Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says Friday during an address to the Center for American Progress that there is enough U.S. jobs to incorporate both skilled Americans and foreigners (0:39)
By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stepped up her call for immigration reform Friday, saying that while Congress has lagged on the issue, comprehensive reform is more realistic and necessary than ever before.
“Everybody recognizes that our current system isn’t working and that our immigration laws need to change,” Napolitano said in a morning address at the Center for American Progress.
Napolitano said the Obama administration will give a strong push for immigration reform in early 2010, noting that the immigration debate has changed since two years ago when it was last taken up by Congress.
“In 2007, many members of Congress said that they could support immigration reform in the future, but only if we first made significant progress securing the border,” Napolitano said.
Napolitano said DHS has proved their commitment to border law enforcement as the U.S. Border Patrol has grown to 20,000 and erected a 600 mile border fence, adding that the number of illegal immigrants trying to enter into the United States has significantly decreased.
“I’ve been dealing hands-on with immigration issues since 1993, so trust me: I know a major shift when I see one, and what I have seen makes reform far more attainable this time around,” stated Napolitano, who served as Governor of Arizona, a border state, from 2003-2009.
She specified that Immigration reform would not serve as a free path to legalization for the 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. Rather, reform would require illegal immigrants to register with DHS and pay fines and back taxes, pass criminal background checks and learn English.
“This is a task that is critical, it’s attainable and that we are fully committed to fulfill,” Napolitano said.
By Marianna Levyash- Talk Radio News Service
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano opened the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) in Arlington, Virginia Friday, with the aim of providing a 24-hour, 365-day watch over the U.S. cyber infrastructure.
“It will help us move foward into a unified center,” said Napolitano during the opening ceremony.
The center was established so that several cyber-security organizations, such as the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC), the DHS Office Of Intelligence and Analysis and select private sector groups, could work together to respond to foreign and domestic on-line threats.
The facility reflects Napolitano and President Barack Obama’s desire to boost information sharing in order to supervise the nation’s networks.
“Obama understands where we are,” said Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.). “We are being attacked everyday.”
By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Former Homeland Security Adviser Frances F. Townsend called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Monday to focus on information sharing among local governments and other government entities, warning that a failure to do so could impede the Department’s ability to prevent future terrorist attacks.
“If we do not get information sharing right, when there is another attack … there will be a problem with information sharing,” Townsend said during a presentation at the Heritage Foundation.
Townsend said the issue of information sharing often falls down the list of priorities for the current administration, but could be vital in the prevention and response to terrorism.
“This is not a sexy issue but it is one that will absolutely be our downfall in terms of stopping an attack,” she explained.
The DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis outlined their key intelligence initiatives and reforms in a hearing before the house subcommittee on intelligence late last week. One priority mentioned included improved coordination and information sharing.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the fundamental goal for protection is to better information sharing so that it occurs in a regular and timely manner.
“The key for protecting the homeland from attack is disseminating useable intelligence and information to our state, local, tribal and private sector partners, getting similar intelligence and information back from those partners for analytic work by Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the national Intelligence Community, and ensuring this two-way exchange happens on a real-time basis,” Napolitano said.
Townsend said drastic circumstances should not be necessary before this issue gets the attention it deserves.
“I think people sorely underestimate the consequences of a large scale cyber attack,” Townsend said. “There will be a cyber 9/11 and regretfully I think that is what it will take before people pay attention to these security issues.”
Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills announced a guide to prepare small businesses to plan for possible H1N1 outbreaks this fall.
“Small businesses employ half of the nation’s work force, and they are the supply chain for many critical industries,” Napolitano said Monday during a conference call with reporters.
The preparedness guide encourages small businesses to identify a work place coordinator for H1N1, examine policies for teleworking and medical leave, identify essential employees and business functions and prepare a business continuity plan.
Mills said having a plan to prevent H1N1 outbreaks in the workplace is a necessity, especially in a small business setting.
“If one or two employees are out even for a few days, it is a health concern and a bottom-line concern,” she said.
Daniel Jernigan, Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Influenza Division, said integrating these practices into the workplace may take major adjustments such as people evaluating and changing their medical leave policies and developing the ability for employees to work from home.
Outbreaks of H1N1 have been occurring since early this Spring and will likely become more common during the regular flu season. The preparedness guide allows for small businesses to prepare for various levels of H1N1 severity.
“We need to be prepared for many possibilities…we need to put this high on the agenda because it is good for employees, good for customers and … it is good for business owners,” Mills said.
Janet A. Napolitano, United States Secretary of Homeland Security addressed a packed crowd at the Council on Foreign Relations this morning in New York. Her speech entitled: Common Threat, Collective Response: Protecting Against Terrorist Attacks in a Networked World, underscored that America is still vulnerable and we must continue to “comprehend and anticipate the range of new threats, including nuclear, chemical and biological.” She highlighted the greater use by insurgent groups around the world of these types of deadly weapons.
Napolitano also said under the Obama Administration, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) also prioritizes protecting the borders from immigration which she stated may also include terrorists trying to get into the country.
“We have to develop a global environment for security. We have to engage the American people in our collective efforts. ”
She underlined getting greater support from American citizens and to promote airline passenger vigilance aids in building a “culture of preparedness”. Napolitano said that 85 percent of our critical assets are owned by the private sector–and their knowledge of technical assistance can greatly help secure infrastructure. She said better training of local law enforcement is a major part of her workplan in the coming months –stating local law enforcement could work together to analyze and provide intelligence. She also cited the importance in maintaining international partners to broker agreements with allies on monitoring baggage and cargo and to forge agreements to combat serious crime in partnership with the Department of Justice.
“We are a nation of families. Think of us as a hub. We have to strengthen our own networks and build on our international partnerships” she said.
In a hearing to discuss reforming the REAL ID Act of 2009, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says that the PASS ID Act “just makes sense,” and will fix the flaws of the REAL ID. (0:21)
Annie Berman – Talk Radio News Service
The REAL ID Act of 2005 (REAL ID), which imposes certain security standards for the issuance of state drivers licenses and identification, calls for compliance requirements that are not realistic and must be reformed, says Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.
As of yesterday, thirteen states have chosen not to comply with the standards of REAL ID because of budget costs and privacy concerns.
Almost every witness who testified at a hearing Wednesday morning suggested that passing the Providing for Additional Security in States Identification Act of 2009 (PASS ID) would be the best way to solve the problems of REAL ID.
“This is an important piece of national security legislation that is designed to help fill the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government set security standards for driver’s licenses,” Napolitano said about the PASS ID.
Just like the REAL ID Act, PASS ID would shift the authority of the states over identification to the federal level. PASS ID would allow for a more cost effective, secure plan towards creating a federal identification system for Americans.
“Privacy is a key driver in states that said ‘no’,” said David Quam, Director of Federal Relations for the National Governors Association.
Inadequate funding seems to be the largest problem with REAL ID. PASS ID would eliminate the development of costly data systems included in the REAL ID program that do not increase security. Instead, states would use existing database systems to verify social security numbers and immigration statuses of anyone whose identity is in question.
“The objectives of REAL ID are laudable but the law represents an unworkable and unfunded mandate that fails to make us more secure,” said Governor Jim Douglas (R-VT).
Douglas also testified that states are having trouble complying with all of the requirements of REAL ID due to the recession.
The REAL ID Act was originally created to counteract terrorists that try to obtain fraudulent identification, just as like the terrorists of September 11, 2001.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) checks in live from the Arizona-Mexico border where he says DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano should understand the issue of illegal immigration, having been Governor of a border state. However, says King, Napolitano has her hands tied in terms of enforcing immigration laws because her boss, President Obama, doesn’t support cracking down on illegals. (:28)
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) checks in live from the Arizona-Mexico border where he says Janet Napolitano’s recent condemnations of work-site immigration raids demonstrates that the DHS is going the wrong way when it comes to enforcing this nation’s immigration laws. (:28)
