Michelle Obama Visits Homeland Security

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Secretary Discusses Southwest Border Security Efforts

April 3, 2009 (Laredo, Texas) - Secretary Napolitano, flanked by Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, discusses Southwest Border security efforts at a press conference detailing the deployment of a variety of Department personnel and technology to the Southwest border in response to escalated violence in Mexico.

Napolitano Monitors Flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota

March 27, 2009 – Thomas Muir briefs Secretary Napolitano about the flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota at the National Operations Center. (DHS Photo/Bahler)

Transfer of Authority Ceremony

March 23, 2009 - The Coast Guard Service Secretary Transfer of Authority officially recognized the transfer of authority as service secretary of the Coast Guard from former Secretary Michael Chertoff to Secretary Janet Napolitano. Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen spoke at the ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Secretary Napolitano's Trip to Germany

March 14, 2009 - For her first trip abroad, Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to Germany to participate in the G6 Summit. She met with German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. (Photo /© Federal Ministry of the Interior/Hans-Joachim M. Rickel)

Stimulating the Economy

As you may know, the President recently launched a new website – Recovery.gov – that allows the public to track how our taxpayer dollars are being spent under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus).

Recovery.gov reflects the President’s commitment to bring a new level of transparency and openness to government as we work to strengthen our economy. That is a commitment I share for our Department – and the reason we’ve created www.dhs.gov/recovery.

The stimulus provides more than $3 billion in new homeland security funding. This funding will be used to improve security at our borders, rebuild our Coast Guard fleet, expand technology, strengthen rail and transit security, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. It will also create thousands of new jobs.

Let me give you a concrete example:

On Thursday, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it will be using $1 billion in stimulus funds to deploy checked baggage and checkpoint explosive detection systems at airports across the country.

This technology will enhance our ability to screen passengers and their bags for bombs and IEDs – including liquid explosives – while improving security and convenience. At the same time, it will create more than 3,000 new jobs associated with the construction and deployment of these systems.

This is precisely the purpose of the stimulus – to protect the country, stimulate the economy, and keep people working.

More projects are in the pipeline and will be coming soon. I invite you to keep track of our progress at www.dhs.gov/recovery.

Janet Napolitano

Secretary Napolitano's New York Visit

February 18, 2009 – Secretary Napolitano and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen listen to Coast Guard Station New York Petty Officer 2nd Class Donald Robinson talk about driving the Coast Guard's new 45-foot Medium Response Boat in New York Harbor. U.S. Coast Guard photo/Berlin)

February 18, 2009 – Secretary Napolitano congratulates recipients of Coast Guard public service awards at a ceremony honoring first responders during the US Airways Flight 1549 crash in the Hudson River. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Johnson)

February 18, 2009 – New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly discusses the city's public transportation with Secretary Napolitano at NYPD Headquarters. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Berlin)

Secretary Continues Her Tour of Components

February 6, 2009 – Secretary Napolitano visits U.S. Customs & Border Protection headquarters and meets with CBP employees.

February 5, 2009 – U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan (front) and Special Agent Gregory Tate (rear) brief Secretary Napolitano on the presidential limousine, nicknamed "The Beast."

Secretary Napolitano Meets with FEMA Staff

February 3, 2009 – Secretary Napolitano visits U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters and meets with FEMA employees.

First Week

Thank you for your comments to my first post. I appreciate the encouraging words of welcome.

As expected, my first full week has been busy.

I’ve continued to meet with directors of all seven of the Department’s operating components, visit their headquarters locations, and receive briefings on their activities.

I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen so far – the caliber of the people who work at this Department, their professionalism, and their commitment to our mission.

As Secretary, I want to ensure that our Department continues to uphold the highest ethical standards. For this reason, I’ve ordered that every incoming DHS employee receive ethics training.

This week, I also sent recommendations to President Obama regarding the winter storms that impacted most of our nation’s Midwest and Northeast. He acted on those recommendations, issuing emergency declarations for Arkansas and Kentucky. This will ensure that federal aid flows to these areas. FEMA has been deeply engaged in this process. It began mobilizing assets and resources well ahead of the storm to ensure timely aid and assistance.

Of course, I’ve been intently focused on preparations for Super Bowl 43, and not just because my home team is in the game.

I spoke directly with our head of security in Tampa and received briefings on the Department’s activities related to the Super Bowl, which are extensive.

Finally, I’ve continued to issue action directives to assess the Department's critical functions and set priorities. We rolled out the final action directive today on immigration – to assess our progress to secure the border, remove criminal aliens from the United States, and improve our legal immigration procedures.

I’m eager to get the results of these assessments in the coming days and weeks, and I look forward to sharing these results with you.

Secretary Napolitano

Getting to Work

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the DHS Leadership Journal, our online forum for discussing issues and challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security as we work to keep our nation safe. I plan to be a regular contributor along with other senior leadership across the Department.

First, I’d like to recognize Secretary Chertoff and his team for the work they have done to ensure a smooth transition. I am honored to join Homeland Security and continue the important work begun by my predecessors to protect our borders, safeguard our infrastructure, and improve our nation’s abilities to prevent, respond to, and recover from natural and manmade hazards.

One of my first priorities as Secretary will be to meet with as many of the Department’s leaders and employees as possible. This past week, I met with leadership from each DHS component and will be visiting each of our headquarters in the coming days. On Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit with many of the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and received an in-depth briefing from Admiral Allen about major issues facing this agency. I look forward to similar visits to other components this week including TSA, ICE and USCIS.

I also initiated a process to assess and solicit employee input about the Department’s performance across what I see as its five core mission areas: protection, preparedness, response, recovery, and immigration. These “Action Directives” will measure the Department’s effectiveness at meeting its critical functions, from protecting our transportation systems and critical infrastructure to distributing homeland security grants, assessing risk, and sharing intelligence with our state, local, and tribal partners.

Our goal is to identify those areas that require immediate attention, develop strategies to address short-term needs and long-term goals, and provide clear, consistent direction on how we can more fully unify the Department. DHS has come a long way in its short history. Through these Action Directives, we can continue to focus on growth, integration and greater efficiencies.

There is no more important function of government than the protection of its people. Over the past few days, I’ve seen the dedication of the men and women in this Department in action. In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to meet this challenge head-on, with the sense of urgency and purpose our citizens expect and our nation’s security requires. It is time to get to work.

Janet Napolitano

Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security