Colleagues,
On Saturday I joined many others in New York City to attend the memorial service honoring the lives lost as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was both heartbreaking and inspiring to hear family members pay tribute to the loved ones they, and all of us, lost. It was heartbreaking because of the depth of sorrow that remains to this day and will be everlasting. It was inspiring because the resilience of the human spirit, and of the American spirit, was pronounced with enduring strength and much-needed unity throughout the day, and clearly it will be so into the future.
After the memorial service, I visited with a group of officers from the New York City Police Department. They gave me an American flag that was flown over the 9/11 Memorial earlier in the morning. I have directed that the American flag be transported to our locations throughout the country and around the world over the coming days and weeks, so that each of us can raise it with ceremony and fly it overhead. It will be flown today at our headquarters in Washington, D.C. This flag belongs to our Department and it is because of you and many other heroes that it will fly forever.
Thank you for everything you do for our country.
Alejandro N. Mayorkas
Secretary of Homeland Security
With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.
