April. “The importer had a long history of bringing in prohibited meat products, especially pork, so the shipment hit both CBP’s and USDA’s radar,” said Wawrzyniak.

The CBP agriculture specialists examined the package with USDA’s Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance unit when the shipment arrived. “The weight of the shipment was enormous,” said Wawrzyniak. “Approximately 8,700 pounds of unmanifested pork were in the shipment along with other prohibited meat products.” The package was falsely labeled and lacked the proper USDA veterinary certificates. It was headed 36 miles east of L.A. to Upland, California, but was instead seized and destroyed.

CBP agriculture specialists seize and quarantine prohibited pork products discovered during an inspection at the L.A.-Long Beach Seaport, the largest seaport in the U.S. Photo by Eric Hakopian.

Relying on Intelligence

CBP relies on intelligence to stop prohibited shipments of pork and pork products from entering the country. One recent example at the port of New York/ Newark seaport had stunning results. CBP officers at the port received a tip from industry last October that several shipments were coming in that included smuggled agricultural goods from China. “In the majority of these cases, the products are clandestinely smuggled in shipments commingled with legitimate merchandise to avoid detection,” said Basil Liakakos, CBP’s agriculture branch chief at the port of New York/Newark.

The shipments were manifested as shower curtains in this case, but the CBP agriculture specialists found 700 boxes of pork sausages in the 40-foot container. “Typically, whatever is manifested on the entry documents is not in the shipment,” Liakakos explained. The pork sausage weighed 20,000 pounds and was being shipped to a distribution center in Jersey City, New Jersey, en route to New York City’s largest Chinatown in Flushing, Queens. The declared value on the shipment was $4,000, considerably less than the $340,000 appraised value.

“This is a transnational crime,” said Liakakos. “What we found is individuals are working collectively around the country to bring these imports in whether it’s through our port or L.A.-Long Beach or Houston. They are networks no different than the networks smuggling narcotics or intellectual property rights. It’s a business and it’s a booming business because they’re taking illicit profits and purposely avoiding paying the duty.”

The entire shipment of prohibited sausages was seized and destroyed, and a new source location was discovered. “We were able to intercept products coming from an African swine fever affected country that could have made it into our swine industry,” said Liakakos. “We do that on a daily basis, but this interception was a large maritime commercial interception that could have caused significant harm to the United States.”

Intercepting Prohibited Pork

A plethora of prohibited pork products also are intercepted at the port of Cincinnati, the main express courier hub for shipments coming into the country from China and Southeast Asia. “In 2019 and 2020, after African swine fever swept through China and the pandemic hit, we noticed that food products coming from Asia were down in general, but now we’re seeing a lot more pork, which means the risk is higher,” said Barbara Hassan, CBP’s supervisory agriculture specialist at the port of Cincinnati. “Most of the smuggled shipments of pork are from China and Hong Kong, but we are seeing an increase of items arriving now from Vietnam, Korea and Thailand, which are all African swine fever affected countries.”

The Cincinnati agriculture specialists have a range of methods to find the prohibited pork. “CBP policy requires that every package is x-rayed or scanned 100%,” said Hassan. “But through many years of training, our agriculture specialists can actually pick up a box and know if it’s suspicious.” The agriculture specialists also learn how to read Chinese symbols. “Sometimes the packaging will say in English that the ingredient is fish, but we’ll see a symbol of a pig.” The agriculture team also relies on their noses. “You’d be surprised how many times we look over and see someone smelling something. ‘That’s pork. Nope. That’s beef. Nope. That’s chicken,’” said Hassan.

In January, one of the Cincinnati agriculture specialists found a 94-pound pig that arrived in several shipments from Hong Kong. The shipments were manifested as “kitchenware,” but only food products were found in each box. The agriculture specialist found 15 pounds of pork in the first shipment, 13 pounds of pork in the second, and 66 pounds of pork in the last shipment. “Sometimes people will send a small shipment to see if it gets stopped and then they’ll send a larger one,” said Hassan. “If the agriculture specialist had not persisted, he would not have seized the largest shipment. That’s why we need to be very vigilant with our targeting.”

The agriculture specialist’s suspicions were aroused after he checked the physical locations of where the shipments were being sent, according to Hassan. “The first package was sent to an apartment building with stores on the street level,” said Hassan. “The second was sent to an open field next to a freeway in Brownsville, Texas, which was obviously a fictitious address. The third, the largest shipment, was sent to a nail salon at a strip mall in Champaign, Illinois. To my knowledge,” said Hassan, “the shipper has not been found and no kitchenware was in any of the shipments.”

A CBP supervisory agriculture specialist at the port of Cincinnati, shown here, inspects a shipment from China that contains pork products instead of items listed on the manifest. Photo by Sharon Bishop

Close to the Source

The port of San Juan in Puerto Rico took action immediately after African swine fever was reported in the Dominican Republic. “We are in a unique position being so close to the source of the outbreak. The majority of the passengers that we receive and process are from the Dominican Republic, so it is crucial that we focus and shift our resources to prevent pork products from coming into the United States,” said Keyvan Santiago, CBP’s agriculture branch chief for the area port of San Juan. “Puerto Rico is only 80 miles from the Dominican Republic and we have 4-5 direct flights arriving from there daily.”

The port increased the number of agriculture specialists at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s only international commercial airport, as part of its strategy. Surveillance and the number of passengers referred for more in-depth, secondary inspections were increased with the additional staffing.

From July 2021 through mid-May of this year, CBP processed more than 16,000 passengers arriving at the San Juan airport from the Dominican Republic. “It doesn’t compare to the volume of passengers that New York, Newark, Chicago, or Miami receive, but due to the fact that we’re so close to the island and have so many Dominicans living in Puerto Rico, who want specific cultural items from their native land, the level of risk here is much higher,” said Santiago. “That’s why we have to remain vigilant and maintain the level of scrutiny that we do when we perform our job at the ports of entry. It’s imperative.”

Ferry Boats from the Dominican Republic also arrive three times a week in San Juan. “We x-ray 100% of the bags coming off the boats,” said Santiago. “We find pork rinds; fried pork; pasteles, which are little patties with cooked meat inside; we also find gigantic Dominican sausages and other pork meat.” The ferry boats also carry vehicles contaminated with soil. “The soil can carry a lot of diseases that we don’t want in the United States, so we do inspections of the vehicles,” he said. CBP officers and agriculture specialists board most of the boats to check the regulated garbage procedures. “All of the garbage on the boats must remain inside the boats,” said Santiago. “We cannot allow it to get offloaded here in Puerto Rico or travel to the U.S. mainland.”

Illegal boat landings – called “yolas” – are another potential pathway for the disease. The yolas are rudimentary fishing boats packed with migrants, which travel from the Dominican Republic and Haiti. “They drop provisions in the boats and try to make it into the coastal areas of Puerto Rico,” said Santiago. “Whatever they bring may present a risk of contamination.”

A Beagle’s Nose

One of CBP’s most powerful tools in keeping African swine fever out of the U.S. is the Beagle Brigade. The beagles work at all the major international airports in the U.S. and Toronto and search for inadmissible items including fruits, vegetables, meats, flowers and plants. “We don’t want certain commodities to come into the country that have the potential to bring plant and animal diseases or pests, which could become invasive,” said Charron Byndloss, the regional agriculture canine advisor for CBP’s Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland field offices.

After smelling a prohibited food item, a member of CBP’s Beagle Brigade at San Francisco International Airport sits to alert her handler, a CBP agriculture specialist. The Beagle Brigade is one of CBP’s most powerful tools in keeping African swine fever out of the U.S. Photo by Ron Ramos

CBP currently has 160 active beagles, but the number is increasing. “The agency would like to double the number of dogs in the field. African swine fever is one of the main reasons,” said Byndloss. The beagles are initially trained to find five basic scents — apples, mangos, citrus, beef and pork. “Sometimes these food products are hidden in suitcases, purses, baby carriers, strollers or on a person. Most people are bringing these products accidentally, but some people are trying to sneak them in.” she said.

A dog will sit to alert its handler, a CBP agriculture specialist, once it smells one of the odors. Passengers are then referred for an inspection. “The beagle can actually do this job faster than a person,” said Byndloss. “People take time to look through bags. The beagle smells the odor, identifies it and moves on to find the next scent. So the dogs can clear a lot more baggage and a lot more cargo than their handlers can.”

CBP uses the dogs for screening when passengers get their luggage. “A lot of people have the misconception that if a food item is vacuumed sealed, the dog can’t smell it. But there is still an odor and they can still smell it,” explained Byndloss. 

One of the most exceptional examples of a beagle intercepting pork occurred at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2018, after the outbreak of African Swine Fever in China. “Even though the reports were coming out of Asia, we started looking more strongly for pork coming into the U.S. from everywhere,” said Byndloss, who was working at the time as a handler with her beagle partner, Hardy.

The dog alerted me to the baggage of a traveler from Ecuador. “Hardy just sat down. I asked him to show me which bag,” said Byndloss. “If you ask a beagle to show you, it will either take its paw or nose and touch the area where they think the scent is. This bag was on a cart pushed by an airport attendant who was assisting an elderly female passenger in a wheelchair.”

The bag was taken over to the inspection station in a secured area. “The agriculture specialist who did the exam showed us what Hardy found,” said Byndloss. It was a massive head of a pig that weighed nearly two pounds. “The roasted pig head was wrapped in tinfoil and packed in the passenger’s checked bag. She was bringing it back for her family,” said Byndloss, who noted that Hardy was happy. “He liked his find and wanted to take a bite of it.” The pig, however, was seized and destroyed.

A CBP beagle admires the head of a roasted pig he found in a passenger’s checked baggage. 

One of the most exceptional examples of a CBP beagle intercepting pork happened in 2018 at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Above, a CBP beagle admires the head of a roasted pig he found in a passenger’s checked baggage. Photo by Jenny Matute

CBP also created a mobile app feature for travelers who are bringing items that may require an inspection. This could include examining footwear worn while visiting a farm overseas, checking biological research materials, or an inspection of a pet dog, cat, or bird. The feature is part of the agency’s CBP One™ application for mobile devices and enables travelers to initiate an inspection request up to 72 hours prior to their flight’s arrival at a U.S. port of entry “We designed the feature with the idea of speeding up the process, to make it easier for travelers,” said Suzette Kelly, CBP’s director of agriculture safeguarding and risk management. “We are looking to the public to partner with us to keep African swine fever out of the country. A lot of people don’t realize the dangers, so we want to make sure they are aware.” 

Although developing a vaccine for African swine fever has been elusive for decades, it appears one is on the horizon. “USDA’s Agricultural Research Service has developed several different vaccine candidates. One of them is being developed under a joint agreement with a company in Vietnam,” said Wagstrom from the National Pork Producers Council. “It has been field tested in Vietnam and it’s now reached some level of commercial approval,” she said. “The research is promising. It looks like maybe for the first time we’re seeing a vaccine that is providing some protection. But it’s not a silver bullet that we’re going to have anytime soon. It’s in the early stages,” said Wagstrom. “So having CBP preventing an entry of African swine fever into the nation is our best hope for continuing business as usual.”

HLS.Today Source:  CBP.GOV

I just want to ask you. I’ve heard you in the Judiciary commission committee recently in the summer testified that the border is secure. Secretary Mayorkas, do you continue to maintain that the border is secure?

Yes and we are working day in and day out to enhance its security.

Congressman thank you sir we have remarkable I get it I just want to make sure that that still is your assessment directly raised and it’s very important if I may well I don’t I know there’s just not enough time for a lot of explanation and you’ve got written testimony and so forth I just wanted to understand that’s your position.

Still I think it is a position that denies reality, respectfully, but I wanted to give you the opportunity to say no. I think the situation’s changed or something like that.

Director Ray, do you believe that the border is secure?

Well I can only speak to border security from our Narrow Lane, but I can’t speak to it from that lane. What I would say is that we see significant criminal threats coming from the South of the Border.

Whether it’s guns, drugs or money violence we see transnational criminal organizations that are sending their drugs here and that are using street gangs here to distribute it and that contributes to the violent crime crisis here.

We’ve had takedowns just in the last few months that I could give you as an example. You know I’ll give you just one quick one.

In Phoenix we had a takedown working with CBP who are phenomenal Partners I should add where we seize in one vehicle enough fentanyl to kill the equivalent of the entire state of Pennsylvania. Yep one vehicle. Thank you director right director Abizadeh does the NCTC assess a significant threat from the historic level of uncontrolled crossing at the the southern border.

Thank you. We know that border security is really important if we look at the nature of the threat and how it’s evolved here in the United States Homeland. It’s been striking how the evolution to Lone actors actually reflects.

How much more difficult it is for terrorists to enter into the United States we look historically at the kind of attacks we’ve experienced here in the Homeland none of them have been connected to Major illegal Crossings or otherwise from the Southwest border.

Right, that remains a top intelligence priority. Director Ray spoke to that earlier about what has historically been true. It makes me mindful of the two of the 9/11 reports. That chapter that said the system was blinking red there was a failure of the United States government agencies to anticipate a threat that should have been obvious to everyone.

So it troubles me that the official response is we don’t think that’s much of a threat. We have an unprecedented number of people coming across the border. A lot of them are being interdicted but released into the United States without enough scrutiny.

A whole lot more apparently, coming in without being interdicted at all and the answer the official answer is, “we don’t think there’s a terrorism problem there” just hadn’t happened in the past.

I think unfortunately we’re going to find out if it happens in the future reporting from the intercept focused on the Department of Homeland Securities and I guess this has been the focal point for its interactions with social media companies.

One thing it related was that DHS sent an email to Twitter about a Twitter account that could imperil election system integrity.

The user had 56 followers in a bio that indicated had references to weed shops.

Secretary Mayorkas does that kind of and that the level of interaction with social media platforms and that one specifically that anecdote not suggests that DHS is engaged in egregious overreach that threatens the First Amendment Congressman.

I would note that the Intercept article focused its attention on the disinformation activities that preceded our Administration let me assure you that our work to address this information which is a tool that our nation-state adversaries seek to employ to sow discord in this country is something that is very very respectful of the Civil Rights and civil liberties of individuals as well as their privacy rights.

You maintain that always, but let me just ask, when you say it’s respectful, are you attempting to conduct censorship by proxy as a means of evading the First Amendment?

We absolutely do not.

HLS.Today Source: Youtube

The photos are being matched through biometric facial recognition technology to photos that were previously taken of the passengers for their passports, visas, or other government documentation. All is moving smoothly until the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assisting the passengers are alerted that they need to check one of the travelers. 

It’s a 28-year old woman, a Mexican national with a Mexican passport. The biometric system alerted the officers because when preflight information was gathered on the woman, no historical photos to match against her could be found.

A CBP officer took the woman aside and looked at her passport. No visa was attached and the woman didn’t have a green card to prove she was a lawful permanent resident. Upon further questioning, the woman admitted that four years ago, she had come into the country illegally.

Using a specially designed, CBP biometric mobile device for Airport Protection, the officer took fingerprints of the woman’s two index fingers. “This was the first time that we had captured this individual’s biometrics, her unique physical traits,” said Bianca Frazier, a CBP enforcement officer at the Atlanta Airport. “We didn’t have her biometrics because we had never encountered her before.”

As early as 2002, shortly after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, legislation was passed requiring the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to use biometric technology to issue visas and screen non-U.S. citizens entering the U.S. Then in 2004, more legislation was passed, authorizing DHS to collect biometric data from non-U.S. citizens exiting the country.

According to Frazier, finding people who have entered the country illegally is common. Since June 2016, when CBP and Delta Air Lines launched a pilot program to test CBP’s biometric facial recognition exit technology, passengers like the young Mexican woman have been found daily. “She was typical of the people who have entered without inspection,” said Frazier. “Most days we find a minimum of two or three undocumented people, but sometimes we find as many as eight to 10 boarding a flight.”

Ultimately, the woman was allowed to board the flight, but when Frazier used CBP’s mobile device to take her fingerprints, it created a fingerprint identification number that is specifically tied to the woman. In the future, if she applies for a visa to return to the U.S. or is encountered crossing the border illegally, an alert will be triggered, indicating that the woman had previously entered the U.S. illegally and is on a lookout list. Additionally, when Frazier processed the traveler, the device automatically created a biometric exit record confirming that the woman left the country. 

For more than a decade, the U.S. government has been struggling to find a way to develop a practical and cost effective biometric entry/exit system that fulfills a congressional mandate to keep America safe. CBP has partnered with the U.S. air travel industry to meet that goal and is implementing innovative ways of using biometric technology to provide better enforcement and a better experience for travelers.

Biometric facial recognition testing

As part of CBP’s one-to-one biometric facial recognition testing on inbound, international flights, a traveler has his photo taken and compared against his passport photo to confirm his identity at Dulles Airport. Photo by Glenn Fawcett

Biometric challenge

By 2013, when CBP assumed responsibility for designing and implementing a system that could biometrically track travelers exiting the U.S., the government had been wrestling with the challenge for years. Technology was part of the problem, but how to integrate that technology into the existing infrastructure at airports without driving up costs and negatively impacting airport and airline operations was a conundrum.

CBP had been working with the airlines to verify travelers entering and exiting the country since the mid-1990s, using travelers’ biographic information— date of birth, passport number, document number,  country of citizenship, etc. “The airlines sent us the manifest information in advance of the flight’s departure,” said John Wagner, deputy executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations. “We did law enforcement work based on that data.”

But then, after September 11, biographic information wasn’t enough. To increase security, Congress passed legislation that added biometric requirements for tracking travelers. “Inbound passengers were easier to track because we already had a process,” said Wagner. “When travelers come off of an international flight, they are funneled through a secure pathway to the CBP inspection area. The airline transmits the biographic data to us. We verify that information when we read a traveler’s passport and we make sure it’s accurate. That’s when we also collect fingerprints from most non-U.S. citizens.”

With outbound flights, collecting passengers’ biometrics is much more difficult. “We’ve never constrained departures to be able to do that,” said Wagner. “We don’t have specific departure areas for outbound flights. International flights depart from all over the airport, so it was difficult to figure out where we could collect biometrics and what technology we would use.”

Added to that, CBP lacked support. “The travel industry stakeholders were vehemently opposed to any of this because they thought it would cost money and it would slow people down,” said Wagner. The challenges seemed insurmountable. “We were focused on where is the magic technology that is going to make this work and address all of these concerns. No one had been able to find it because it didn’t exist,” he said.

New beginning

Wagner and his team took a fresh start. They reached out to the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, the department’s research and development arm, to learn more about the biometric technology that was available and which methods of collection would work best. Shortly thereafter, in 2014, a demonstration test lab was set up in Landover, Maryland. “One of the things we learned from previous pilots in airports is that airports are chaotic places. It’s hard to do a really good controlled test when anything can go wrong and you don’t know why. Was it because there were lots of delays? Were there weather incidents? Or did people miss their flights? Any number of factors could affect the performance of the biometric system, so we set up a test space where we could carefully control different variables to see how well our biometric concepts worked,” said Arun Vemury, director of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s Apex Air Entry/Exit Re-engineering and Port of Entry People Screening programs.

“We evaluated more than 150 different biometric devices and algorithms. We put them together in different configurations and then brought in test volunteers to actually run through the process to figure out how long it took, what kind of throughput we were able to get, how well the biometrics matched, and what their performance ultimately was,” said Vemury “Over time, we brought in more than 2,000 people from 53 different countries of origin, who varied in age from 18-85. We were trying to mimic the demographics of travelers coming to the U.S.”

One of the things that Vemury learned was that the algorithms used in facial recognition technology have become much more advanced. The algorithm is the formula that identifies the unique biometric features in a finger, iris, or face and then compares those points to corresponding areas in previously collected biometrics. “Because of the improvements in facial recognition technology, we can verify people’s identities with facial recognition much more effectively today than we could even just two years ago,” said Vemury.

After nearly two years of rigorous testing and evaluation, DHS Science and Technology gave its findings to CBP in December 2015. “We turned over all of our test reports, economic analyses, quantitative analyses, concepts of operation, and staffing estimates,” said Vemury. “The last thing we wanted was to have any unanswered questions. We knew we needed a biometric process that would work.”

Testing biometric facial recognition 

CBP started testing biometric facial recognition technology on departing overseas flights with Delta Air Lines in June 2016 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Photo by Rob Brisley

Field testing

Concurrently, CBP was doing its own laboratory tests and conducted a series of pilots. “We ran several pilots to help us learn about the different types of biometric technology in the different environments where we work,” said Wagner. For example, CBP was aware that U.S. passports were vulnerable to fraud and thought a biometric tool could help. After months of testing algorithms and cameras, CBP developed a one-to-one facial recognition technology that compared travelers against their passport photos. The pilot, which was tested on inbound flights, initially ran for two months, from March to May 2015, at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia. At that point, more lab testing and analysis were done to improve the algorithm, and then a second pilot, which continues today, was set-up at Dulles and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

“The pilots showed us that the facial recognition technology was accurate,” said Wagner. “We grew confident that the algorithms were good enough to use and rely on.”

One of the many examples that illustrates this occurred at JFK in May 2016, when a traveler with a U.S. passport arrived on a flight from Accra, Ghana, and presented herself as a returning U.S. citizen. All of her biographical information was processed successfully, but the CBP officer who interviewed the woman had a suspicion she might be an imposter. The officer referred the traveler to a booth equipped with the facial recognition technology where her photo was taken and compared to the photo in her passport. The match score was very low and she was referred for further inspection.

The woman was fingerprinted and the officers confirmed her true identity, uncovering that she was an imposter. In actuality, the woman was a Liberian citizen who had been denied a diversity visa from a green card lottery in 2015. She admitted that she found the U.S. passport in a marketplace and didn’t know the true owner. The woman was then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities and sent to a detention center to await a credible fear hearing to determine whether she would be able to seek asylum. Without the suspicions of an astute officer and CBP’s biometric technology, the woman could have entered the country through fraudulent means.

In another pilot at the land border, in Otay Mesa, California, CBP tested face and iris scans to biometrically record the entry and exit of pedestrians. “From these tests, we learned a lot about how travelers react to various biometric technologies,” said Wagner. 

CBP also built a handheld, mobile device that allowed officers to run fingerprints on departing travelers. “We tested the Biometric Exit Mobile in 2015 at 10 airports around the country,” said Wagner. “It showed us we could accurately take fingerprints from a mobile device and gave our officers the capability to do law enforcement and biometric queries on a smart phone if they saw that an individual requires further investigation.”

Biometric success story

As a law enforcement tool, the Biometric Exit Mobile has produced stunning results. Case in point is an incident that occurred in May at Chicago O’Hare International Airport involving a Polish national couple who were boarding a flight to Berlin, Germany. When the couple presented their passports at the departure gate, the CBP officers didn’t find any U.S. visas or country entry stamps, so they decided to run a check and swiped the couple’s passports.  The biographical information didn’t reveal anything derogatory, but as a precautionary check, the officers used the Biometric Exit Mobile device to take the couple’s fingerprints. The officers took the index prints of the woman first and within seconds, she came back as a watchlist hit. The same occurred with the man. Both had been ordered deported by an immigration judge, but they didn’t leave the country.

The officers wanted to clarify what they discovered, so they reached out to a colleague. “I pulled up the woman’s name and nothing came up. There was no record on her whatsoever,” said Jonathan Cichy, a CBP enforcement officer who works outbound operations at O’Hare Airport. “However, when I checked her fingerprints, there was a hit, but for a woman with a different date of birth and a different identity, which she had been arrested and deported under.”

Then Cichy looked at the manifest for the flight. “I saw they weren’t on it. There was no record of the identities they were using to get on the plane,” he said. After checking further, Cichy found that both of the Polish nationals had criminal histories with multiple identities. “But none that came up in our systems because they weren’t leaving under any of those identities. Biographics alone did not tell us the full story,” said Cichy, who quickly rushed to meet the flight that was leaving in 20 minutes.

The couple was allowed to board the flight, but not until Cichy had served them with legal papers to verify their departure and close out the deportation case. “If either one of them is found attempting to return to the U.S. without permission, they could be prosecuted for reentry after deportation, a felony that carries a sentence of two to 20 years,” said Cichy.

Discussing biometric testing

Atlanta Assistant Port Director Kevin Pfeifer, left; Walter Jung, Delta passenger service associate, center; and CBP Watch Commander Marvin Chargualaf discuss biometric testing on international flights. Photo by Ozzy Trevino

Decisive moment

CBP’s biometric exit tests culminated in June 2016 with a pilot program at the Atlanta Airport. Wagner and his team had a breakthrough. All the work they had done for the past several years was finally coming to fruition. “We came up with a way of taking the information we receive about passengers from the airlines and matching it against information we already have in our government databases,” said Wagner. 

Based on their research, Wagner and his team decided to use facial recognition technology. “We found that facial recognition was intuitive for people. Everybody knows how to stand in front of a camera and have his or her picture taken. Not so with iris scans and fingerprints. Every time a traveler does the process wrong, someone has to instruct him or her the right way to do it,” said Wagner.

Aside from being quicker than other biometric methods, facial recognition has additional pluses. The physical design of the camera doesn’t take up much space, and the equipment isn’t costly. Furthermore, CBP already has a collection of photos for biometric comparison. “People have already provided their photographs to the government for travel purposes,” said Wagner.

But the real feat was when CBP found a way to speed up the photo matching process. “As soon as a passenger checks in with the airline, the airline tells us who is getting on the plane. At that point, we find all the photographs we have of the people on the flight and we pool them, and then segment them into individual photo galleries for each passenger,” said Wagner. “If there are 300 people on the flight, we find every photograph we have of those 300 people. Generally, that means we will have about 1,500 pictures because we have multiple photos of each passenger.”

Then, as the passenger boards the flight, he or she has his or her picture taken. That photo is compared to his or her individual gallery of photos rather than comparing it to a billion photos that are in DHS’s biometric database. “The matching is done in realtime because it’s a small file and it’s accurate,” said Wagner.

The Atlanta pilot also was designed with certain parameters. “We did not want to add another layer onto the travel process,” said Wagner. “We told our stakeholders, ‘We want to design something that fits within your existing operations and infrastructure. We’re trying to make things easier for travelers. We don’t want to add additional steps or processes.’”

Strong partnership

In a discussion with Delta Air Lines, Wagner asked if the airline would be interested in participating in a biometric pilot. “We have a very strong, longstanding, collaborative relationship with CBP,” said Jason Hausner, Delta Air Lines’ director of passenger facilitation. “Normally, when they approach us to do something, we’re in. We like to be in on the front end to provide our expertise and help shape things.”

Delta also had a long range vision of using biometrics for its own operational purposes. “When we heard the proposal from CBP to test biometric exit technology, it resonated with us because one of the elements we were looking at is biometric boarding,” said Hausner.

In February 2016, Delta met with CBP to develop a project plan and decided to test a flight from Atlanta to Tokyo, Japan. The pilot, which began in June, was successful, so by September, CBP decided to test another flight. This time the flight was to Mexico City. “As a further test to the technology, we chose a flight with a different demographic to ensure the matching capability was still successful,” said Kevin Pfeifer, CBP’s assistant port director of tactical operations at the port of Atlanta. 

After more than a year of testing, the facial recognition technology has consistently shown a high rate of accuracy. “Our percent of successful matches is in the high 90s. It’s even moved up a notch in terms of quality and accuracy,” said Nael Samha, CBP’s director of passenger systems who built the architecture for the pilot’s operating system.

Operationally, the pilot has performed well too. “One of the things we wanted to evaluate was the impact on our operations.  Would it delay boarding?  Would it impact our on-time performance? We’re very metrics oriented,” said Hausner. “So far, this test has not impacted us in any manner, and part of it is because of the approach that CBP has taken. They know that in order for their program to be successful, they need to partner with us.”

Biometric testing

JetBlue was the first airline to incorporate its own biometric technology with CBP’s facial recognition matching system to verify passengers exiting the U.S.  A pilot program using the technology was launched in May 2017 at Logan International Airport in Boston. Photo by Zack Caplan

During the summer of 2017, CBP conducted biometric exit facial recognition technical demonstrations with various airlines and airports throughout the country. Here, CBP Officer Michael Shamma answers a London-bound American Airlines passenger’s questions at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Photo by Brian Bell

Industry innovations

During the summer of 2017, CBP conducted technical demonstrations of the biometric exit facial recognition technology with various airlines and airports throughout the country. “We wanted to show stakeholders and the public what this technology is, how it works, and explore how biometric exit technology can fit into airline and airport business models and modernization plans while addressing privacy requirements,” said Wagner. 

Some airlines are already making headway. At JFK and in Atlanta, Delta is testing ways to combine the facial recognition technology with its boarding pass procedures. “The CBP pilot is a two-step process by design, but it seemed to us that when this is implemented across the country, it should be a onestep process,” said Hausner.  

In June, JetBlue Airways transformed this goal into a reality and was the first airline to board passengers using biometric facial recognition instead of boarding passes. Unlike the technical demonstrations that CBP was conducting with other carriers, JetBlue proposed the pilot. The airline wanted to design its own technology and incorporate it with CBP’s facial recognition matching system. “CBP was very open-minded with what we wanted to accomplish,” said Liliana Petrova, JetBlue Airways’ director of customer experience. “They flew out to Boston and spent several hours with us and took the time to listen.

We wanted them to know exactly how we wanted to integrate the biometric technology with the experience at our gate.”

The pilot, which was tested at Logan International Airport in Boston, was assembled very quickly. “CBP gave it priority and helped us do a very fast buildout,” said Petrova. “Not many partnerships, even private partnerships, function as smoothly.”

According to Petrova, the biometric system is part of JetBlue’s strategy to remove the hassle from the traveling experience. “Passengers don’t have to stop, look for their boarding passes or their IDs. The line moves faster and they don’t have to wait as long,” she said. “We’re trying to take the anxiety out of flying and allow our crew members to interact more with customers.

JetBlue’s customer feedback was positive. “The customers are really delighted by it. They think it’s cool and they’re having fun,” said Petrova. As a result, JetBlue has decided to expand the pilot in late 2017 with additional flights departing from Boston and JFK.

CBP’s future vision for biometric exit is to build the technology nationwide using cloud computing. “There are hundreds of airports throughout the U.S. where we provide services for international travelers and we still need to work through the deployment schedule and timeline,” said Wagner. “We also need to determine the technology we’ll use. We’ve been working with airports and airlines to arrive at some of those answers. We want them to tell us what the equipment should look like, so that it fits in with their operational needs.”

Plans are also underway to update CBP’s biometric inbound technology. “We’ll be using the same system for our arrivals processing as we do for biometric exit,” Wagner explained.

But that’s not all that CBP has in store. “We’re also looking at communicating with people on their mobile devices as they deplane,” said Wagner. “If we can give travelers better guidance on how to navigate customs and the maze at the airport, we can increase efficiency and give them peace of mind.”

IRS Scam

Biometrics Unmask Criminal in IRS Scam

An extraordinary example of how biometric exit technology is enhancing CBP’s enforcement capabilities happened in April at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. A 38-year-old, Indian national, Dipakkumar Patel, presented an emergency Indian passport to board a flight to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he was making a connection to India. 

While inspecting the passport, the CBP officer at the departure gate didn’t find a U.S. visa and the pages of the passport were blank. There wasn’t a U.S. entry stamp. When questioned, Patel told the officer that he had entered the country illegally through Mexico six years earlier. The officer decided to call CBP’s Passenger Analysis Unit and asked them to run the man’s name through the law enforcement databases to check if he was on a watch list.

A name came back with 22 aliases, and Patel’s name was one of them. But it was a common Indian name and the match wasn’t conclusive. So the officer decided to do a biometric check and called his colleague to come to the jet bridge to take Patel’s fingerprints. Using CBP’s Biometric Exit Mobile device, a handheld, biometric tool, the officer swiped Patel’s passport and took prints of his two index fingers. “All of our systems were queried and within seconds it came back that he was a biometric match,” said Jonathan Cichy, a CBP enforcement officer who works outbound operations at O’Hare Airport.

“He came into the country as a Portuguese national using one identity and was leaving the U.S. as an Indian national using another,” said Cichy. “The Portuguese passport was legally issued to him, but he had obtained it fraudulently.”

And there was more. When Patel’s name was matched to one of the aliases, an alert was sent to CBP’s National Targeting Center, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations. “Patel was linked to a call center scheme where U.S. citizens had been defrauded out of hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes,” said Cichy. All three authorities requested that CBP detain Patel and stop him from getting on the flight.

Patel was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was placed in a local holding facility. He remained there until investigators from the DHS Office of Inspector General and HSI arrived to interview him. Patel was arrested on charges of passport fraud and, in May, was indicted by a grand jury in Atlanta, where he was taken to await his trial. In 2012, Patel had entered the U.S. through Atlanta, using the fraudulently obtained Portuguese passport.

In August, Patel pleaded guilty to a slew of crimes. In addition to false use of a passport, he plead guilty to a conspiracy charge for his role in a multimillion-dollar, India-based call center scam that targeted U.S. victims. According to his plea, Patel and his co-conspirators perpetrated a complex scheme in which individuals from call centers located in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated officials from the IRS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to defraud victims throughout the U.S. The victims were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay the money they allegedly owed the government.  Victims who agreed to pay the scammers were instructed to provide payment using prepaid credit cards or wiring money. Upon payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of “runners” based in the U.S. to liquidate and launder the fraudulently-obtained funds. Patel served as a runner.

“Without the use of biometrics, Patel would have been allowed to depart the U.S. and return to his home country. He would not have been linked to any of the fraud that he committed against the U.S. and our citizens,” said Cichy. “Biometrics are a critical tool in law enforcement. They reveal a person’s true identity and help us protect America.”

Innovative Technology

Automated Passport Control kiosks, another CBP innovation, speed up the traveler inspection process by performing administrative steps CBP officers previously handled.  At the Miami International Airport, shown above, the self-service kiosks were initially installed as a way to process travelers faster during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The technology shortens the time inbound travelers spend with CBP officers from 3 minutes to 30 to 60 seconds. Photo by Manuel Garcia

A History of Innovative Technology

At the same time that CBP was focusing on biometrics, the agency was developing technology that would expedite the processing of travelers and reduce wait times in airports. Air travel was growing, and by all indications, that trend would continue. According to the International Air Transport Association’s latest projections, air travelers will double over the next 20 years.

In 2007, when CBP introduced Global Entry, it was an innovative concept because it was directed at low-risk travelers. “Global Entry was designed to give low-risk, frequent travelers the ability to use technology to expedite their arrival process,” said Dan Tanciar, CBP’s deputy executive director of planning, program analysis, and evaluation for entry/ exit transformation. “The program allowed us to identify low-risk travelers, so that we could focus our attention on the travelers we don’t know much about.”

A few years later, in 2012, CBP launched another innovation—a self-service kiosk that helped speed up the traveler inspection process. The kiosks, known as Automated Passport Control, performed the administrative steps that CBP officers had traditionally handled, so that officers could focus more on inspections. The kiosks also enabled CBP to do away with paper forms, allowing travelers to submit their declaration and biographic information electronically. “Within two years, we were able to deploy about 1,500 kiosks at all of the top airports throughout the U.S. and we reduced wait times by about 30 to 35 percent,” said Tanciar. “The Automated Passport Control kiosks shortened the amount of time travelers spent with CBP officers from 3 minutes to 30 to 60 seconds.”

Economic impact

With CBP’s staffing limitations, the success of the technology was paramount. Not just for CBP, but for its air industry partners too. “Airports are economic generators for their communities, so if you reduce the capacity of the airport, in effect, you’re reducing the economic capabilities of the airport for its community,” said Matthew Cornelius, vice president of air policy for Airports Council International-North America, a trade organization that represents airports in North America.

In 2013, when the Automated Passport Control kiosks were starting to appear at U.S. airports, Airports Council International saw the value of the technology and wanted to expand it. “We were approached by one of our associate member companies, Airside Mobile, a tech firm, that had a concept to create the same functionality of the kiosks, but to do it on a smartphone,” said Cornelius. In other words, international travelers could fill out the required customs information on their smartphones before they ever got off the plane. “We saw it as an opportunity to alleviate some of the problems our members were having at their international arrival facilities. We knew that mobile applications and mobile technology are really the wave of the future.”

Cornelius took the concept to CBP. “We told CBP, ‘We have this idea. We think it’s going to be helpful. Will you work with us on it?’ To CBP’s credit, they saw it made sense, that it was going to help us do our jobs better and alleviate the problem of processing travelers into the U.S.,” said Cornelius. 

CBP and Airports Council International began piloting the Mobile Passport Control app in August 2014. A year later, the pilot expanded to five airports. Today, 24 airports and one cruise port use the app and it has been downloaded more than 2.4 million times.

“It’s a great example of partnership. We worked very closely with CBP,” said Cornelius. “Everybody was on board, understood what needed to be done, and it all came together perfectly.”

Faster processing

The technology was also critical for the airlines. “In early 2014, we knew the World Cup was being played in Brazil that year, so that meant there would be a lot of travel through Miami,” said Howard Kass, American Airlines’ vice president of regulatory affairs. “We knew that the processing times and the facilitation in Miami weren’t what we wanted them to be. It wasn’t a good customer experience,” he said.

“The lines were long. There were multi-hour waits, and we felt the brunt of it because when travelers landed, they couldn’t move through customs, so they misconnected on their flights,” said Kass. “We then had to figure out how to get them to their destinations or put them up in a hotel. We spent lots of money to ameliorate the misconnections. Miami was getting a bad reputation among travelers, which is something we don’t want to see at any of our hubs.”

The airline thought CBP’s technology might be the answer. “We knew from what we’d seen in other airports that the machines would be a tremendous benefit in Miami to help expedite people through the process,” said Kass. So American Airlines worked with CBP and the Miami International Airport to get more Global Entry and Automated Passport Control machines in place. “We more than doubled the number of machines and we did a lot of marketing, advertising, and inflight announcements to encourage passengers to use the technology, so they could be processed quickly through the CBP facility,” said Kass. 

And it worked. “We got to a point where every U.S. citizen was using some kind of automation,” he said. “CBP pledged a lot of resources to make sure that flights were processed smoothly during the World Cup. It was important to the United States that there wasn’t a rough spot in Miami with all the traffic moving through.” Moreover, said Kass, “There weren’t any meltdowns or passengers stranded for hours and hours in the terminal and we made some improvements that really helped travelers move through the process more quickly.”

Abu Dhabi Airports is gearing up to launch advanced biometric technology, which uses a passenger’s facial features as their passport, from the time they arrive at the airport until they board their flight.

The technology uses smart cameras to capture an image of the passenger’s face and confirms whether they are cleared to travel. The same information is then used prior to boarding, avoiding the need to present documents again.

The technology will be implemented gradually, and its first phase is currently being tested at the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Abu Dhabi International Airport, the only US immigration pre-clearance service in the region that allows passengers to clear US immigration while they are still in Abu Dhabi.

Eng. Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports said: “The project will commence at Abu Dhabi International Airport and will then be transferred to the new Midfield Terminal.”

Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, the Director General of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security said: “This advanced technology will enable travelers to check in, clear immigration, access lounges and board their flights using only biometric data, without the need to present passports or boarding passes”.

This move comes ahead of Etihad increasing flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York from four to 11 flights a week from November 15, 2022.

The USCBP technology is also in place at JFK meaning guests flying to Abu Dhabi from New York will also enjoy a seamless boarding experience.

Mohammad Al Bulooki, Group Chief Operations Officer, Etihad Aviation Group said: “This innovation is an important next step in Etihad’s self-service journey. It means Etihad’s US flights become even more streamlined, on top of the benefit of arriving as a US domestic passenger without the need for further delays.”

This system will be tested on Etihad Airways flights to the US, and is phase one of a major roll-out that will be introduced throughout the entire airport for all airlines to benefit from, in the coming months.

The introduction of this advanced technology was announced during the day 1 of the Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2022, which is hosted by Abu Dhabi Airports at Al Bateen Executive Airport from November 1 to 3.

HLS.Today Source: CBP.GOV

HLS.Today – OTAY MESA, Calif. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility intercepted over 2.2 tons of hard narcotics within a span of 2 days.

The first seizure occurred approximately at 1:30 p.m., October 20, 2022. CBP officers encountered a 28-year-old male, driving a tractor trailer, with a shipment manifested for green onions. During the initial inspection, a CBP officer referred the driver and tractor trailer for further examination.

During the exam, CBP officers discovered a package disguised as onion chives concealed deep in the middle of the pallet of the green onions. CBP officers searched the shipment and removed 183 packages containing methamphetamine hidden within the shipment of green onions.

CBP officers extracted approximately 1,528.99 pounds of methamphetamine worth an estimated street value of $3.3 million.

The second seizure occurred approximately at 10:53 a.m., October 22, 2022, when CBP officers encountered a 29-year-old male, driving a tractor trailer, with a shipment manifest for electronics. During the inspection, a CBP officer referred the driver and tractor trailer for further examination.

During a non-intrusive inspection of the tractor trailer, CBP officers discovered anomalies in the trailer. A CBP canine team screened the truck and trailer. The detector dog alerted the front wall of the trailer. 

CBP officers searched the location and discovered 195 packages of methamphetamine and 75 packages of cocaine concealed within a non-factory built false wall.

CBP officers extracted approximately 1,992.54 pounds of methamphetamine and 1,037.27 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated street value of $20.8 million.

The total estimated street value for both seizures is $24.2 million. 

“CBP officers are the front-line of stopping these dangerous drugs from entering the U.S.,” said Jennifer De La O, CBP Director of Field Operations for the San Diego Field Office.” The lengths drug trafficking organizations are willing to go to conceal and smuggle narcotics is a testament to how effective our officers are.”

Both drivers were arrested for the alleged narcotic smuggling attempt.  CBP officers turned the drivers over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further disposition.

CBP officers seized the tractors, trailers, and narcotics.

CBP officers at the border crossing in Southern California stop illegal activity while processing millions of legitimate travelers into the United States.

HLS.Today Source: CBP.GOV

Photo Credit: Getty Images

On October 14, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents arrested a Mexican national who was wanted for questioning regarding his involvement in a vehicle accident that resulted in eight migrant deaths in Del Rio in March 2021. He was transferred to a detention facility pending extradition. On the same day, MCS apprehended a Salvadoran national Mara-Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member who admitted to having served twelve years in his home country for homicide.

On October 18, MCS agents apprehend Edwin Perez-Alberto, a Honduran national previously sentenced to almost eight years for carnal knowledge of a child without force and is a registered sex offender in 2020. He was also sentenced to 12 months confinement for threatening a school/medical employee.  Same day, MCS agents identified a Salvadoran national MS-13 gang member previously sentenced to eight years incarceration for child molestation.

The following day, MCS agents identified a Mexican national who was previously sentenced to 36 months incarceration for the offense of annoy/molest children.

On October 20, MCS agents arrested a Mexican national with a warrant from Minnesota for criminal sexual conduct.

Additionally, RGV agents apprehended seven other migrant gang members associated to MS-13, Paisa, and 18th Street gangs.   

All subjects were processed accordingly. 

HLS.Today Source: CBP.GOV

At the nation’s more than 300 ports of entry, CBP officers have a complex mission with broad law enforcement authorities tied to screening all foreign visitors, returning American citizens and imported cargo that enters the U.S. Along the nation’s borders, the United States Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations are the uniformed law enforcement arms of CBP responsible for securing U.S. borders between ports of entry.

Visit CBP’s Southwest Border Migration page for demographic information regarding apprehensions and inadmissible on the southwest border and the Assaults and Use of Force page for data on assaults on agents and officers, and uses of force by CBP personnel.

Total CBP Enforcement Actions

Numbers below reflect Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 – FY 2022.

Fiscal Year 2022 runs October 01, 2021 – September 30, 2022.

1 Beginning in March FY20, OFO Encounters statistics include both Title 8 Inadmissibles and Title 42 Expulsions. To learn more, visit Title-8-and-Title-42-Statistics. Inadmissibles refers to individuals encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible, individuals presenting themselves to seek humanitarian protection under our laws, and individuals who withdraw an application for admission and return to their countries of origin within a short timeframe.

2 Beginning in March FY20, USBP Encounters statistics include both Title 8 Apprehensions and Title 42 Expulsions. To learn more, visit Title-8-and-Title-42-Statistics. Apprehensions refers to the physical control or temporary detainment of a person who is not lawfully in the U.S. which may or may not result in an arrest.

Search and Rescue Efforts

CBP agents frequently conduct life-saving efforts, while carrying out their respective missions. Numbers below reflect Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 – FY 2022.

Fiscal Year 2022 runs October 01, 2021 – September 30, 2022.

Arrests of Individuals with Criminal Convictions or Those Wanted by Law Enforcement

Numbers below reflect FY 2017 – FY 2022.

Fiscal Year 2022 runs October 01, 2021 – September 30, 2022.

3 Criminal noncitizens refers to noncitizens who have been convicted of crime, whether in the United States or abroad, so long as the conviction is for conduct which is deemed criminal by the United States. Criminal noncitizens encountered at ports of entry are inadmissible, absent extenuating circumstances, and represent a subset of total OFO inadmissibles. U.S. Border Patrol arrests of criminal noncitizens are a subset of total apprehensions. See U.S. Border Patrol Criminal Noncitizen Statistics for a breakdown of criminal noncitizen stats by type of conviction.

4 NCIC (National Crime Information Center) arrests refers to the number of CBP arrests of individuals, including U.S. citizens, who are wanted by other law enforcement agencies.

HLS.Today Source: CBP.GOV

Partnering with federal, state, local law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as financial, retail, freight transportation, and other industries.

Operation Boiling Point provides a multi-faceted approach to disrupt and dismantle OTGs through partnerships, investigations, and consumer awareness.

“Organized retail crime costs American businesses tens of billions of dollars each year, “said Steve K. Francis, Acting Executive Associate Director of HSI. “Organized theft groups have become more brazen and violent, causing a destructive effect on the economy, resulting in lost jobs and higher prices. HSI works tirelessly to protect American businesses and consumers and is dedicated to putting a stop to organized retail crime.”

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, HSI initiated 59 ORC investigations, representing a 211 percent increase from 19 investigations initiated in FY 2020, and accounting for 61 criminal arrests, 55 indictments, 59 cases initiated, and $9,287,757 in assets seized.

HSI’s partnership with private industry groups, such as the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR), the National Retail Federation (NRF), the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), and others, remain an imperative component to the overarching success of efforts to counter OTGs systematically disrupting interstate and foreign commerce.

Operation Boiling Point takes on Organized Theft Groups

Organized Theft Groups

Organized Theft Groups (OTGs) are sophisticated criminal organizations that profit from illegally obtaining goods that are later sold for economic gain. OTGs are known to profit from Organized Retail Crime (ORC), cargo theft, and other theft and fraud-related criminal activities. OTGs can be involved in a myriad of other crimes including, but not limited to narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and even terrorism. It is important to understand that this criminal activity is Organized Crime.

Organized Theft Groups Chart

Organized Retail Crime

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) defines ORC as “the association of two or more persons engaged in illegally obtaining items of value from retail establishments, through theft and/or fraud, as part of a criminal enterprise.”

According to the 2021 joint report released by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Buy Safe America Coalition, in 2019, nearly $70 billion in goods were stolen from retailers. As staggering as this number is, it doesn’t account for loss related to cargo theft nor the uptick in ORC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ORC is not shoplifting, and these crimes are not victimless. In addition to the growing number of thefts that turn violent, consumers, local communities and businesses bear the costs of rising prices. These thefts are detrimental to both businesses, small and large alike, and the overall economy as they pose both societal and health risks to the community.

Estimates reveal ORC costs federal and state governments nearly $15 billion in lost tax revenue, not including lost sales taxes. It is estimated that the average American family will pay more than $500 annually in additional costs due to the impact of ORC. ORC is a low-risk, high-reward income stream for domestic and transnational criminal organizations that greatly impacts inter-state and international commerce and the overall economic security of the United States.

“Organized retail crime is leading to more brazen and more violent attacks in retail stores throughout the country and many of the criminal rings orchestrating these thefts are also involved in other serious criminal activity,” said HSI’s acting executive associate director Steve Francis. “Tackling this growing threat is important to the safety of store employees, customers, and communities across the country.” Read the Jun. 1, 2022 News Release 

What is Operation Boiling Point?

Operation Boiling Point is Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) response to OTGs profiting from ORC, cargo theft and other theft-related crimes that threaten the economy and security of the United States. HSI’s strong partnership with private industry groups, such as the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR), the National Retail Federation (NRF), the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) and others, are critical to our efforts to combat OTGs who seek to disrupt interstate and foreign commerce.

The HSI Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) leads HSI’s effort to combat OTGs by targeting domestic and transnational criminal organizations that profit from ORC, cargo theft and related crimes. HSI focused on building and furthering partnerships to advance this national program by supporting investigations, conducting outreach and coordinating with public and private sector partners. Throughout the United States and abroad, HSI has approximately 7,100 special agents and relies on task force officers from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat transnational criminal organizations.

OTGs at Work

Unlike shoplifting, where an individual steals food due to hunger or related incidents of simple theft, OTGs illegally profit from systematically targeting retail establishments utilizing professional thieves known as “boosters.” Often, boosters travel in crews throughout the country utilizing aliases, rental vehicles, and tools such as “booster bags” and illegally acquired security keys to steal high-value merchandise.

Booster BagBooster Bag

Booster bags appear to be standard handbags but are actually lined with heavy duty aluminum foil and/or tape to defeat retail security sensors.

Most commonly targeted items for ORC: Pharmaceuticals, building supplies, groceries, household goods, electronics, health and beauty, automobiles, apparel, clothing. Source: The Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR)

Although some boosters may sell the stolen goods on their own, most of the time the stolen items are being sold to a middleman known as a “fence or fencer.” The fence/fencer purchases the stolen merchandise from boosters at a fraction of the retail value and will utilize several avenues to sell the stolen goods, e.g., e-commerce websites, social media, or wholesale/trading/distribution companies. Often, the fence/fencer, attempts to make the items appear legitimately obtained. For instance, utilizing lighter fluid and heat guns, the fencing operation will remove retailer anti-theft stickers from commonly stolen goods making them appear clean and to avoid suspicions. The stolen items are then reintroduced to the supply chain by one of the methods listed above. Further, other OTGs utilize freight forwarding companies to send stolen goods overseas.

Cargo Theft

Freight truckFreight train

It is estimated that cargo theft accounts for $15-35 billion in loss annually. OTGs target cargo at the ports of entry, at truck stops, on freight trains, and anywhere else along the supply chain as the goods are in transit. OTGs utilize a variety of means to steal cargo including fraudulent pick-ups, phony documentation, etc. Much of the cargo that targeted is destined for retailers and/or distribution centers. Although OTGs targeting cargo are not necessarily involved in ORC, they can be linked to common fences/fencers that are purchasing the stolen goods.

Commonly stolen items include, but are not limited to:

Pharmaceuticals

Electronics

Personal care

Clothing

Food & Beverage

Building Supplies

Alcohol/Tobacco

The OTGs targeting cargo can be found throughout the U.S. However, much of the activity is in or around major hubs within the supply chain, including: Los Angeles, CA; , Dallas, TX; Memphis, TN; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; and many other locations.

Other OTG Activities

catalytic converterscatalytic converterscatalytic converters

OTGs are also involved in many other illicit schemes involving theft. Most recently, OTGs throughout the United States have been targeting vehicles for their catalytic converters, which contain high-value precious metals such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium. The OTGs, many of them employing or being led by gang members that are known to be violent, steal catalytic converters to sell to fences/fencers, which attempt to resell, refine, or export them for profit. This has created a worldwide supply shortage, increased demand, and has driven the prices for catalytic converters up in value. There are many OTGs involved in auto thefts, wheel thefts, and other similar crimes.

HLS.Today Source: ICE.GOV

A new report shows how a rapidly changing smuggling business is using social media to sell its services, often with highly misleading claims, to an increasingly online migrant population.

MIGRANT DEATHS: 2022 IS THE WORST YEAR ON RECORD

2022 is already the worst year on record for deaths of migrants on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to internal data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Anna Giaritelli of the Washington Examiner obtained and confirmed data showing that, since the U.S. government’s 2022 fiscal year started in October, CBP has found 605 remains of migrants. That already exceeds the fiscal 2021 full-year total of 566, which itself was a record. It is roughly double the number of deaths CBP recorded each year from 2014 to 2020.

Most migrants die painful deaths. Dehydration, heat exhaustion, or exposure at night in deserts and dry brushland appear to be the most common causes. An increasing number are drowning in the Rio Grande, irrigation canals, and other bodies of water. An increasing number are killed or badly injured trying to climb segments of the 30-foot-high border wall installed during the Trump administration. This year’s 609 deaths include the 53 migrants who perished in a hot, airless cargo trailer between Laredo and San Antonio, Texas, on June 27.

In a June 28 analysis, WOLA noted that “migrants continue to die at the U.S.-Mexico border, usually of drowning, dehydration, exposure, or falls from the border wall, with a frequency that seems unprecedented.” The new data confirms that the frequency is without precedent.

The Examiner and Reuters—which published an in-depth examination of border migrant deaths this week—both reported that CBP recorded 151 “CBP-related” deaths during the 2021 fiscal year. The term refers to deaths in CBP custody, at a port of entry or checkpoint, or while trying to elude CBP personnel.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) maintains a separate count of migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border (as well as other migrant routes). The UN-affiliated agency counts 357 dead so far during the 2022 calendar year, on pace to match or exceed the 728 it counted in 2021.

“In addition to these deaths—the worst of all outcomes—there are countless other grave injuries sustained by people migrating as a result of the dangerous routes they are forced to undertake,” recalls a July 23 statement from Annunciation House, an El Paso respite center that attends to thousands of migrants released from CBP custody each month. “Many of our guests at Annunciation House are recovering from broken bones, amputations, or other injuries that were sustained because of the border wall and draconian immigration policies. In many cases, these injuries will permanently affect their mobility, well-being, and ability to earn a living.”

As WOLA’s July 28 analysis noted, border deaths increase as enforcement policies harden in an effort to deter migrants. (Today’s record levels of migration show that decades of deterrence policies have had no effect, other than increased fatalities.) Reuters cites the “towering wall” along the border, which has channeled migrants to more dangerous desert routes, and the Title 42 pandemic expulsions policy, prolonged in May by a Louisiana federal court order, that forces many countries’ asylum seekers to avoid detection rather than turning themselves in to U.S. authorities.

“The U.S. immigration enforcement system has operated under a single premise since the creation of the Border Patrol in 1924: deterrence,” wrote Jason Buch in a July 25 essay at the Texas Observer. “It’s the idea we can somehow make coming to this country more miserable than the natural disasters, civil wars, gang violence, and economic hardship that displace people in the first place.”

Border Patrol divides the U.S.-Mexico border into nine geographic sectors. According to the 2022 data, the sector with the most reported deaths this year is the easternmost one, south Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, with 173 remains found. Giaritelli wrote, “The Del Rio region of Texas followed with 154 bodies; 72 in Tucson, Arizona; and 64 in Laredo, Texas.”

Many of the deaths in the Rio Grande Valley region actually take place about 80 miles north of the border, in Brooks County, where Border Patrol maintains a highway checkpoint that migrants seek to evade by walking for miles through dry brushland where it is easy to get lost. “There have already been 60 migrant deaths so far this year in Brooks County,” Sandra Sanchez of Border Report told the Texas Standard this week. “Last year there were 119, and in the entire Rio Grande Valley sector, there have been 140. So you can see almost half of the deaths occur in this area, Brooks County.” (For more, see the award-winning 2021 documentary Missing in Brooks County and WOLA’s podcast interview with its creators.)

Just west of the Rio Grande Valley, in Laredo, the organization Texas Nicaraguan Community reported that the bodies of four men and one woman remain in the city morgue two months after they perished because of difficulties in repatriating them to Nicaragua. “The organization says that ‘there are many suspicions of more Nicaraguans in that morgue in unidentified condition,’” according to Nicaragua Investiga.

Further west in El Paso, Border Report noted, CBP has counted 56 migrant deaths since fiscal 2022 began. Of those, 20 were drownings in fast-flowing irrigation canals, most of them in the past two months. The El Paso Sheriff told Border Report that a 42-year-old Mexican man was recovered from an irrigation canal on July 22, while the El Paso Times reported the recovery of a boy’s body from a canal that same day.

Border Report this week also profiled work to recover and identify bodies, and to help bring closure to victims’ families, in Tucson, Arizona by the Pima County Medical Examiner and the Colibrí Center for Human Rights.

Though not at the border, U.S.-bound migrants are also dying in elevated numbers at sea this year. At least 17 Haitians, including a child, died on July 24 when their 30-foot speedboat, loaded with up to 60 people, capsized about 7 miles off the coast of the Bahamian island of New Providence. “The passengers paid $3,000 to $8,000 to travel on the boat,” according to Bahamian officials cited in the New York Times.

Border Patrol “rescues” data also highlight migrants’ plight. The agency counted 16,897 search-and-rescue efforts carried out during the first 9 months of fiscal 2022, up from 12,833 in all of 2021 and about 5,000 each in 2019 and 2020.

The Washington Examiner border-wide data are revealing because CBP has not updated its official count of migrant deaths since 2020. Section 5(a) of the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act ( Public Law 116-277, passed on December 31, 2020) requires CBP to produce a public annual report on migrant deaths, including—where possible—information about the decedents’ gender, nationality, and location of death. The first report was due at the end of 2021; a WOLA inquiry to congressional oversight staff found that it is still forthcoming, but the release timetable is unclear.

WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK MAYORS APPEAL FOR HELP WITH TEXAS AND ARIZONA MIGRANT BUSES

In April, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), an immigration hardliner up for re-election in November, began paying to place willing asylum-seeking migrants on buses to Washington, DC, after their releases from CBP custody. Since then, Texas has bused over 5,400 migrants to Washington, Abbott’s office told DCist this week. In May, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) began a similar operation; Arizona has bused 1,151 migrants to Washington, according to Border Report.

The buses arrive in Washington at random times, six days per week, near Union Station and the Capitol. They are usually met by personnel from SAMU, a non-profit with a small grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or by volunteers from the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, which does what it can with donations.

The mayors of Washington, D.C. and New York City have begun to complain. Muriel Bowser, Washington’s mayor, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on July 17: “I worked with the White House to make sure that FEMA provided a grant to a local organization that is providing services to folks. But, I fear that they’re being tricked into nationwide bus trips when their final destinations are places all over the United States of America.”

Volunteers, who help with transportation and even put migrants up in their homes while they make arrangements, complain that local government has not stepped up. Mayor Bowser, meanwhile, is pushing the federal government to provide more funds so that Washington, D.C. does not have to use its municipal budget to provide for the asylum seekers. “We have to be very focused on working with DC residents who are homeless and have a right to shelter in our city, especially as we prepare for the winter months,” she told a July 18 press conference. “We know we have a federal issue that demands a federal response.”

Washington mutual aid volunteer Madhvi Bahl “likened the mayor’s comments to the conservative talking point of immigrants stealing jobs from citizens,” telling DCist, “She’s pitting people against each other.”

About 10 to 15 percent of bused migrants decide to stay in the D.C. area. An Arizona official told Border Report that “about one of every four of them named New York as their destination, about one in five said New Jersey, and many of the rest were headed to Georgia or planned on staying in Washington.”

DCist reports that some asylum seekers have had to spend time in Washington homeless shelters, which in recent days have been turning them away for capacity reasons. In New York, Mayor Eric Adams claimed that asylum seekers have begun to strain the city’s homeless shelter system, calling for federal help.

Adams at first incorrectly claimed that Texas had been busing migrants directly to New York. He had strong criticism for the Republican governors: “The mere fact that they sent people out of their states, people who were seeking refuge in our country, then sent them away—did they deny that? They ended up here because they didn’t get the support there.”

Adams claimed about 2,800 asylum seekers were straining the city’s shelters, which currently are housing about 48,600 people, up from 46,000 in May. The New York Times pointed out that the shelter population often increases after the public school year ends in June, and that many asylum seekers arrive in New York on their own, without being bused by Republican governors.

Republicans, Border Report stated, “have barely contained their glee” at signs that the buses have begun to strain social services in Washington. “Looks like Mayor Bowser is starting to feel a glimpse of what it’s like to be a border community under the #BidenBorderCrisis,” tweeted the Republican minority on the intensely partisan House Homeland Security Committee.

THE REPORT LOOKS AT HOW CHANGING SMUGGLING NETWORKS EMPLOY SOCIAL MEDIA

“Migrant smuggling on the U.S. southern border has evolved over the past 10 years from a scattered network of freelance ‘coyotes’ into a multi-billion-dollar international business controlled by organized crime, including some of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels,” reads a July 25 New York Times report on the recent evolution of illegal migrant-smuggling networks.

What were predominantly “mom and pop” coyote operations that paid a “tax” (derecho de piso) to larger organized crime groups “began to change around 2019,” an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official said in a 2021 congressional hearing cited by the Times.

“The sheer number of people seeking to cross made migrant smuggling an irresistible moneymaker for some cartels,” and total revenues, as estimated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division, “have soared to an estimated $13 billion today from $500 million in 2018.”

A July 26 report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) showed how smugglers use social media, especially Meta corporation’s Facebook and WhatsApp, with numerous embedded screenshots, to sell their services. Their ads often resemble those of travel agencies, using stock photos of leisure travel, “but make references to the American dream and the amount of time that travellers will be required to walk,” the report explained.

The social media messaging includes much misinformation about immigration law, for instance, claims that immigration laws aren’t being enforced at some border crossings (like Del Rio, Texas), that “the borders were opened after COVID,” or that pregnant women are allowed to enter without documents. In general, messaging makes the journey appear far less arduous and less dangerous than it is. “The misinformation has led people in the region to think it’s a lot easier to get into the United States than it is in reality,” Katie Paul of the TTP told CNN.

The group’s researchers spoke to 200 migrants in shelters on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border and in Guatemala. Nearly all carried a smartphone or tablet and used it regularly. 146 respondents said they got their information about migration conditions via word of mouth, followed closely by Facebook (140 respondents). No other information source came close: “radio,” in third place, had 58 respondents. Forty-eight reported getting information through WhatsApp.

“Respondents told our interviewers that Facebook and WhatsApp had connected them with fraudsters who stole their money, abandoned them in unsafe conditions, or gave them bad information,” the TTP reported. Though migrants are “overwhelmingly dependent on Facebook and WhatsApp,” it continued, “the platforms’ owner, Meta, has done little to stop dangerous misinformation targeting them.”

 Source: Advocacy Organization Advancing Human Rights

Statement by UK Border Force and French Police aux Frontières

France and the UK have been working closely together over recent days to prepare to manage our shared border through the current period of increased passenger traffic.

Police Aux Frontières and UK Border Force, in partnership with the port operators, have put plans in place at the juxtaposed controls on both sides of the Channel this weekend to maximise passenger flows.

France and the UK will continue to work together intensively to support the fluidity of freight and passengers across the Channel through the summer period and beyond.

Communiqué de la Police Aux Frontières et de la Border Force Britannique

France and the United Kingdom have worked closely together over the past few days to plan the management of our common border during the current period, marked by an increase in the number of passengers.

In partnership with the port operators, the French Border Police and the British “Border Force” took the necessary measures at the merge checkpoints on each side of the Channel to optimise passengers’ flow during this weekend.

France and the United Kingdom will continue to make every effort to ensure the smooth flow of passenger and freight vehicle traffic across the Channel throughout the summer and in the future.

Source: UK Gov

A Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) trooper located the vehicle and attempted to perform a vehicle stop. The vehicle failed to yield and led troopers and agents on a vehicle pursuit. The vehicle stopped in Alton, TX, where the driver and several occupants fled into the brush. After a search of the area, 18 migrants from Central America and Mexico were apprehended. TXDPS took custody of the driver to face state charges.  

Hours later, RGV agents, with assistance from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, apprehended 3 subjects in a human smuggling stash house located in Donna. Agents identified all subjects to be illegally present in the United States. The subjects were citizens of Mexico and El Salvador. No caretaker was identified. 

Yesterday evening, Falfurrias Border Patrol agents responded to a request for assistance from the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) on a vehicle stop which resulted in a bailout. Agents determined two passengers were unlawfully present in the U.S. BCSO officers seized the vehicle. The migrants who are citizens of Mexico and El Salvador were transported to a Border Patrol facility. The driver was not located. 

All subjects will be processed accordingly.   

The public is encouraged to take a stand against crime in their communities and to help save lives by reporting suspicious activity.

Source: CBP

The incident occurred on July 26, when agents spotted a suspicious box truck travelling on State Highway 359. The driver drove off the highway through a ranch fence near the town.  The occupants attempted to flee the abandoned vehicle into the nearby brush. Agents apprehended 13 undocumented individuals. The migrants were from the countries of Guatemala and Mexico.

Border Patrol agents also apprehended a U.S. citizen who was in the vehicle. He was identified as Alfredo Jesus Landeros, with an active warrant with U.S. Marshal Service. Constables took custody of the driver.

Help us take a stand against criminal smuggling organisations by reporting suspicious activity to Laredo Sector Border Patrol.

Source: CBP

The first incident occurred at approximately 11 a.m., when a 2018 Nissan Rouge approached the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. The agent inspecting vehicles in the primary lanes referred the vehicle to secondary inspection.

A Border Patrol K-9 detection team alerted to the vehicle. Agents inspected both the interior and exterior. They discovered multiple vacuumed sealed packages inside the fuel tank, rear quarter panels, three of the four doors and underneath the center console. The contents inside the sealed packages tested positive for methamphetamine.

The driver and passenger of the vehicle were in possession of 108.5 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $379, 855. They were placed under arrest and held at the checkpoint to be processed accordingly.

The second incident occurred at approximately 5:10 p.m., while El Centro Sector’s Intelligence Unit (SIU) were conducting anti-smuggling operations on Interstate 8. They performed a vehicle stop on a white 2016 Nissan Versa, just off of California State Route 2 exit. A Bureau of Land Management K-9 detection team assisted in the vehicle stop and alerted to the vehicle. 

During a search of the vehicle’s interior, SIU discovered four clear plastic bags containing a crystal-like substance located inside a cardboard box inside the trunk. The contents tested positive for methamphetamine weighing approximately 29.9 pounds with an estimated street value of $53,820.  

The driver, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, was placed under arrest and transported to the Calexico Border Patrol station to be processed accordingly.

All individuals involved will be facing federal charges.

The drivers, occupants, vehicle, and narcotics of both incidents were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Source: US Gov

The incident occurred on July 24, when agents from Laredo South Station acted on a request for assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety troopers with a suspected stash house on North Seymour Avenue. Over 50 undocumented individuals were taken into custody.  Record checks revealed that the migrants apprehended were from Guatemala. All were medically screened before being processed accordingly.

Help take a stand against criminal organisations and report suspicious activity such as human and/or drug smuggling by contacting the Laredo Sector Border Patrol

Source: CBP

The Marine Corps’ Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) prototype successfully hit several simultaneously-launched cruise missile representative targets from different directions and in different trajectories during the live-fire test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The MRIC prototype utilizes the USMC Gator radar and the CAC2S battle management system along with Iron Dome Tamir Interceptor and launcher to create an air defense system tailored to existing USMC assets and expeditionary requirements.

Head of the IMDO in the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Moshe Patel: “This test has proven the Iron Dome Tamir Interceptor and associated ground components can be integrated quickly and efficiently in any relevant defense architecture and intercept various aerial threats successfully in complex and advanced scenarios. We look forward to further partnerships with the US Armed Forces on Air and Missile Defense.”

“This demonstration proves that we do now have a relevant capability,” said Don Kelley, program manager for GBAD at PEO Land Systems, immediately following the successful test.

Brigadier General (Res.) Pinhas Yungman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the RAFAEL Air & Missile Defense Division: “Once again, RAFAEL’s systems have proven that they are capable of seamless, optimized integration with other defense systems. The Marines live-fire test demonstrated a successful combination of a Iron Dome ground launcher, Tamir interceptor with the Marines’ radar system and  battle management system.  This is an important and significant message for RAFAEL, for the Marines and the other customers in the United States and in the international market.”

The Tamir interceptor is a proven missile capable of intercepting Cruise Missiles, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Rockets, Artillery, and Mortar threats. It is developed by Rafael, who were contracted for the engineering and adaptation of Iron Dome to USMC requirements and associated testing support.

The Ministry of Defense’s Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development leads the development of the State of Israel’s multi-tiered missile and air defense array, based on four operational defense layers: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3.

Source: Israel MoD