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  6. Morning Roundup - January 26th

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In an effort to keep DHS.gov current, the archive contains outdated information that may not reflect current policy or programs.

Morning Roundup - January 26th

From USA Today, on evolving threats to our national security:

Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She was the governor
of Arizona from 2003 to 2009, Arizona's attorney general from 1999 to 2002, and
the U.S. attorney in Arizona from 1993 to 1998.

"One area we are now seeing more of is the whole cyber issue. We saw that with China and Google (which said its computers were hacked in China). We're seeing increasing attempts to use the Internet not only to connect different people as a facilitator of terrorist groups but also as a possible means of attack...

"It can be a denial of service attack, which really shuts down your access not only to the Internet, but in some circumstances, to services that are operated through the Internet, like communications. It can be fraud or misinformation. It can be the theft of valuable defense information or of intellectual property."

Q: Will terrorists still be focused on aviation in 2020?

A: "It's hard to predict that far out. But what we are assuming is that aviation could be (their focus), which is why we're continuing to work on the technology that is used at airports...We also are working across the international air environment because this is an international issue. We need to lift aviation standards around the world."

What are the challenges of doing
that?

"It's a challenge of capacity. In some places, it's a challenge of
political will. In some places, it's a challenge of resources."

Q: By 2020, will we see a body scanner at every airport checkpoint?

A: "I don't know about at every checkpoint. But I think what we'll see is a rapid deployment of body scanners, and rapid improvement of technology. We'll also see improvements in explosive detection (that will increase) our ability to pick up traces on persons and on baggage and on cargo, but particularly on persons."


From the Arizona Republic, on changes to the immigrant detention system:

The head of U.S. immigration enforcement on Monday announced plans for an overhaul of the government's controversial detention system for people who face deportation.

The moves described by John T. Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, address oversight, medical care and tracking of detainees at facilities in Arizona and across the country.

Plans include:

. Hiring 50 federal employees to oversee the largest detention facilities, which now are largely run by contractors without much government oversight, Morton said.
. Assigning regional case managers to keep tabs on detainees with significant medical problems to ensure they are getting proper care. Detainees with major problems will be housed in facilities near hospitals and medical centers, Morton said.
. In June, launching an online immigrant-detainee locator so family members can easily find their relatives when they are in custody awaiting possible deportation.

"You can look up their name and find out where they are and what the visiting hours are at that detention facility," Morton said, during a speech at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.


From the Houston Chronicle, on the clean up effort in response to the Port Arthur oil spill:

As cleanup efforts of Texas' worst oil spill in more than a decade took shape Sunday, Coast Guard officials began examining radio transmissions to find out what went wrong in the moments before an 800-foot tanker collided with a barge carrying chemicals off Port Arthur.

Saturday morning's collision ripped a 15-by-8-foot hole in the hull of the Eagle Otome, which was loaded with Mexican crude oil intended for a Beaumont Exxon refinery. The crash dumped 462,000 gallons of oil into the intracoastal waterway in what Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said was the biggest Texas oil spill since 1994.

The slick spanned a stretch of seven or eight miles of waterway, threatening marshlands that serve as nurseries for juvenile shrimp and fish.

An army of 500 people manned the cleanup effort Sunday from helicopters, skimmers, boom vessels and several other Coast Guard boats. By the evening, cleanup crews had skimmed away 1,100 barrels of the 11,000 barrels spilled.


Leadership Events
Secretary Napolitano will brief media and provide updates about her recent trip to Spain and Switzerland to discuss strengthening the security of the international aviation system with her European counterparts and global airline industry leaders
DHS Headquarters, Building 21
Nebraska Avenue Complex
3801 Massachusetts Ave NW

Public Events
11 AM PST
ICE Acting Los Angeles Deputy Special Agent in Charge Jorge Guzman will participate in a media availability hosted by the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)
Los Angeles, Calif.
Last Updated: 09/20/2018
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