Leadership Journal

Privacy Progress

2008-10-24T14:15:00.006-04:00

I am pleased to announce the publication of the fourth DHS Privacy Office Annual Report to Congress, which covers the reporting period from July 2007 – July 2008. It is the office’s fourth annual report and the third issued under my tenure as Chief Privacy Officer.

As we predicted in our 2007 report, this year afforded the Department a “significant opportunity” to expand the presence of Privacy Officers and Privacy Points of Contact (PPOCs) within DHS components. We’ve added Privacy Officers in USCIS, ICE, and E-Verify to name a few components and programs. I am proud of our achievements during the last year, and there are a few more I would like to highlight.

The Office continues to grow to meet increasing responsibilities at the Department, doubling in size from Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 to FY08, increasing from 16 positions to 32, and from a budget of $4.55 million to one of $5.5 million. At the close of the reporting period, the Office was recruiting and hiring additional staff and continues to promote growth in component privacy programs as a critical means of addressing privacy requirements throughout the Department.

We are reviewing over 200 legacy agency Privacy Act Systems of Records Notices (SORN) and retiring or revising them, as necessary. This task supports Secretary Chertoff’s priority goal # 5: Strengthen and Unify DHS Operations and Management by utilizing the already established resources in the PPOC network, and communication with component Privacy Officers, program managers, and system owners to streamline and consolidate legacy SORNs. Additionally, this effort supports the Department’s objective to become "One-DHS" by using the resources of every DHS component to streamline processes and ensure that DHS complies with the Privacy Act. It is critical that the Department continues to uphold public trust in daily operations to secure the homeland while protecting the privacy the public’s personal information.

Additional activities undertaken by my office this year include

New Congressional requirements to build the Department privacy processes
Increased outreach and collaboration within the Department and with the intelligence community, federal, state, local, and international communities, Congress, and the public
Increased responsibilities and authorities of the Chief Privacy Officer and the Department as defined by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
DHS Privacy Office support of the State and Local Fusion Centers
Management of privacy complaints received by the Department
The first year of implementing the Privacy Incident Handling Guidance (PIHG), and privacy incident management
Expanded focus on technology to protect the homeland
Expansion of required and optional privacy training, including targeted workshops and training as needed throughout the Department.

The privacy professionals in my office work hard every day to build privacy protections into the activities of the Department. It has been a pleasure working with these individuals over the past two years. Together, we have strengthened the culture of privacy throughout the Department. I encourage you to read our report.

Hugo Teufel
Chief Privacy Officer

State of Immigration

2008-10-23T10:01:00.009-04:00

Earlier today I delivered the fourth of a series of regular updates regarding the state of immigration in our country. Rather than bombard you with a laundry list of metrics that indicate our progress, let me share just a few concrete examples.

This year, apprehensions of illegal immigrants along our southern border decreased 17 percent; last year, apprehensions decreased 20 percent – a clear indication of reduced crossing attempts. Remittances to Mexico and Latin America are also down for the year, another indicator of successful enforcement. Perhaps even more telling, a recent report from the Pew Hispanic Center found that for the first time in a decade, the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States dropped below the number of those legally entering the country. Pew also estimated that last year, for the first time since WW II, there was no increase in the number of illegal migrants in the U.S. Among the factors credited for this turnaround was "a heightened focus on enforcement of immigration laws."

By all indications – decreased apprehensions, remittances, and statistical data showing more legal than illegal immigrants – we are slowly but surely turning the tide of unchecked illegal immigration that has occurred for decades in our country. We’ve done this by adding more than 370 miles of fence to the border, nearly doubling the size of the Border Patrol, and deploying new technology. Through targeted interior enforcement actions, we've also identified and removed dangerous illegal alien gang members and fugitives in record numbers while sending an unambiguous message to employers who violate the law that we will not turn a blind eye toward illegality.

As part of this, we finalized our no-match regulation, which will give businesses clear guidance to respond to letters they may receive from the Social Security Administration notifying them that an employee's name and Social Security number doesn't match government records. This of course, could be the result of a simple clerical error; or it could indicate that the employee is working illegally – either way, this rule will give employers the guidance they need to respond appropriately and avoid legal ramifications.

My hope is that by re-establishing the government's credibility through these actions, we will not only begin to address one of our nation's greatest challenges, but we will leave a strong enforcement operation in place for the next Homeland Security Secretary to use as leverage to push Congress to comprehensively reform our nation's immigration laws. Until this happens, our country will never fully solve this problem.

Michael Chertoff

A Better, Not Harder Citizenship Test

2008-10-15T15:58:00.004-04:00

On October 1, 2008, USCIS began administering a new naturalization test. The need for a standardized and meaningful test has been the source of study and discussion for more than a decade. I’m proud of the new test and the commitment we’ve made to giving applicants a meaningful and consistent testing experience across the board.

The purpose of the redesign was twofold: to make sure we have uniform testing experiences nationwide; and to develop a civics test that can effectively assess an applicant’s knowledge of U.S. history and government as the law requires. Naturalization applicants deserve a fair and standardized testing experience no matter where they take the test.

USCIS has made every effort to minimize the impact of this change by allowing one full year for preparation and by working closely with national and local immigrant-serving organizations along the way. Since announcing the test in September 2007, we have trained more than 2,000 educators and service providers, launched a variety of new study materials, and embarked on an unprecedented outreach campaign. You can see the study materials and judge for yourself their quality by going to http://www.uscis.gov/. I believe that the result is an effort all Americans can be proud of and one immigrants need not fear.

I would like to take this opportunity to let applicants know that what we have is a better, not harder test. The format is the same, just standardized across our offices. The civics test has been revamped and improved; and our 2007 pilots showed that those who study for the new test should pass. As for the English test, applicants now know exactly how to prepare through publicly released vocabulary lists. Also, all naturalization applicants now receive a new English and civics study booklet when they are fingerprinted at one of our Application Support Centers.

The new test was designed to serve as a tool to encourage civic learning and attachment to the country. Our pilot studies and research have shown that better content and a consistent format have not made the test more difficult. Through proper preparation and study, eligible candidates will be successful in achieving their dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. We will, however, monitor the results of the new test carefully and make this information public.

I want to commend those of you preparing for U.S. citizenship. The decision to apply is a very personal one. As you take this important step, it is my hope that the naturalization process helps strengthen your attachment to the United States and the democratic ideals that make this nation great. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen
Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Cyber Security Awareness Month

2008-10-01T16:57:00.004-04:00

Today marks the beginning of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is a good opportunity to remind our readers of the importance of protecting yourselves and your businesses against the growing threat of cyber attacks.

Worldwide, cyber attacks are increasing in sophistication and frequency every day. We have seen stories in the news recently of countries engaging outright in cyber warfare. Over the summer, authorities also uncovered the largest case of identity theft in U.S history, involving the theft of more than 40 million credit card numbers stolen from the computer systems of several major U.S. retailers. These acts have very real consequences for ordinary Americans, as any victim of identity theft can attest.

We take the threat of cyber attacks seriously at the Department. Working with other agencies, we have embarked on a major effort across the government to protect federal systems and networks. This includes reducing the number of external access points to our systems and improving our intrusion detection capabilities. We’ve established a new National Cyber Security Center to improve coordination and information sharing. We are expanding our 24-hour watch and warning system – the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team – and hiring new cyber professionals. And we’re taking steps to prevent compromised computer products and electronics from entering the global supply chain and reaching our country.

But the reality is we can’t meet these challenges by ourselves. We don’t own the Internet or our nation’s IT or communications infrastructure. Most of our nation’s cyber assets are in private sector hands. Protecting them will require a new level of partnership with businesses and companies of all sizes, as well as individual citizens.

What can you do to help? Start by making sure you are practicing good cyber security in your home or office. This means ensuring your antivirus software is properly functioning and up-to-date. Change your computer passwords regularly, and when you do, make sure you don’t write them down or leave them near your computer where someone can easily exploit them. Don’t open suspicious e-mail or visit suspicious websites. And make sure you know exactly what you’re downloading.

These are all common-sense recommendations, but unfortunately too many Americans fail to take even these basic steps. I hope over the next month you’ll do your part to increase our nation’s cyber defenses from the ground up and help us mitigate the impact of a major cyber attack. The alternative could be a very serious disruption of a vital part of our society and our nation’s economy. Like other areas of homeland security, the time to prepare is now.

Michael Chertoff

The Next Chapter in Bio-Readiness

2008-09-30T17:36:00.003-04:00

I am pleased to report that we opened a first-of-its kind biosurveillance center today that gives the nation the ability to see fast-moving, potential health threats in a new way – before it’s too late.

Patterns in illnesses usually are only seen after enough people get sick or die to sound alarms. Investigators then retrace the steps of the victims to determine the source of trouble, but it’s often too late for those who have already been unknowingly exposed.

Whether it’s food contaminated with Salmonella, the first waves of illness from a pandemic flu, or an anthrax attack by terrorists, spotting biological threats sooner means that thousands of lives might be saved.

Traditional methods of detecting such threats often take too long. Our National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) will change that.

The center will combine all sorts of information – from classified material shared in a secure environment, to transportation and border data, to local media reports – so that events around the country and the world can be connected and analyzed more closely and quickly, and threats bubbling up can be detected earlier than ever before.

This 24-hour operation brings together experts from some agencies that may be obvious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, for instance, both monitor health patterns. And the Departments of Agriculture, State and Commerce all play critical roles in preventing the global spread of avian flu or Foot-and-Mouth disease while protecting the nation’s economy.

But there is more to the center than a collection of agency representatives.

Through the center’s secure computer network, DHS has now created a whole new level of daily cooperation among private sector partners, health officials and government agencies who now all work together to hunt for early signs of trouble.

The center is developing a clearer picture of what typical health patterns look like so that even a small blip can be investigated before large clusters of people get sick.

Being able to identify emerging threats earlier was one of the key recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. As the Japanese learned in 1995 when the Aum Shinrikyo religious sect released sarin nerve gas on subway lines killing 12 and injuring 5,500, biological attacks are a modern global reality.

Our new surveillance builds on another one of our programs, BioWatch, an environmental early detection program which uses monitors in over 30 urban areas to sniff the air for biological threats.

Dr. Jon R. Krohmer
Acting Assistant Secretary/Chief Medical Officer

Temporary Protected Status Extensions

2008-09-26T12:20:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, the Department announced the extension of temporary protected status (TPS) for certain foreign nationals from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Those three countries are still recovering from the devastating effects of natural disasters. For Honduras and Nicaragua, it was Hurricane Mitch in 1999. For El Salvador, it was a series of severe earthquakes in 2001.

To qualify for an extension, the TPS holder is required to re-register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Specific re-registration instructions for TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua will soon appear in the Federal Register.

There are currently 70,000 Hondurans, 3,500 Nicaraguans and 229,000 Salvadorans with TPS in the United States.

Today’s announcement continues the United States’ long tradition of providing relief to our visitors who, for reasons beyond their control, can’t return to their homes.

Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen
Acting Director, USCIS

Our Newest Cyber Threat

2008-09-20T10:49:00.005-04:00

"Every time we were beginning to form into teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tried to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and a wonderful method it was for creating the illusion of progress whilst producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization." Petronius (AD 166)

This week the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cyber Security and Science and Technology and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held hearings on cyber security recommendations for the next Administration. In that hearing and in the follow-on press DHS came under criticism for not doing enough to protect our nation's cyber networks. There were even calls for DHS's role in cyber security to be pulled away.

A reorganization of roles and responsibilities is the worst thing that could be done to improve our nation's security posture against very real and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. In January 2008, the current Administration developed Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23, which established the Comprehensive National Cyber Initiative (CNCI). Since then and for the first time in the Nation's history, DHS along with its partners at the Department of Defense (DoD), FBI, and Intelligence Community have an integrated strategy and action plan to improve cyber security across federal, military and civilian networks. We have moved beyond words on paper and debate, and are now driving real improvements to our security. We cannot afford to lose that momentum and interagency unity of effort.

Within DHS, I manage the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), which has the mission to reduce security risks across both physical and cyber infrastructure as well as telecommunications and lead the Department's efforts for the CNCI. Specifically, we lead federal civilian (i.e., ".gov") and private sector network defense. Without question, it is a monumental task - one that requires interagency coordination and focus. As a nation, we cannot afford to be distracted from this mission.

In the past six months we have made great progress in this role. We have begun deployment of EINSTEIN 2 ( pdf), which will give us comprehensive, real-time intrusion detection capabilities and one point of situational awareness across all executive branch agencies. We have engaged the private sector to develop partnerships and to improve information sharing. And we have built the core of a management team with the experience and expertise to continue to lead this effort into the future. We have accomplished much in a relatively short amount of time. Securing our nation's cyber networks is a complex and expansive problem, and it took years of growing cyberspace dependence to put us in this position - it will take a solid plan and resolve to accomplish results.

I respect the strong resumes and experience of many of the people that are publicly weighing in on these issues, and, in fact, many of them were previously in key posts that had an opportunity to impact our nation's cyber security. I encourage them to actually spend some time with DHS discussing our plan before they finalize their conclusions and go public with their recommendations.

I certainly agree that we can still do much to continue to improve cyber security in our nation, but calls for reorganization at this point simply makes no sense. We have a plan and are on a path that will address these serious national cyber vulnerabilities. We must stay the course.

Robert D. Jamison
Under Secretary National Protection & Programs

Ike Response

2008-09-19T14:43:00.004-04:00

I’ve spent the past two days in Texas meeting with state and local leaders and visiting evacuees and distribution centers in Houston and surrounding areas. From what I’ve seen during my two visits, there’s no question that Ike was an extremely strong storm that has left much of Galveston temporarily uninhabitable and affected millions of residents along the Texas coast.

While I can understand people’s desire to return to their homes, this environment provides a stark reminder that it’s often the after-effects of a hurricane that pose the greatest danger to health and safety. With limited electrical power, healthcare, and basic services, it’s imperative that evacuees remain patient until officials get things such as water, sewage, and electricity up and running.

Despite the widespread destruction, however, I can tell you that emergency managers and relief workers – including FEMA employees, faith-based organizations, and hundreds of volunteers – are working feverishly to provide supplies as quickly as possible to those in need. The resilience of Texas residents affected by this storm was evident in a Houston shelter I visited yesterday, where I met with several evacuees while their children played with one another in a local church (which had also been used to house Katrina and Rita evacuees three years ago).

As we work collaboratively to get these services up and running, it’s important to keep in mind an old saying, “they don’t call it a disaster for nothing.” In other words, emergency management is never an exact science and responders at every level must be prepared to adapt to unforeseen challenges. For example, earlier this week electrical workers from Ohio and other Midwestern states who were restoring power in Texas were called back to their home states following widespread power outages caused by Ike’s remnants. This reinforces the need to remain flexible, nimble, and adapt to changing circumstances.

Michael Chertoff

The Homeland Security State and Local Intelligence Community of Interest

2008-09-18T11:29:00.006-04:00

What began as a pilot program between the department and six states two years ago has grown into the first nationwide network of intelligence analysts focused on homeland security ever created in the United States. It is called the Homeland Security State and Local Intelligence Community of Interest (HS SLIC), and it allows intelligence analysts in 45 states, the District of Columbia and seven federal agencies to share sensitive homeland security intelligence information and analysis on a daily basis. We expect it to expand to all 50 states soon, and become a key element of the National Fusion Center Network that I wrote about earlier.

When I came to the Department in late 2005, DHS did not have a dedicated intelligence information sharing channel with the intelligence analysts at the state and local fusion centers. I asked my staff to travel to the leading fusion centers around the country to understand and document their requirements for a direct partnership with the department's integrated intelligence enterprise.

When President Bush issued guidelines for information sharing between the federal and state and local governments in December 2005, I asked my staff to develop a pilot program that would meet these requirements and enable federal, state and local intelligence professions to gather and share accurate and timely intelligence information and strategic analysis that would help protect nation. From March to September 2006, we tested this program with six states – Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Virginia. The pilot demonstrated that a full, open and equal partnership among federal, state, and local intelligence professionals could be developed and trusted by all its members.

With the support of the pilot states — their fusion center and intelligence leadership and the respective homeland security advisers — we have turned that pilot into the Homeland Security State and Local Intelligence Community of Interest (HS SLIC). Today, intelligence analysts from the homeland security, intelligence and law enforcement communities in 45 states, the District of Columbia and seven federal agencies share sensitive homeland security intelligence information and analyses on a daily basis. The HS SLIC enables them to meet, avert or respond to current, emerging and future threats to homeland security.

Every week, HS SLIC members meet virtually via a secure Internet portal to discuss emergent threats and analytic topics. Annually, DHS also hosts a national HS SLIC analytic conference and regional conferences at the classified level to discuss important analytic topics and threat trends, such as border security or threats to critical infrastructure. And most importantly, all of this collaboration is being done securely while supporting and upholding federal, state and local laws and policies to protect civil liberties and the privacy rights of our citizens.

By all accounts, the HS SLIC "virtual community" has been a tremendous success. Information is shared as never before, and shared responsibly; state and local needs for information are being met; analytic products are being jointly written; and analysts are seeing trends and patterns across information stovepipes that they were not able to see before. Together with the DHS State and Local Fusion Center program and its deployment of DHS intelligence officers and intelligence technology to the fusion centers, the HS SLIC has made significant strides toward increasing the flow of intelligence information and collaborative analysis at all levels of government. The beneficiary is the American people we all serve.

Charlie Allen
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis and Chief Intelligence Officer

Citizenship Day: An Opportunity to Reflect

2008-09-17T10:14:00.003-04:00

My earlier entries for the Leadership Journal discussed the day-to-day operations of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and our efforts to improve service. Today, I would like to recognize the importance of Citizenship Day for our agency and our nation.

The law creating Citizenship Day was written in 2004 to celebrate the signing of the Constitution and recognize those who have become citizens. This holiday reminds us of the importance of citizenship.

Throughout our rich history, immigrants have come to the United States seeking liberty and a better life. Many decided to become citizens and have played key roles in the success of our Nation.

Citizenship Day reminds us that many of our greatest citizens were born in other countries. Alexander Hamilton, born on the tiny Caribbean island of Nevis, served with George Washington in the Revolutionary War and as our first Secretary of the Treasury. Felix Frankfurter, a civil rights supporter and Supreme Court Justice, came to the United States with his parents from Austria in the 1890s. Knute Rockne, who first moved to Chicago from Norway as a young boy, was one of America’s greatest college football coaches.

These and other great Americans remind us today and every day that citizenship is far more than a piece of paper – it is part of what makes our nation great. USCIS has no mission of greater importance than that of naturalizing citizens. This week alone, we will welcome nearly 40,000 new citizens during 177 ceremonies across the country.

The photograph next to this entry shows the pride of new Americans. Attending naturalization ceremonies and watching new citizens raise their right hand and wave the flag is the best part of my job.

Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen

Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Yes We Are Safer

2008-09-16T10:27:00.007-04:00

Last week, the nation marked the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in solemn fashion, focusing on memorials and reflection, rather than on point scoring. Too bad Richard Clarke couldn’t manage to do the same.

Clarke, the official in charge of antiterrorism efforts before 9/11, commemorated the anniversary of the attacks by publishing a finger-pointing screed in U.S. News and World Report.

Clarke’s argument went something like the following: Here we are, seven years after 9/11. We haven’t been attacked. But we could be. Al Qaeda still exists, Bin Laden remains at large, and terrorists still commit terrorism. We’re backsliding, and no safer now then we were then. On the home front, our borders are still porous, we’re still not screening people, and security grants are too much about pork and not enough about real risk.

Clarke is mostly wrong.

In fact, we are safer today than we were seven years ago. We haven’t been attacked since 9/11 in part because we have destroyed al Qaeda’s headquarters, enhanced our intelligence assets across the globe, captured and killed terrorists on nearly every continent, and partnered with our allies on information sharing and other security-related efforts.

Today, al Qaeda no longer has a state sponsor. Contrary to Clarke’s claims, most of its original leadership has been captured or killed. It is losing in Iraq -- thanks to the surge and to the Awakening movement among the Sunni tribes--and its savage attacks on innocents have reduced its popularity there and across the Muslim world. Muslim scholars and clerics are increasingly condemning its beliefs and behavior as a desecration of Islam.

This progress has come because we abandoned the practice of treating terrorism solely as a criminal matter – exactly the kind of September 10 policy that Clarke celebrates in his article.

Closer to home, the Department of Homeland Security has made clear progress that belies Clarke’s claims.

At the border that Clarke thinks is so porous, DHS has built hundreds of miles of fence and will double the size of the Border Patrol. We’ve also deployed fingerprint-based screening and radiation portal monitors at all of our border entry points.

To protect against a repeat attack, DHS has built nearly two dozen layers of security into our aviation system, and it has developed comprehensive security plans for other critical infrastructure.

Clarke claims that the executive branch has proved incapable of managing new terrorism programs to success. Tell that to US-VISIT – a massive government IT project that compares fingerprints of travelers to a database of millions and does it in 30 seconds for officials all across the country and the world. We got it up and running from scratch, despite the doubters. And it’s so successful that we’re expanding it to collect all ten prints and to compare them to prints found in terrorist safe houses around the world. We’ve done all that since Dick Clarke left government – and without a word of support from him.

Despite his claims of backsliding, it’s DHS that has been battling complacency, and Clarke who seems to have been sitting on the sidelines.

We’re the ones who’ve been fighting for the carefully targeted, risk-based homeland security grants he favors. It’s Congress that has added billions and made them less risk-based. Has Clarke criticized Congress or praised DHS for our risk based approach? If so, I missed it.

On our southern border, DHS’s fence-building and increased border enforcement have been hampered by local NIMBY (“not-in-my-backyard”) forces and advocates for illegal immigration. Did Dick Clarke speak out against them? Not so I’ve noticed.

To secure our northern border, we’re implementing tougher document standards, and we were ready to require all travelers to produce a passport or passport-equivalent by the end of this year. Where was Dick Clarke when Congress decided to push back that deadline to mid-2009? I don’t remember an op-ed then complaining about how porous this would make our Canadian border.

Clarke says that terrorists who look European have been trained by al Qaeda and may have European Union passports and clean identities unknown to intelligence agencies. He thinks such people could enter the United States almost as easily as did the 9/11 hijackers. It’s indeed true that during Dick Clarke’s tenure, Europeans could come to the US without any opportunity to screen them before they were in the air. As of this January, though, no foreign travelers other than Canadians will be able to come to the US without supplying -- in advance -- the information we need to screen them. At last, we’ll have the time and information we need to investigate risky travelers (and to prepare a rude surprise for terrorists who try this route). That’s all happened since Dick Clarke left government, and without any support from him.

There’s no question that Dick Clarke contributed to strengthening our national security, but his recent assertions are not only incorrect, they disrespect the work of many national security professionals he once called colleagues. That is indeed unfortunate.

Stewart Baker
Assistant Secretary for Policy

9/11 Anniversary

2008-09-11T13:48:00.005-04:00

It's been a year since we launched the leadership journal, and I'd like to thank our readers for keeping up with our posts and sharing your thoughts. The journal has been a valuable way to get information out to you and to receive your feedback; and it's been a useful medium to share some personal insights about what we see and do on a daily basis. I've learned from our exchanges, and I hope you have as well.

In my initial post, I asked readers whether they thought 9/11 was fading. Perhaps a partial answer to that question can be found in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times, which again referred to the "fading memory" of 9/11 in an article that recounted the stories of several individuals who were injured in the attacks but managed to survive against overwhelming odds.

I can tell you from my own perspective that while the memory of 9/11 has aged another year, it has certainly not faded. This was reinforced today when I visited Ground Zero in New York City to participate in the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony. Thousands of people – friends, family members, government officials, and ordinary citizens – came together to pay their respects, honor the victims, and read their names aloud. It was an important reminder of the horrors of that day, but also the tremendous valor and sacrifice of the first responders and ordinary citizens who gave their lives trying to save their fellow citizens.

We have now gone seven years without another major attack on our own soil. Few would have thought that possible in 2001. It is a testament to the men and women who work every day to protect our country and who have not allowed the memory of 9/11 to fade. By remembering that day, it helps us recommit ourselves to our present purpose.

It also reminds us that we must strike a balance between fear and hysteria on the one hand and a dangerous complacency on the other. That is a balance we try to achieve every day at the Department of Homeland Security. I'd like to thank you for your interest in our perspective and for sharing your views on our efforts. We look forward to hearing more in the future.

Michael Chertoff

A Missed Opportunity

2008-09-10T22:32:00.006-04:00

Tomorrow our nation will mark the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Since that time, there have been no successful attacks on our homeland. Common sense suggests that the terrorists did not suddenly and inexplicably lose interest in striking us again. Indeed, our government has helped disrupt a number of plots including the one uncovered two summers ago to hijack transatlantic airliners in London.

Yet in a just-released report on our progress since 9/11, the House’s Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committees paint an unrecognizable portrait of where we stand today. Contrary to the report’s assertions, the Department’s employees have worked tirelessly to implement over 250 distinct requirements in the ‘9/11 Recommendations Act,’ as well as hundreds of requirements in other laws.

Just over a year after enactment, the Department has made substantial progress implementing the legislative requirements, and often in the face of inconsistent or unclear congressional priorities. The report is littered with a host of egregious and embarrassing errors. To cite but a few examples:

The report states that the Department has made “no progress” with respect to section 1701, which mandates scanning in foreign ports for U.S.-bound cargo. In fact, DHS has deployed scanning systems in multiple foreign ports and thus far has met every obligation and deadline in section 1701. The numerous businesses, foreign governments, and departmental components involved in and affected by the deployed scanning systems strongly rebut the claim of “no progress.”
The report states that there has been “little progress” with respect to Section 1101, which requires an operational National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) by September 30, 2008. In fact, NBIC is now operational, fully satisfies the statutory requirements, and recently disseminated a report on a salmonella outbreak.
The report states that regarding Section 711, which modernizes the Visa Waiver Program, “initial steps have been taken but significant implementation challenges remain.” In fact, virtually all of the major implementation challenges have been addressed, and DHS has not missed any statutory deadlines. Moreover, DHS already has realized substantial security gains – in particular, increased information-sharing with foreign partners – as a result of efforts undertaken in accordance with section 711. (More on the work of our Department and its people.)

In addition to the numerous errors in the report, of which the examples above are merely illustrative, many of the statements in the report actually rebut the report’s assertion that the “Administration has ignored the law.”

With respect to Section 1001, which requires the establishment and use of a prioritized list of critical infrastructure, the report acknowledges that “…DHS provided Congress with the list of prioritized critical infrastructure and, thus, fulfilled that requirement of Section 1001.” The report goes on to assert, illogically and incorrectly, that DHS does not use this list.

Finally, it is unfortunate that the report ignores Congress’s failure to implement one of the most important recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. That bipartisan body recommended that Congress “create a single, principal point of oversight and review for homeland security.” With more than 80 committees and subcommittees often imposing inconsistent obligations on DHS, Congress has made it exceedingly difficult to prioritize tasks in a manner that best reduces overall risk to the country. While the Department’s employees work to implement the 250+ requirements of the 9/11 Recommendations Act, on top of the hundreds of pre-existing legal obligations, Congress would do well to heed the one recommendation directed toward reducing the fragmented congressional oversight.

On this solemn anniversary, the Committee has squandered a genuine opportunity to commend the brave men and women of this Department, the intelligence community, first responders, and law enforcement nationwide, for their outstanding job in protecting the homeland. In sum, the 218,000 dedicated members of this Department will continue to serve this nation with honor and distinction, and we who are privileged to lead them will continue our efforts to work with Congress on behalf of our homeland and its people.

Paul A. Schneider
Deputy Secretary

Information Sharing: Vital Building Block Toward a Safer and More Secure Nation

2008-09-05T10:00:00.006-04:00

We all know how catastrophic the results can be when the right people do not get the right information at the right time. That is why we have made information sharing a national priority, and here at the Department of Homeland Security, a critical part of our mission.

Virtually everyone at DHS has a role in information sharing, which is an essential weapon against threats to the homeland. As those who want to do harm to the nation become more sophisticated, we, too, must be more creative and develop innovative ways to thwart potential attacks. We must continue working to develop coherent policies, create effective governance structures and break down any barriers that prevent us from building sustainable networks and relationships that will secure the nation -- not only now, but in the years to come..

The recently released DHS Information Sharing Strategy exemplifies the Department’s commitment to doing exactly that. A first-of-its-kind document for DHS, the strategy provides direction and guidance for all of the Department’s information-sharing initiatives. It describes how we can transform DHS into an organization that promotes an environment where information is shared in a strategic, efficient manner.

The Strategy is based on a set of five guiding principles:

Fostering information sharing is a core Department mission.
The Department must use the established governance structure to make decisions regarding information-sharing issues.
The Department must commit sufficient resources to information sharing.
The Department must measure progress toward information sharing goals.
The Department must maintain information and data security and protect privacy and civil liberties.

The DHS Information Sharing Strategy is more than a piece of paper. By articulating our priorities in such a fashion, we are sending a clear message: information sharing is no longer optional; it is a vital building block toward a safer and more secure nation.

While our Information Sharing Strategy is a huge step forward, it is only one of a number of ways DHS is moving ahead. One of our most notable accomplishments to date has been the creation of a set of high-level governance structures that will ensure the Department continues to advance with information-sharing initiatives in a unified, coherent fashion.

The Information Sharing Governance Board is an executive-level body that drives Department-wide information sharing initiatives to completion. The Information Sharing Coordinating Council is a working-group made up of action officers from across all DHS Components, ensuring every sector of the Department is represented in information-sharing efforts.

But strategies, policies and governance structures are not enough. We must also work to address cultural barriers that exist across the Department. As the Secretary has said, “We are One DHS.” In order to achieve this vision, we are blending the many tactical missions of the Department. This led us to develop a set of Shared Mission Communities that will cut across the Department and build relationships based around common missions and not organizational structures.

Beyond DHS, we must share information with all federal, State, local, tribal, private sector and international partners as well. That is one reason our Strategy is not only consistent with, but complementary to the President’s National Strategy for Information Sharing, as well as the United States Intelligence Community Information Sharing Strategy.

To sustain a robust federal information sharing environment, we maintain close relationships with the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice and its Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to name just a few. However, our responsibility to protect the homeland requires successful partnerships which extend beyond the federal government. We wholeheartedly support the state and local fusion centers across the country with personnel, training and funding. The centers provide deployed DHS analysts the opportunity to work side-by-side and exchange information with their state, local and tribal counterparts, and law enforcement and public safety officers. To date, the Department has deployed 25 intelligence officers to fusion centers across the country with plans to have a total of 35 in the field by the end of the year.

To foster collaboration and share best practices and lessons learned within the fusion center network, DHS sponsors the Homeland Security State and Local Intelligence Community of Interest (HS SLIC), a virtual community of intelligence analysts. Its membership has grown significantly in the past year with members now representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, and seven federal departments. We have also established a HS SLIC Advisory Board, which includes state and local leaders of the HS SLIC to advise the Office of Intelligence and Analysis leadership on issues relating to intelligence collaboration with our non-federal partners. Through the HS SLIC, members are able to post intelligence products so that there is effective vertical information sharing between the states and the national Intelligence Community and horizontally between the states. Fusion center analysts across the country meet via teleconference weekly with their DHS counterparts to discuss homeland security threat issues. Through these activities, DHS is making the HS SLIC a significant contributor to the National Strategy for Information Sharing.

Another initiative in which we are contributing significant leadership is with the Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group (ITACG), which was established at the direction of the President and the 9/11 Commission Act to facilitate increased sharing of terrorism-related information between the national Intelligence Community and our state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners. By pulling together in one place state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence officers at the National Counterterrorism Center, the ITACG now serves as a focal point to guide the development and dissemination of federal terrorism-related intelligence products through DHS and the FBI to our State, local, tribal territorial, and private sector partners.

Through these and other efforts, I envision an environment where all of those vested in the protection of the nation are working in concert. I am pleased with how far we have come to develop effective technological solutions as well as reduce the cultural barriers that once impeded the flow of information--much progress has already been made.

Building trusted relationships takes dedication and patience. Creating a cohesive environment within an organization as vast as DHS and the federal government at large takes commitment and perseverance. Protecting our nation from the myriad of threats that we face takes courage and resolve. We are and must be up to the task.

Charlie Allen
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis and Chief Intelligence Officer

Gustav Response and Recovery

2008-09-04T16:31:00.003-04:00

Late yesterday I returned from Louisiana with President Bush, after having spent the past several days with Governor Jindal and his team as we monitored Gustav's arrival and initiated response and recovery efforts. I met with several parish presidents and first responders while I was there, and toured many of the communities that were hit hard by this storm. I can tell you that the men and women on the ground who are ensuring the safe return of millions of evacuees are going on little sleep and are working in difficult conditions, but are forging ahead with remarkable determination.

There is still flooding in some areas, and several downed trees and debris-littered roads; but the biggest challenge we're facing right now is downed power lines. State officials are working with FEMA and local power companies to repair these lines as quickly as possible, but it will clearly take several days until power is restored across the region.

I want to take a moment to specifically thank the parish presidents, state officials, and first responders who had a hand in coordinating an enormously successful evacuation prior to Gustav's landfall. As a result of their efforts, our search and rescue operations have been relatively minimal because most of the people in harm's way evacuated well before Gustav's arrival. I also want to thank everyone who assisted with what Governor Jindal described as the largest medical evacuation in their history. It was a true testament to the benefits of pre-planning and coordination, and is a model that should be repeated as we prepare for the oncoming storms currently gaining strength in the Atlantic.

As we identify additional challenges and focus on priorities such as medical needs, power restoration, and debris removal, it's important to recognize that this will be a long-term effort. While the initial planning, preparedness, and evacuation measures were well coordinated, we still have a great deal of work ahead of us. I encourage everyone along the Gulf Coast that is involved in this effort to apply the same vigor and focus on response and recovery as they did for pre-hurricane preparations.

Of course, we must also remain flexible and nimble – Hanna, Ike, and Josephine will present their own sets of challenges in the coming days, as will additional weather systems during this busy period of the 2008 hurricane season.

I encourage residents in Hanna's likely impact area to emulate what Louisianans have done by listening to local officials' instructions and preparing to sustain themselves for at least three days (please visit www.ready.gov for more information). I also encourage everyone to keep up the good work as we roll up our sleeves and continue to respond to this storm and prepare for those ahead.

Michael Chertoff

Gustav Preparations

2008-09-01T11:52:00.003-04:00

As we closely monitor Gustav's landfall from Baton Rouge's Emergency Operations Center and remain poised to begin response efforts, I want to briefly update you with some of what I saw on the ground as we finalized our preparations yesterday.

People are taking this storm seriously. More than a million residents have evacuated well ahead of landfall, and those with special needs have been moved out of harm's way.

I've been spending time with Governor Jindal and Mayor Nagin and have been in close communication with Governor Barbour, as well as other state and local officials. I can tell you that preparations for this storm were well coordinated at every level, and everyone is now focused on responding as quickly as possible.

FEMA has pre-positioned assets and personnel in strategic locations and is poised to move in as soon as it's safe to assist with response and recovery operations. Other DHS personnel including ICE, CBP, TSA and Coast Guard teams have been deployed to assist with evacuations and are standing by to begin search and rescue operations as needed. Additional federal partners, including the Department of Defense and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have also deployed assets and personnel to the region and are preparing for response activities.

This will be a severe hurricane and is having a major impact as it continues to move ashore. While the levees around New Orleans have been strengthened since Katrina, there is a still a real risk of flooding because of possible overtopping and rain.

For those who must shelter in place, I hope that you heeded advice to be prepared to sustain yourself for at least 72 hours. This means having enough food, water, and medicine to last for three days.

I'll continue monitoring the storm from Louisiana and will update you as time and circumstances allow. I encourage you to visit www.ready.gov for additional preparedness information.

Michael Chertoff

Hope Restored

2008-08-29T08:42:00.003-04:00

In his remarks at the Jackson Barracks in New Orleans last week, President Bush said that “hope is being restored” throughout the Gulf Coast. As we pause to reflect on the third anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and remember the lives that were lost and the heroism that ensued, I think it’s important to acknowledge the progress that has taken place in the wake of one of our nation’s worst natural disasters.

Of course, it’s also important to apply the lessons we’ve learned along the way, and to that end, we’re working closely with our federal, state, and local partners to prepare for Hurricane Gustav’s potential impact. But I want to take just a moment to share some stories of progress along the Gulf Coast.

The hope that President Bush was referring to can be found in places like Boothville/Venice High School, which endured tremendous damage due to Katrina’s storm surge. But thanks to more than $8 million in repairs made possible by FEMA Public Assistance grants, the school now serves more than 200 students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

Additional signs of progress can be seen at St. Margaret’s Daughters Nursing Home in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, where flood waters rendered the health care facility uninhabitable. With the help of an initial $5.59 million payment for a temporary facility, and an additional $3.7 million, St. Margaret’s was able to reopen in a newly renovated facility last September. All told, FEMA has committed more than $15.9 million in Public Assistance funds for this project.

And to ensure that the city’s law enforcement operations are efficiently coordinated, the New Orleans Police Department moved into its remodeled headquarters earlier this year, thanks in large part to repairs from $6.8 million in FEMA funding. This, of course, is just a portion of the $21.8 million granted to restore the justice complex.

But our goals are not just short-term fixes. We’re focused on rebuilding the region and making structures safer and stronger. For example, just last month FEMA approved the use of more than $96.9 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds to elevate nearly 3,000 homes in Louisiana. This was one of the largest single HMGP project obligations to date, and represents successful collaboration at the federal, state, and local levels.

We also recognize that the road to recovery involves flexibility and innovation. To that end, we fully supported President Bush’s decision to grant Governor Bobby Jindal’s request that Louisiana be allowed to pay their share of levee improvement costs over 30 years instead of just three.

These examples are just a fraction of the work that is being done and the decisions that are being made on a daily basis in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast. To be sure, there is much work ahead. But by focusing on priorities such as education, health care, public safety, and housing, we’re helping rebuild lives and communities – and the results are beginning to show. All told, FEMA has provided $11 billion for debris removal, reconstruction, and protective measures, in addition to more than $6 billion in individual assistance grants. (Of course, it is ultimately up to state, parish, and local leaders to decide where and what to rebuild).

But our progress three years after Katrina goes beyond dollars spent and structures restored. We’ve learned invaluable lessons from the storm’s devastation, and as a result, have vastly strengthened our nation’s preparedness and response capabilities. FEMA now is a forward-leaning agency, with 21st century tools capable of handling any type of disaster. Following Katrina, we placed a greater emphasis on building stronger partnerships, preparing for emergencies before they happen, and responding quickly and efficiently when they do occur. As I mentioned, this forward-leaning approach is guiding our preparations for Hurricane Gustav.

So as we mark Katrina’s third anniversary and acknowledge the progress we’ve made (as well as how much work remains), I encourage everyone involved in this endeavor to continue their efforts and recommit themselves to rebuilding this vital region of our country.

The daily work of our Office for Gulf Coast Recovery in Baton Rouge is indicative of our long-term commitment to work side-by-side with the people of the Gulf Coast as they rebuild their homes and communities.

Through the strong partnerships we’ve forged during the past three years, I’m confident that our progress will continue full steam ahead.

General Douglas O’Dell, USMC (Ret.)
Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding

Stay Healthy in a Crisis

2008-08-22T09:18:00.014-04:00

This week, Tropical Storm Fay has been a reminder to us all that we are in the heart of hurricane season. But, even as it lingers in the Gulf many Americans do not believe that a disaster can really happen to them. Unfortunately, too often, people learn the hard way that they could have done more to prepare.

From the wildfires in the West, to the floods across the Midwest, to tornadoes that tear through the center of the country, Americans often find themselves thrust into an emergency. September is National Preparedness Month, a time when we highlight the simple steps we can take now to prepare for the unexpected.

As many Americans can attest, such planning can make recovering from a disaster a bit easier. Still, many don't spend enough time getting ready.

This kind of planning is particularly important when it comes to staying healthy in a crisis. As the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, part of my job is to provide guidance about how our employees can protect themselves in an emergency.

Our advice goes out to everyone, from TSA security officers to the federal agents who protect our borders, even to our Secretary. Each of my coworkers must feel confident that they are prepared and that their families are weathering a crisis, so they can focus on performing their core duties. This same kind of preparedness goes on in many of the homes of first responders, law enforcement and government officials at all levels.

In a crisis, doctors, nurses, paramedics and other first responders rush to help their neighbors. A community's resilience – the nation's resilience -- depends largely on the individual preparedness of all of our vital workers and many others. Utility crews who get the power back on, truck drivers who keep food and other supplies moving, and the heroic people who look after their neighbors who have special needs all mitigate suffering and speed the recovery – if their own family is safe.

As we are told during our safety briefing before every airline flight, we must take care of ourselves before we can take care of others. I encourage you to go to http://www.ready.gov/ for information on getting an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan and being informed about the different types of disasters and their appropriate responses. But don't forget the medical issues that are individual to every family and every family member. In addition to water, food, etc., these are my "medical must haves:"

An extra supply of prescription drugs; don't forget the over the counter medications that you may need such as analgesics, antacids, anti-diarrheal, etc.

A good medical record for each family member that includes medications they take, allergies to medications, past surgeries and other key medical information a doctor might need to treat them in an emergency.

Key contact names and phone numbers on a laminated card that includes relatives, friends, personal physician and emergency work and school contacts.

For those with special medical needs, extra oxygen and batteries for equipment might be needed to survive away from home for a few days. An extra wheelchair, walker or cane might be needed to evacuate. Simple repair equipment, such as a bicycle repair kit, help keep a wheelchair rolling.

A basic first aid kit.

A more detailed checklist for people with disabilities and other special needs is available.

As an emergency physician, I have seen firsthand how important being prepared is and how the American spirit is strongest when we come together to weather an unforeseen challenge. We're proud to help prepare the nation to react with strength and compassion.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your comments.

Dr. Jon Krohmer,
Assistant Secretary (acting), Office of Health Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer

Targeting Predators

2008-08-21T15:32:00.006-04:00

The newspaper articles appear with heartbreaking regularity in every community across the country—stories about men and women committing sexual crimes against children. By the time we read about it the damage is already done, even though the perpetrator may be behind bars.

However, law enforcement agencies at every level have taken an increasingly aggressive stance against these crimes, and we're seeing real results.

We saw an example of those results earlier this week in California, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with our partners at the FBI's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team and the U.S. Attorney's Office for Los Angeles, announced that a major investigation led to the arrest of seven men on charges of possessing and/or distributing images depicting the sexual abuse of children. The arrests were part of a larger investigation that has led to criminal charges against a total of 55 defendants.

In this case, the suspects were accessing peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks over the Internet to trade graphic images and videos of children being victimized. Thanks to coordinated efforts using sophisticated software that tracks the computers where these images are being stored, investigators were able to identify and target the predators.

The suspects may have thought the use of P2P technology would allow them to make their exchanges undetected. However, that is not the case—today's announcement shows that law enforcement is paying close attention to those who exploit and abuse children, and that the Internet is not an anonymous playground where they can commit their crimes in secret.

Among the defendants:

Gary Samuel Cochran, a 50-year-old man previously convicted of child molestation and possession of obscene materials depicting minors engaged in sex acts. Earlier this year, investigators found evidence that Cochran was not only sharing child pornography, but that some of the images were pictures he had taken of a young girl;

Eric David Lacey, a 48-year-old man who was living above a child day care facility in Hollywood, California, while being sought in a North Dakota child pornography case featured on "America’s Most Wanted";

Evan Craig Stephens, 36, a registered sex offender with a previous conviction for child molestation; and

George Tyler Farmer, 39, who was previously convicted of molesting a 6-year-old girl.

Targeting sexual predators who exploit children has been an important part of the ICE mission for more than five years. ICE launched Operation Predator in 2003 as a nationwide initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator's inception, ICE agents have made more than 11,000 arrests under the program.

This case ensures that dozens of will face justice for their crimes, and it is a positive step toward ensuring the safety of children. Just as importantly, these arrests send a clear message to sexual predators that they will be identified, they will be apprehended and they will face consequences.

Julie L. Myers,
Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

H-2B Proposed Rule Changes: Your Feedback Welcome

2008-08-20T09:28:00.000-04:00

In my most recent entry, I discussed steps that USCIS has been taking to upgrade our capacity to process naturalization applications. Today, I'd like to address proposed rule changes to existing H-2B regulations designed to streamline that important program.

Since its inception in 1986, the H-2B program has proven popular among businesses in non-agricultural industries such as landscaping, hospitality and construction. Little about the program has changed to accommodate employers' needs or improve worker protections. In order to better serve those participating in the program, we are proposing measures to remove unnecessary limitations, prevent fraud and abuse, and protect workers.

Beyond this general announcement, I would also like to share the specifics of the proposed rule changes and ask that you provide your feedback by submitting comments to the proposed rule.

Our proposed modifications would:

Relax the current limitations on the ability of U.S. employers to petition for unnamed workers;
Reduce from six months to three months the amount of time an H-2B worker whose status has expired must wait outside the United States before he or she is eligible to again obtain status under the H or L classifications;
Require employer attestations on the scope of the H-2B employment and on the use of recruiters to locate beneficiaries and provide for denial or revocation of an H-2B petition if an H-2B worker was charged a fee in connection with the employment either (a) by the petitioner, or (b) by a recruiter where the petitioner knew or reasonably should have known that the recruiter was charging such fees;
Eliminate the ability of employers to file an H-2B petition without an approved temporary labor certification;
Preclude changing the employment start date after the temporary labor certification is certified by the Department of Labor;
Require employer notifications to the Department of Homeland Security when H-2B workers fail to show up for work, are terminated, or abscond from the worksite;
Change the definition of "temporary employment" to clearly define that employment is of a temporary nature when the need for the employee will end in the near, definable future and to eliminate the requirement that employers show "extraordinary circumstances" to be eligible to hire H-2B workers where a one-time need for the workers is longer than one year but shorter than three years;
Prohibit the approval of H-2B petitions for nationals of countries determined to be consistently refusing or unreasonably delaying repatriation of their nationals; and
Establish a land-border exit system pilot program under which H-2B workers admitted through a port of entry participating in the program must also depart through a port of entry participating in the program. Upon departure, they must present designated biographical information, possibly including biometric identifiers.

It is important to note that these proposals are not yet in effect and that the current rules governing the H-2B program remain in place. In the meantime, there will be a 30-day comment period. Once public comments are received and reviewed, we will finalize and publish the rule with an effective date.

With that in mind, I look forward to your comments and feedback and appreciate your interest in the Leadership Journal.

Jonathan Scharfen,
Acting Director, US Citizenship & Immigration Services

Identity of the Guardian

2008-08-08T10:52:00.005-04:00

Last week I formally introduced the Guardian Ethos to all the men and women of the Coast Guard. As the Coast Guard modernizes, the Guardian Ethos will assist the Coast Guard in tying our military, maritime, multi-mission character to a more tangible identity; an identity that will resonate with our people, our external partners, and customers alike.

About a year ago, our training center at Cape May was charged with refining their curriculum to support the development of a more physically fit apprentice who had internalized the Coast Guard’s culture, character, and core values as depicted in Publication Number One – the Coast Guard’s capstone doctrine. During this process, the Guardian Ethos was created.

The Guardian Ethos is not intended to replace the Coast Guard Creed. The Creed is a contract an individual makes with the Coast Guard; the Ethos is different – it defines the essence of the Coast Guard and could be viewed as the contract the Coast Guard and its members make with the nation and its citizens.

The Coast Guard has served the American public for over 200 years. The surge capabilities inherent in a military organization combined with multiple authorities/competencies due to our multi-mission nature make us unique in government and of great value to our nation. However, because we are so multi-faceted, from time to time we are not well understood.

The Guardian Ethos is the essence of our service – it is who we are. Dating back to the days of the Steamboat Inspection Service, The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Life Saving Service, and the U.S Lighthouse Service, we have a proud history of serving the citizens of the United States in the maritime domain, providing safety, security and stewardship. As America’s maritime guardians, we protect them, we defend them, and we save them. We are their shield, and we stand always ready for the call to duty. We live the Coast Guard Core Values. Individually, we are each guardians, who have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution and who adhere to the Coast Guardsman’s Creed. Together we are the United States Coast Guard.

The adoption of the Guardian Ethos provides us with a consistent service-wide term for our people. We also know that guardians honor the past but must continually look to the future and adapt. To protect, defend, and save today and tomorrow, we must understand that change and modernization are consistent with our Guardian Ethos. As guardians, we will continually change and improve our Coast Guard.

We are Guardians.

Admiral Thad Allen
Commandant, United States Coast Guard

Arabic Speakers Graduate from Innovative Internship

2008-08-07T10:30:00.004-04:00

Attracting Arabic speakers is one of the federal government’s most pressing needs. Since 9/11, senior leaders in the Administration, Congressional committees, blue ribbon panels such as the 9/11 Commission and media reports have emphasized that there is an unacceptable shortage of federal employees who speak Arabic. The Department decided to tackle this problem in a very practical way – in partnership with the FBI and the George Washington University, we created the “National Security Internship” program. Today, August 7, we graduate our first class of 21 students.

The National Security Internship program is not just another typical summer program for young people looking to get experience in Washington. It is an intensive, nine week, full-immersion program that combines studies in Arabic, homeland security, and intelligence with on-the-job training at the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. The students earned twelve college credits through George Washington University through this demanding program.

To even qualify for the program, students had to pass rigorous language tests and demonstrate a basic proficiency in the language. The National Security Internship was also restricted to applicants who were able to qualify for a top-secret clearance, which was investigated and adjudicated by the FBI.

Every morning, the students took language and security courses at the university. Every afternoon, the students worked at either the FBI’s intelligence division or DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (two students worked at TSA headquarters).

The objective of the program is to create a direct career path for these students, and others like them who will follow in upcoming years, into DHS and the FBI. With their language skills, academic studies, work experience, and security clearances, these students are prepared to make major contributions immediately upon their graduation.

It is important to note that it is not just the language skills that we need – there is also a great need for the cultural competencies that “heritage speakers” bring. This program does not seek to create a cadre of linguists. Rather, it aims to increase the pool of young people entering federal service who are culturally proficient, speak a foreign language, and have a demonstrated interest in public service.

We need more people in the federal workforce who have a deep knowledge of the culture, the history and the traditions of people who speak Arabic. For example, a CBP officer who speaks Arabic and implicitly understands the culture will be more effective in screening travelers who have just arrived on a flight from Riyadh. An ICE officer who speaks Arabic and understands the commercial life in that region of the world will be more effective in investigating the flow of money to terrorist networks.

In future years, we can expand the program to students who will study Farsi, Mandarin, Urdu, and other specialized languages that are in short supply within the federal workforce.

One of the most satisfying elements of the program has been our close partnership with the FBI. Working with Assistant Director John Raucci and his extraordinary team has been a pleasure. By collaborating, we have seen the increased efficiencies that come from pooling our recruiting, community relations, procurement and security clearance efforts. There is no doubt that this joint project has deepened the working relationships between our two agencies.

In addition to their studies, the interns have met with Cong. Darrell Issa, FBI Director Mueller, DHS Undersecretary for Intelligence Charlie Allen, DHS Chief of Staff Chad Sweet, and others who have cast a vision for the need for government professionals with their backgrounds, skills and experiences.

We expect that many of the 21 students who participated this summer will, in the upcoming years, begin careers in the federal government. If we are able to retain even 10 new Arabic speakers each year, we will make a major impact on both DHS and FBI. Within only a few years we will have doubled the size of the entire Arabic speaking workforce in these agencies. Seeing the success of this innovative program will no doubt be a catalyst for other efforts like it.

We are already beginning to recruit for next year, and information on the program is available at www.nationalsecurityinternship.com. We pass along our congratulations to the graduating students for a job well done through a very hectic summer, and look forward to future classes of students who will help make our country more secure.

Daniel W. Sutherland
Office of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

Answering Questions on Border Laptop Searches

2008-08-05T17:40:00.007-04:00

We’ve received several comments from readers regarding my recent post about laptop searches at the border. I’d like to take a few minutes to try to answer some of your questions and set straight some misinformation that is circulating with regard to this long-standing policy.

First, it’s important to note that for more than 200 years, the federal government has been granted the authority to prevent dangerous people and things from entering the United States. Our security measures at the border are rooted in this fundamental fact, and our ability to achieve our border mission would be hampered if we did not apply the same search authorities to electronic media that we have long-applied to physical objects--including documents, photographs, film and other graphic material. Indeed, there are numerous laws that apply to such material at the border including laws regarding intellectual property rights, technical data that can be imported or exported only under state department license and child pornography.

In the 21st century, terrorists and criminals increasingly use laptops and other electronic media to transport illicit materials that were traditionally concealed in bags, containers, notebooks and paper documents. Making full use of our search authorities with respect to items like notebooks and backpacks, while failing to do so with respect to laptops and other devices, would ensure that terrorists and criminals receive less scrutiny at our borders just as their use of technology is becoming more sophisticated.

This result would be ironic given that this same technology actually enables terrorists and criminals to move large amounts of information across the border via laptops and other electronic devices. At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to search items — electronic or otherwise — that are being transported across our borders and that could potentially be used to harm our nation’s citizens or that are otherwise contrary to law.

Second, this is not a new policy. We’ve been searching laptops of those who warrant a closer inspection for years. In fact, we’ve taken the unprecedented step of posting online (PDF 5 pages - 161 KB) a policy that would typically be reserved for internal purposes. This information is not new and has been publicly debated countless times. Indeed, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently confirmed the constitutionality of suspicionless laptop searches at the border.

This brings me to my third point, which is that travelers whose laptops are searched represent a very small number of people. As Secretary Chertoff noted in a recent op-ed,

"Of the approximately 400 million travelers who entered the country last year, only a tiny percentage were referred to secondary baggage inspection…[and] of those, only a fraction had electronic devices that may have been checked.”

This number is less than one percent of people entering the United States. Contrary to some media accounts, we’re not rolling out a new strategy and screening an exorbitant number of travelers. We’re simply following a common sense border policy that has been in place for years, and has been reaffirmed by the courts.

And finally, to allay any concerns the business community or others may have that their personal or trade information might be put at risk by traveling with their laptops, I urge you to look at our track record. Every day, thousands of commercial entry documents, shipping manifests, container content lists, and detailed pieces of company information are transmitted to CBP so we can effectively process entries and screen cargo shipments bound for the United States. This information is closely guarded and governed by strict privacy procedures. Information from passenger laptops or other electronic devices is treated no differently.

Our Customs and Border Protection officers are trained professionals with a defined mission, and they have neither the time nor the desire to search travelers’ personal belongings for any reason other than to ensure compliance with our customs and related laws and to protect the United States. As the policy’s provisions make abundantly clear, officers are subject to numerous policy restrictions regarding the retention, sharing, and scrutiny of travelers’ documents and information.

I hope this has helped answer some of your questions. One of the lessons 9/11 taught us was that we must adapt to 21st century risks and anticipate rather than react to new threats. Our CBP officers are on the front lines every day ensuring that these lessons are heeded. We trust that travelers understand the need for these sensible security measures.

Jayson Ahern
Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Travel Authorization Via Computer

2008-08-01T08:59:00.000-04:00

You may recall that in June we announced a program that would bring an antiquated aspect of international travel into the 21st century and at the same time improve our security. I’m pleased to say that starting August 1st, this new program, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, will be up and running for use on a voluntary basis. This means that foreign travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries will be able to apply for travel authorization to the U.S. using a simple, secure website.

Let me explain some of the details and benefits of this system.

Currently, there are 27 countries in the Visa Waiver Program, which means that citizens from places such as Austria, Italy, and Japan do not need to apply for visas to travel to the United States. In lieu of a visa, they currently fill out a paper I-94W form en route to the U.S. These forms ask for basic biographic, travel, and eligibility information, and provide our Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers an opportunity to ensure that travelers do not pose a threat before they’re admitted to our country.

With ESTA, we’re simply automating this process so passengers can complete these forms online before they even depart for the U.S. This is clearly a win-win for all involved.

First, it’s convenient for travelers.

They can complete the forms online at their leisure whenever they begin making travel plans. (We recommend this be done at least 72 hours before departure but the system can accommodate last minute travel).
Most travelers will receive a response within seconds, notifying them of their eligibility or that their request is pending.
An approved ESTA authorization is valid for up to two years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first.
And ESTA authorizations are valid for multiple entries into the U.S.

Second, and more importantly, it provides significant security enhancements.

CBP will know who is traveling to our country before they arrive, and can determine if they pose a threat earlier in the process.
It helps us assess risk based on individuals, rather than groups or countries. We know that just being from a stable country with a friendly government doesn’t automatically exclude one from being a threat (for example, Richard Reid from Britain or Zacharias Moussaoui from France).
And by increasing the convenience on our end (we will no longer have to decipher handwriting or manually transfer information from paper forms to electronic files), we can focus more time and resources on security matters.
ESTA will also help us meet a legislative requirement that will allow us to expand the Visa Waiver Program to additional allies. An expanded, more secure VWP will provide an opportunity for millions of foreign citizens to travel to the U.S. to learn firsthand what a great country we have.

As I mentioned, ESTA applications will be accepted on a voluntary basis starting August 1st and will be mandatory for all individuals traveling under the VWP on January 12, 2009. I invite you to see this system for yourself and view a great example of how 21st century technology can improve security for Americans and enhance the travel experience for our international allies.

Thanks for reading.

Kathleen Kraninger
Director, Screening Coordination Office

A Wake Up Call

2008-07-31T10:46:00.003-04:00

Tuesday’s earthquake in California was yet another reminder for Americans that mother- nature can strike an instant leaving little time for citizens who aren’t prepared to get prepared. Fortunately, there were only a handful of injuries and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said it best “this earthquake reminds us to be prepared.”

Since early spring, Americans have been faced with an onslaught of severe weather from tornadoes, wildfires, flooding, a hurricane and now an earthquake all of which have put Americans on the front lines to face mother-nature. But despite the news coverage of these disasters Americans still seem to remain complacent when it comes to personal preparedness. Many believe that it won’t happen to them or if it does there isn’t anything they can do to protect themselves or their homes. This is simply untrue.

By having an emergency supply kit, an emergency plan, and being informed about the different types of emergencies that can happen and the appropriate responses, you will be able to make better choices when faced with an emergency in which you have only seconds to respond. Also, you are the first line of defense to any emergency or disaster and by taking steps to prepare you will not only be able to sustain yourself and your family for up to 72 hours or 3 days; but you will be freeing up valuable resources and allowing first responders to get to those who can’t take care of themselves first. Therefore, personal preparedness also becomes a civic responsibility.

But what does “being prepared” mean? The Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign encourages everyone to have an emergency supply kit with basic essentials like food and water and unique family needs such as medication; to make an emergency plan that allows you and your family to establish meeting places, key contact information as well as plan ahead for an evacuation--you can find an emergency plan at www.ready.gov; and to be informed about the different types of emergencies that can happen in your area and learn the appropriate responses to them.

For example, earthquakes are sometimes believed to be a West Coast phenomenon, but there are actually 45 states and territories throughout the United States that are at moderate to high risk for earthquakes including the New Madrid fault line in the central U.S.

The federal government has taken many steps to improve our coordination with state and local authorities in times of emergencies and disasters. But it is also up to our citizens to take responsibility and make sure they and their families are prepared to deal with everything from power outages to large scale events such as Hurricane Dolly.

So let yesterday’s earthquake serve as a wake up call to you – visit www.ready.gov and make sure you are protecting yourself and your family for the unexpected.

David Paulison
FEMA Administrator