(from l to r) Fmr. Secretary Tom Ridge, Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Fmr. Secretary Michael Chertoff.  Moderator, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell (r) Photo by: Barry Bahler/DHS

Photo by: Barry Bahler/DHS



Photo by: Barry Bahler/DHS

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security. As I said in my “State of America’s Homeland Security” address in January, our nation is more secure than it was two years ago, and more secure than when DHS was founded. Nonetheless, our work never stops.

I am joining my predecessors, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, today at a public commemoration of the Department’s 8th anniversary. We’ll speak to the history and progress of the last eight years, and to the dedication and service of the more than 230,000 men and women of DHS. A live video stream of the event will be available here.

Since it was formed in 2003, DHS has achieved remarkable progress across our key missions: preventing terrorism; securing our borders; enforcing our immigration laws; securing cyberspace; and ensuring resilience to disasters.

But we know that we have more work to do to counter the evolving threats we face. We must remind ourselves that our mission – a secure homeland – requires our constant vigilance, hard work, and determination to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other threats.

As I often say, homeland security begins with hometown security. Working hand in hand with first responders, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, community groups, international partners and the private sector, we have made great strides in protecting our nation from terrorism and other threats while building a culture of resiliency and preparedness in our communities. Security is, indeed, a shared responsibility.

I invite you to watch and to learn more about how DHS is working every day to secure our nation. I look forward to the coming years, as we build on the foundation we celebrate today.

Janet Napolitano

For Donna Lewis, an attorney with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of General Counsel (OGC), two things have always come naturally: justice and jokes. And now, with the Washington Post Writers Group's syndication of her semi-autobiographical comic strip "Reply-All", Lewis' sense of humor will grace the pages of newspapers nationwide starting today.

Loosely based on Lewis' life, "Reply-All" highlights the up's and down's of a successful career woman navigating the modern world. While her personality and experiences shape the comic, there is one element of Lewis' life that "Reply-All" readers will never see: references to her day job. Lewis made sure to clear her comic strip with the Department's Ethics office and will continue to keep her two careers separate, joking that she is "not allowed to be funny at work."

A graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, Lewis worked as a litigator in the private sector for 15 years before feeling compelled to join DHS following the attacks of September 11, 2001. "I really, really wanted to do my part in the response to 9/11, " Lewis says, "Living in Washington, it just affected everybody in my life."

Lewis takes great pride in her work with the Department, which as she puts it, involves a lot of work on behalf of the American people that the public rarely sees. "The people I work with, we work so hard. Honestly, I really wish the public could see how hard everybody here works. How hard we work for them."

Through all of that hard work, Lewis has always had a flair for the written word, and in 2006, parlayed her writing abilities into comedy. Lewis was a natural in the world of stand-up and improv and was named a 'Funniest Feds' semi-finalist in 2007. "While doing stand-up comedy, I was writing tons of material. But with standup, you only get a few minutes," Lewis explains.

Her extra material finally found a voice during the middle of a snowstorm when Lewis, volunteering on a project with a few others who braved the cold, passed the day's slow periods by doodling cartoons in her notebook. The doodles soon morphed into full-blown cartoons - captioned by jokes born from Lewis' writing - and "Reply-All" was born.


Those initial doodles were a hit with Lewis' friends and family, and before long she was scanning and e-mailing cartoons daily, eventually starting a website and developing a strong social media following on Facebook and Twitter. Starting today, "Reply-All" will be seen in about a dozen newspapers nationwide, including The Washington Post, Boston Globe, and the Charlotte Observer.

Lewis is thrilled about this new path for her comic strip, and hopes to continue publishing "Reply- All" in as many newspapers as she can. She thanks her family for their continued support of both her comic strip and the important work she does at DHS.

"My father travels a lot - and he kind of boasts to me that he says thank you to every TSA employee at the airport. Honestly, my family is just so proud of the Department." says Lewis, expressing similar sentiments. "I'm the biggest advocate for the Department."

Cross-posted from The Beacon

By: Alejandro Mayorkas, Director - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

On February 15, 2011, in recognition of her life’s work, President Obama awarded Gerda Weissmann Klein the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in a White House ceremony.

Several weeks ago, on January 20, it was my distinct honor to meet Ms. Weissmann Klein and recognize her as an Outstanding American by Choice in a special naturalization ceremony at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Outstanding American by Choice recognition is presented to naturalized U.S. citizens who have demonstrated their commitment to this country through civic participation, professional achievement, and responsible citizenship and commitment to the shared ideals that unite us as Americans.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas presents Gerda Weissmann Klein the Outstanding American by Choice (ABC) recognition. Photo by: USCIS

Gerda Weissmann Klein is just such an individual. She is a humanitarian, author, human rights activist, Holocaust survivor, and proud naturalized citizen.

Gerda Weissmann Klein endured concentration camps and a 350-mile death march in her native Poland to survive the World War II homeless, without family or friends. But her outlook changed when she married U.S. Army Intelligence officer Kurt Klein, her liberator, and immigrated to the United States. Since becoming a citizen, she has dedicated her life to delivering a message of hope, inspiration, love, and humanity. The film version of her autobiography, which chronicled her experiences during the war and coming to America, won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Her foundation, the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation, promotes tolerance and community service through education programs and has reached more than 11 million students across the globe.

Gerda Weissmann Klein cherishes her American citizenship and the opportunities this country has given her. In that spirit she founded Citizenship Counts, a nonprofit organization with the mission to educate students on the tenets of citizenship, inspire their pride in being American, and encourage them to participate in their community.

Her inspiring charge to us all is best articulated through her own words:

America is a unique, diverse and wondrous country, comprised both of those who know its magnificence as their birthright, and others, like me, who are privileged to call our adopted country ‘our own.’ What we all share is a desire for our families to enjoy America’s boundless opportunities while extending to all our fellow citizens justice and the blessings and freedoms upon which the nation was founded.

For her efforts to foster tolerance, compassion, and understanding, and to promote an appreciation for the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, it was my privilege to recognize Gerda Weissmann Klein as an Outstanding American by Choice.

We at USCIS congratulate Gerda Weissman Klein for her remarkable lifelong achievements to community and country.

Ms. Weissmann Klein speaks about her work at the Outstanding American by Choice ceremony at the Mall of America Photo by: USCIS

The Federal 100 Awards celebrate industry, academia, and government leaders who have made significant contributions to how Information Technology (IT) is managed and used in the federal workplace. The annual black-tie affair pays tribute to hard working IT professionals who are helping to lay the foundation for our nation's progress and prosperity.

This year, several DHS employees were honored with Federal 100 awards, which are presented annually by Federal Computer Week and the 1105 Government Information Group. The winners were chosen by a panel of government and industry leaders, and include 23 people from the IT industry, two from state and local government, and 75 from the federal government.

DHS' strong showing among the winners exemplifies our ongoing commitment to excellence in the federal web workplace.

Congratulations to the following members of the DHS team:

• Jane Holl Lute, Deputy Secretary, DHS

• Richard Spires, Chief Information Officer, DHS

• Charles Armstrong, Chief Information Officer, Customs and Border Protection

• Michael Erik Garcia, Cybersecurity Strategist – National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD)

• George Bressler, Border patrol Agent, Customs and Border Protection

• Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, DHS

• Séan McGurk , Director, National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, NPPD

• Matt Coose, Director, Federal Network Security, NPPD

In celebration of African American History Month this February, I thought it would be most appropriate to look back and remember African Americans who have led the way in making American fire service history:

1. The oldest documents identifying government sanctioned African American firefighters were found in New Orleans, Louisiana. A devastating fire in July 1817 led the governing body to organize its people to avoid another conflagration. All draymen and their equipment as well as individual free men of color and slaves were recruited.
2. The first woman firefighter was an African American. Molly Williams worked along side the men of the Oceanus Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 of New York City in 1818.
3. Patrick H. Raymond was appointed on January 5, 1871 as the first African American Fire Chief in the United States (Cambridge, MA).
4. The International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters was organized in Hartford, CT in 1970.
5. Robert O. Lowery was the first African American Fire Commissioner of a major U.S. city. He was the Fire Department of New York's 21st Fire Commissioner, serving from January 1, 1966 until September 29, 1973.
6. Toni McIntosh of the Pittsburgh (PA) Bureau of Fire was the first African-American woman to become a career firefighter in June of 1976.
7. Cecelia O. Salters (now Cecelia Owens-Cox) was the first woman to be assigned to a New York City truck company in 1984.
8. Black Women in the Fire Service was established as a subcommittee of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters in 1988 to address rising issues related to African American firefighters. The organization became a stand-alone committee in 1996.
9. The first African American United States Fire Administrator, Carrye B. Brown, was appointed in 1994.
10. The first African American woman appointed as Fire Chief for a career fire department was Chief Rosemary Cloud with the East Point (GA) Fire Department in 2002.
11. The second African American United States Fire Administrator, Kelvin J. Cochran, was appointed in 2009.

It is important for the American Fire Service to recognize the accomplishments of these pioneering individuals. I encourage you to visit the African American Fire Fighting Museum's website for more information on the struggles and accomplishments of African American firefighters, and the links below for multicultural and diversity strategies for the Fire Service.

Acting U.S. Fire Administrator Glenn Gaines

About USFA: As an entity of the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, the mission of the USFA is to provide national leadership to foster a solid foundation for our fire and emergency services stakeholders in prevention, preparedness, and response.

This weekend individuals, friends, and families across the country and around the world gather to embark on a treasured, yet unofficial holiday of sorts...

Super Bowl Sunday - the culmination of the NFL season, the day when serious and casual fans alike come together to enjoy the excitement of the biggest sporting event of the year.

Most Americans will watch the game close to home, enjoying lively banter about whether the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers can claim a better defense, or which ad can deliver a better punchline. Others, especially in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area where this year's game will be played at Cowboys Stadium, will be caught up in a rush of crowds and activity that both adds to the frenzy and presents opportunities for helping to ensure the security of fans, players and employees by identifying and reporting suspicious activity.

That's why DHS has partnered with the NFL to bring our "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign to Super Bowl XLV. Each citizen has a role to play in identifying and reporting suspicious activities and threats - and this year, the campaign will be a driving force in helping those attending the game or watching from nearby to participate in the shared responsibility of keeping the area safe and secure.

The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign has been running print advertisements in and around the Dallas area, reminding citizens to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.  "If You See Something, Say Something™" will be prominently displayed on press credentials, souvenir prints, stadium TV monitors, game day maps, and even on the famed octagonal ‘jumbotron’ at Cowboys Stadium - the biggest in the world - making this reminder of our shared commitment to hometown security impossible to miss.

Secretary Napolitano joined NFL Vice President for Security Milt Ahlerich and Arlington, Texas, Chief of Police Theron Bowman on Monday to launch the partnership. Since DHS is also working with federal, state, local and private sector partners to support security efforts at the Super Bowl through additional personnel, technology and resources, Secretary Napolitano took some time to tour the stadium and meet with state and local law enforcement leaders in the areas as well working to protect the throngs of football enthusiasts in the area this weekend.

The “If You See Something, Say Something™” message was also incorporated into a training video for NFL employees, which ensures that both employees and fans alike have the tools they need to identify and report suspicious activities and threats. 

"Security is a shared responsibility and each citizen has a role to play in identifying and reporting suspicious activities and threats," said Secretary Napolitano at a press conference earlier this week. "Our partnership with the NFL and local law enforcement to bring the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign to Super Bowl XLV is a critical part of our efforts to ensure the safety of every player, employee and fan in the area for the game."

So whether your wardrobe on Sunday will consist of black and yellow from head to toe, or a stylish cheesehead chapeau, remember that DHS and the "If You See Something, Say Something ™” campaign are hard at work ensuring that Super Bowl XLV remains a fun, enjoyable, and safe environment for everyone involved.

“If You See Something, Say Something ™” used with permission of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority

News headlines from across the country tell us that there are people actively plotting and attempting to harm our citizens.  The most serious attempts recently have included an attempt on Times Square, a plot to bomb the New York subway system, and a plot to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, OR. This threat environment highlights the necessity for our front line and first responders to not only be prepared, but to also be aware of some of the potential indicators of terrorist activity so that future attempts may also be thwarted. 

To help federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies better share this information, the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) has taken the processes that law enforcement agencies have used for years, and established a unified, standards based approach for all levels of government to gather, document, process, analyze, and share information about behavior-based suspicious activities that potentially have a nexus to terrorism while rigorously protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of all Americans.

On December 17, 2009—continuing in the leadership role it has had since 2007—the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was tasked with establishing and operating an interagency Program Management Office (PMO) for the NSI, which was stood up in March 2010 within the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.  Thomas J. O’Reilly from the Bureau of Justice Assistance was appointed Director of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative PMO in February 2010, and is supported in his efforts by a team of directors and advisors appointed from various leadership positions across DHS, DOJ, and the FBI.

Secretary Napolitano has made participation in the NSI a key priority for DHS, expecting all components of the Department to be engaged.  To coordinate this effort within the Department, a DHS SAR Initiative Management Group (DSI MG) has been established, which brings together experts from across the Department, including the Office of Privacy, Office of Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Chief Information Officer, and other relevant DHS offices. These Offices will coordinate on key policies and activities related to the implementation of the DHS SAR Initiative in close collaboration and partnership with the NSI PMO. Together, our efforts will help ready our first responders to be prepared for future attempted attacks, and make them better equipped to protect the American public.

Desde el primer día, este gobierno ha operado conforme a la premisa de que la seguridad es una responsabilidad compartida. Independientemente de quiénes somos –estudiantes, pequeños empresarios, socorristas, miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas o civiles– todos desempeñamos una función.

Esto implica confianza en el pueblo estadounidense, como también la noción de que la franqueza y la conciencia generalizada de las amenazas que todos enfrentamos, además de medidas concretas que pueden tomar las personas, familias, comunidades, empresas y gobiernos a fin de prepararse para emergencias y catástrofes, producen un nivel mucho más alto de seguridad de lo que el gobierno federal puede proporcionar si actúa solo.

Hoy anuncié el fin del antiguo sistema de alarmas codificadas por colores, debido a la confianza que tenemos en los estadounidenses que comparten la responsabilidad por nuestra seguridad colectiva. En su lugar, implementaremos un nuevo sistema que se basa en una premisa clara y simple: cuando surja una amenaza que podría afectarlos a ustedes, los miembros del público, se lo diremos. Les proporcionaremos toda la información posible para que puedan protegerse a sí mismos, su familia y comunidad.

El nuevo sistema, denominado el Sistema Nacional de Avisos sobre Terrorismo (National Terrorism Advisory System), refleja el hecho que siempre debemos estar alerta y listos. Con el nuevo sistema de dos niveles, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (Department of Homeland Security o DHS) coordinará con otras entidades federales para emitir alarmas formales y detalladas con respecto a información sobre una amenaza terrorista específica o verosímil. Estas alarmas incluirán una afirmación clara de que existe una “amenaza inminente” o “amenaza elevada”. Estas alarmas también proporcionarán un resumen conciso de la amenaza potencial, información sobre medidas que se están tomando para garantizar la seguridad pública y los pasos que se recomienda que den las personas y comunidades, empresas y gobiernos.

Cuando tengamos información sobre una amenaza específica y verosímil, emitiremos una alerta formal proporcionando la mayor información posible. Según el tipo de amenaza, es posible que se envíe la alarma a un público limitado y específico como agencias de la ley o un segmento del sector privado, como centros comerciales y hoteles.

Las alarmas se enfocarán más en un sistema de dos niveles: amenaza “inminente” o “elevada”. Como mínimo, las alarmas incluirán una afirmación sobre si existe una amenaza inminente o elevada.
También es posible que se emita la alarma más extensamente al pueblo estadounidense para distribuirse —por medio de declaraciones del DHS— a la prensa, como también nuestro sitio de Internet y medios sociales como Facebook, Twitter y nuestro blog.

Ya que un cambio de esta trascendencia no puede realizarse de la noche a la mañana, hoy estamos iniciando el periodo de implementación de 90 días en el que los gobiernos a nivel federal, estatal y local, agencias de la ley, socios en el sector privado y sin fines de lucro, aeropuertos y otros centros de transporte realizarán la transición al nuevo sistema. Nos hemos comprometido a asegurarnos de lanzar el NTAS de la manera correcta, para que pueda ser el sistema más eficaz posible para beneficio no solo del público sino también de todos nuestros socios. Durante el periodo de implementación, se seguirá utilizando el antiguo sistema.

Las alarmas serán específicas a la amenaza. Es posible que recomienden ciertas medidas o sugieran estar atentos a ciertos tipos de conducta sospechosa. Además, las alarmas tendrán una fecha específica de vencimiento, la cual se extenderá solamente si surgen datos nuevos o si la amenaza evoluciona.

Esto significa que pronto llegarán a su fin las grabaciones automatizadas en los aeropuertos sobre un nivel codificado por colores que a menudo venía acompañado por poca información práctica. El nuevo sistema se basará en la noción de sentido común que todos estamos en esto juntos y tenemos una función que desempeñar.

El NTAS se desarrolló con el mismo espíritu de colaboración: en gran medida, fue la labor de un grupo de trabajo bipartidista que incluyó a agentes de la ley, ex alcaldes y gobernadores, y miembros del gobierno previo.

Estamos conscientes de que no podemos lograr 100 por ciento de protección contra el terrorismo 100 por ciento del tiempo, pero al darle la posibilidad al pueblo estadounidense de compartir la responsabilidad de proteger a nuestras comunidades y al trabajar con socios en todo el país, podemos continuar haciendo todo lo posible para mantener seguros a nuestros conciudadanos y comunidades, y así lo haremos.

Secretaria Janet Napolitano