Southwest Border

Last week I traveled to Mexico, with brief stops in California and Texas. The purpose of my visit was to meet with my foreign counterparts, assess the situation on the Southwest Border with respect to drug cartel violence, hear directly from federal, state, tribal, and local officials, and announce some additional resources we are deploying to the border to help Mexico in its fight against these dangerous cartels.

In California, I met with state and local leaders in San Diego, toured the border and visited the Otay Mesa port of entry – one of the busiest commercial ports on the Southwest border.

More than $400 million in Recovery Act funds is being directed to the Southwest border. This money will be used to upgrade infrastructure at the ports of entry, add technology and inspection equipment, and strengthen our surveillance and communications capabilities.

In Mexico, I visited with my foreign counterparts, and along with Attorney General Holder, attended an important conference on arms trafficking. The smuggling of guns is a serious problem and contributes to a lot of the violence we’re seeing in Mexico among the drug cartels and organized criminal networks.

To combat the problem, we are moving substantial resources to border, including more than 360 additional DHS officers and agents, license plate readers that will allow us to scan for suspect vehicles, southbound rail screening, and additional grant funding for state and local law enforcement. These measures will help us counter the flow of guns and cash into Mexico while protecting cities and communities along the border.

Finally, on my return, I stopped in Laredo, Texas to meet with community leaders, speak with members of the Laredo Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), which is a multi-agency law enforcement team that fights criminal organizations and smugglers, and visit the Laredo port of entry. In recent weeks, we’ve made several significant seizures of cash and guns in Laredo, including more than $3 million discovered in a hidden compartment in the floor of a bus bound for Mexico.

Examples like this impede the ability of criminal organizations to fund their activities. Since the start of this fiscal year, CBP and ICE together have seized more than $55 million in cash, over 630 weapons, and nearly 125,000 rounds of ammunition.

We’re going to continue to keep the pressure on. I consider this a historic opportunity to help Mexico confront a serious threat that impacts the safety and security of both of our countries. We all have a stake in this fight, and here at the Department we’re going to continue to do our part to make sure we succeed.

Janet Napolitano

"G6 plus 1" Meeting in Germany

On Monday, I returned from a trip to Germany in which I met with my homeland security counterparts from six European Union countries. This regular meeting – called the “G6 plus 1” (I’m the “plus 1”) – is an important part of our security cooperation. Threats like terrorism, the spread of infectious diseases, and natural disasters know no borders, which makes global partnership an integral part of American security.

We focused on many different elements of this partnership – including information-sharing about terror suspects, bolstering the security of international cyber networks and combating the smuggling of drugs, money, and people.

One outcome from the trip is a new science and technology agreement with the government of Germany. The photo here shows me at the signing ceremony with the German Minister of Science and Education, Annette Schavan.

This partnership will identify science and technology projects where the U.S. and Germany can collaborate on innovations that improve our security. One effort will kick off in just a few months: developing “visual analytics” technologies that can organize and cluster millions of pieces of intelligence data and arrange them visually, allowing intelligence analysts to understand more quickly the patterns contained in enormous amounts of diffuse information.

I’m excited about the doors this will open to scientific understandings not only of threats, but also solutions. Wherever we can partner with our allies to make both our nations safer, we should – and this will be an important priority moving forward, starting with my visits to Mexico and Canada over the next few weeks.

Janet Napolitano

2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan Released

The homeland security risks facing our nation are a complex mix of manmade and naturally occurring hazards, including terrorist attacks, accidents, natural disasters, and other emergencies. National priorities for critical infrastructure and key resources protection include both preventing catastrophic loss of life associated with these risks and minimizing their cascading, disruptive impacts on the U.S. and global economy. Achieving these priorities requires a strategy that appropriately balances building resiliency capabilities with risk-informed prevention and protection activities.

The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) describes the nation’s approach to establishing goals, requirements, and performance measures for infrastructure protection and resiliency efforts. The NIPP also sets forth a comprehensive risk management framework. It clearly defines the roles and responsibilities for the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Sector Specific Agencies, and other federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners within the critical infrastructure and key resources mission area.

The just-released 2009 version of the NIPP captures the evolution and maturation of the processes and programs first outlined in 2006. It was developed collaboratively with critical infrastructure and key resources partners at all levels of government and the private sector. The revised NIPP integrates the concepts of resiliency and protection and broadens the focus of NIPP-related programs and activities to an all-hazards environment.

A major accomplishment of the NIPP is the role it has played in building public-private partnerships. It has facilitated closer cooperation between government and industry across the 18 critical infrastructure and key resources sectors. For example, as the Chemical Sector Specific Agency, the Department partnered with the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council to develop the voluntary Web-based Chemical Security Awareness Training Program based on a need identified within the sector.

Several companies beta tested the training program, and the feedback was incorporated into the final product, which was designed not only for those directly involved in security, but for all facility employees. This partnership effort resulted in a free interactive tool available to chemical facilities nationwide to increase security awareness. The training was launched in July 2008 and as of Feb 24, 2009, 929 people had completed it at 277 companies. This pattern of collaboration is essential to strengthening our critical infrastructure and key resources protection and resiliency efforts.

The 2009 revision of the NIPP is available for download from www.dhs.gov/NIPP.

James Snyder
Acting Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection

Honoring Flight #1549

Last week I went to New York to honor the men and women who aided the rescue of US Airways #1549.

By now, we all know the heroic tale of the pilot and crew who landed the distressed plane in the middle of the Hudson River against impossible odds.

What is less known is the immense rescue operation that took place immediately afterward and the heroism of dozens of individuals who put their own lives in danger to ensure that everyone on the aircraft made it safely to shore.

Among those responders was Coast Guard Petty Officer Ben Foster, who after seeing a passenger slip and fall from the plane’s icy wing, entered the frigid water to rescue her. In the process, he ruptured an artery in his leg, putting himself in even greater danger. He remained at the scene for hours, seeking medical attention only later that evening.

For his service, the Coast Guard awarded Petty Officer Foster the Meritorious Service Medal. The Coast Guard also awarded a Unit Commendation to its Incident Response Team, and it awarded Petty Officer Brittany Catanzaro – a member of the Coast Guard reserve – with a Meritorious Public Service Award.

Also assisting in the rescue were numerous independent boaters, water taxi operators, and ferry services. These Good Samaritans dropped what they were doing and rushed to the sinking aircraft to see how they could help. They worked side-by-side with first responders and law enforcement to ensure all 155 passengers and crew were safely rescued.

To honor their service, the Coast Guard awarded the Certificate of Merit to New York Water Taxi, Ken’s Marine, Miller’s Launch, World Yacht, and The Staten Island Ferry.

It awarded the Public Service Commendation to Circle Line Sightseeing and issued the Meritorious Public Service Award to Mr. Scott Koen. And it gave the Distinguished Public Service Award to New York Waterway.

Without this support, the triumph we celebrate today could have easily turned tragic.

These efforts remind us that individuals and businesses often have an important role to play during emergencies – even serving as first responders. As Secretary, one of my priorities is to continue to expand our engagement with citizens and businesses who want to be involved in our efforts. We have a lot to gain from their participation.

The rescue also reminds us of the importance of training and exercising before the fact. First responders at all levels must know what to do when it comes time to execute a mission – because seconds count. The successful rescue of Flight #1549 is a case in point

Janet Napolitano

The Coast Guard Public Service Awards Ceremony