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Ladies and gentlemen would you please
welcome Steven Knapp the sixteenth

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president of the George
Washington University.

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Good morning. Welcome to George Washington

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University. It's an honor to host the
Secretary of Homeland Security retired

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Marine Corps Gen. John F Kelly to our
campus. We're looking forward to

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hearing his strategic vision for the
Department of Homeland Security. This

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will be the first address of its kind
that Secretary Kelly will have given since

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his swearing-in on January 20. We are
honored he chose George Washington as

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the venue for this major speech. We are
frequently ranked as the most

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politically engaged student body in the
nation. What that means is, our

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students are actively involved in
dialogue about the issues of the day

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all across the political spectrum and I
am glad there are a number of students

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able to be here today. We talk about
giving our students a front row

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seat to the

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theater history and this is a very good
example of what that means. We also are

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glad to say that we have been
supporting veterans very actively

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in the yellow-ribbon program for a
number of years now since that program

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was first initiated. Currently, we have
1,800 veterans and their dependents being

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educated here, specifically on the
topic of today's conversation. I also want

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to talk about our long-term involvement
in Homeland Security issues. First of all

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all let me say, all four of Secretary
Kelly's predecessors have visited our

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campus as he is doing today. The
speeches from distinguished public

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servants like Secretary Kelly, really,
I think, highlight the work that we do

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in this field. Faculty at George
Washington have been working in the

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field since before September 11 attacks
in 2001. We have unique efforts in

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homeland, cyber and counterterrorism
that put George Washington and

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spotlight in this field. Key leaders of
those efforts are with us today and, in

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particular, I want to mention Frank
Cilluffo the Director of George

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Washington's Center for Cyber and
Homeland Security. And I now like

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to invite

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Frank Cilluffo to the stage to
introduce Secretary Kelly. Thanks again

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for being here and please enjoy and I
know you will benefit from today's

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presentation. Thank you.

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[Applause]

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Thank you Dr. Knapp. Before I introduce

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Secretary Kelly let me thank Steve
Knapp for his 10 years as president of

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George Washington University. He has
led it ably and has been an incredible

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proponent of research academia and also
the marriage between policy and

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research in academia. Thank you, Dr.
Knapp. He will be stepping down at the

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end of July. It is a distinct privilege
to be able to host General Kelly today.

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I see so many leaders in the homeland
security space in the audience here and

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as President Knapp had mentioned we have
the opportunity to host all of his

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predecessors, but in this case we have
the first secretary with operational

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experience. All I have to say is he's a
marine, right? What else do you need?

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He served ably in our armed services
for 40+ years. He started, he joined

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enlisted in 1970, went

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back to get his degree and then came
back to the Marines as an officer. He

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has moved up in ranks and served in so
many various leadership roles both in

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command roles and staff roles, as well
as education roles since we are here

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at George Washington University.
Really excited to

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hear from General Kelly. He is a
patriot's fan, I won't hold that against

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him, and a Red Sox fan. Thrilled to be
able to have General Kelly join us

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today, thrilled to have the opportunity
to be able to hear more in terms of the

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strategic vision of the department and
the priorities he is setting forth for

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the men and women who are charged with
the awesome responsibilities of

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protecting our homeland day in, day
out. I think it's important to

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recognize and provide some context, and
ultimately we are a university, but we

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want to make sure we are empowering and
arming our men and women with knowledge

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to fulfill their objectives. It really
is a privilege to have the opportunity to

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host General Kelly

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today and he is the fifth secretary at
the Department of Homeland Security. He

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oversees a workforce of 200,000 plus
people and has done so ably. He is here

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to discuss not only priorities to the
homeland, but also to recognize that

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homeland security starts overseas and I
might note we have a number of

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executives, including ambassadors. I
see the Estonian ambassador,

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my friend up front, I see

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Japanese executives, Belgian
ambassadors and many others to be able

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to join us today. Secretary Kelly the
floors is yours, I look forward to

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hearing your comments and then engaging
in a Q and A. Thank you.

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[Applause]

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Well, thanks

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very much Frank and President Knapp
thanks for your kind words, as well,

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and to GW for hosting this event today.
When I retired from the Marine Corps 45

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years or more ago, my biggest fear,
frankly, at the time was to be offered

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another full-time job, particularly in
the government. I certainly didn't want

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to go up and down the Beltway every day
like I did so many other times on

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various tours. I didn't like the
bureaucracy, but here I am today. But

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when I make my way up 95 every day, the
first thing I do is read the clips that

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are taken out of various publications
around the country. I read about,

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frankly, what I do, what I have done,
what I have said and I most importantly

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read about my people. It is one of the
first things I do every day. And the

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other one is to read the daily
intelligence briefing. One is, I say, I

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read about the people, my institution
and about me occasionally, but more

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importantly, I read in the Intel what
we are actually accomplishing in the

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course of a day. There is a big gap
between the two. That is to say what is

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reported in the press, in the media and I
mean no disrespect, and what we actually

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do. So, I am here to try to set that
straight a little bit here this

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morning. I will start with something
that does not make headlines, but

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should. I could not be prouder to serve
alongside the men and women of Homeland

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Security. We as a nation owe them a
gift, a debt of gratitude for taking on

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some of the toughest and most important
jobs in our country. When you are

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having your morning coffee, the Coast
Guard is typically pulling a fisherman

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out of his boat capsized in pretty heavy
seas. When you are deciding what you

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want for lunch, the federal law
enforcement training center in our Deep

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South is teaching law enforcement officers
how to respond to an active shooter. While

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you are scrolling through Facebook, our
Science and Technology Directorate is

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helping local bomb squads defeat IEDs.
While you are zoning out on your

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commute home, homeland security
professionals and investigators are

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closing in on a dangerous child
predator. While you are binge watching

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Mad Men on Netflix, TSA is stopping an
actual madman with a loaded gun from

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boarding a flight to Disney World.
While some members of Congress, our

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state and local politicians, and
members of advocacy groups, read or

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listen to partial and often times
inaccurate media reporting on some

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alleged incident at an airport in a
courthouse or a border crossing and

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assume the men and women of DHS are
intentionally abusing innocent

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individuals, while they break or ignore
that is to say while my people are

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breaking and ignoring US law. They make
the assumption that my people are doing

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it wrong as opposed to making the
assumption that my people are doing it

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right working within the law based on
their training and just who they are as

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Americans. That's the ordinary day and
one that simply does not make the

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paper. Every day, in a million ways,
DHS employees are making our country

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more secure. They are standing guard
against all the hazards we face as a

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nation. They are enforcing the laws the
Congress has passed because we are

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lucky enough to live in a nation of
laws. We do our jobs so you and your

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families can live a peaceful life, safe
life in a free country. Make no

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mistake, we are in fact a nation under
attack. We are under attack from

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criminals who think their greed
justifies raping young girls at

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knifepoint, dealing poison to our
youth, or just killing some of us for

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fun. We are under attack from people
who hate us, hate our freedoms, hate

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our laws, hate our values, hate the way
we simply live our lives. We are under

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attack from failed states,
cyber-terrorists, vicious smugglers and

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sadistic radicals. And we are under
attack every single day. The threats

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against us are relentless. When people
think about DHS, they think about how

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we respond to terrorism and that is
fair. This is our foundation, given our

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origin story, and critical to what we
do. But our jobs are to secure the

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nation from the many threats we
face, from all hazards, but one of the

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greatest hazards is from transnational
criminal organizations. Like terrorists,

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TCOs inflict unthinkable brutality, and
regularly behead their victims. They

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intimidate, kidnap and torture those
who try to bring law and order. They

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buy, sell and exploit desperate people
for their own sick purposes. They

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destroy their own communities and bring
great shame on their countries of

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origin. They are utterly without laws,
conscience, or respect for human life.

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They take the form of drug cartels or
international gangs like MS-13, who

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share their business dealings and
violent practices. Their sophisticated

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networks move anything and everything
across our borders, including human

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beings. We have set out to stop that
movement. To the greatest degree that

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we can. Human smugglers take thousands
of dollars from truly desperate

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people, people overwhelmingly trying to
ecape a lack of economic opportunity and in

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many cases rates of violence in
their home country and then send them

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on a course north on a network that rivals
Dante’s journey into hell. Along the way, these

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desperate people are often beaten, raped,
starved, robbed of whatever possession they

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have carried with them. The smugglers make
few guarantees and they offer no refunds.

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Special interest aliens. Not every
person moving along these networks is

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an economic refugee or trying to escape
poverty. We face real threats from

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so-called special interest aliens that
move at great expense from vast

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distances from outside the Western
Hemisphere along the network into the

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United States. The special interest as
they are from parts of the world where

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terrorism is prevalent or nations that
are hostile to the United States. These

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individuals pay TCO's, transnational
criminal organizations, huge sums of

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money to transport them, for example,
to the Middle East or Asia. Through

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South and Central America into the
United States. We don't get to vet

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them, there is a critical point. We
don't know their intention. We don't

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know why they are here. And why they
are coming. They slip into our country

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unnoticed living among us we are
completely blind as to what they are

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capable of. The damage TCO's do in
violence and potential terror is only

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part of the story. It is also that they
move vast tonnages of marijuana and

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hard drugs, cocaine, heroin,
counterfeit opiates, fentanyl,

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methamphetamines. They move these vast
tonnages across our borders to feed

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both the recreational and the addictive
U.S. drug demand. U.S. Customs and

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Border Protection, CBP, U.S.
Immigration Customs Enforcement, ICE,

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and ICE's Homeland Security
Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard

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all bear witness to the massive
quantity of drugs that these

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organizations traffic into the United
States every day. With devastating

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consequences. In 2015 which is the most
recent data we have, there were over

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52,000 deaths from these drugs in the
United States caused by these drug

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overdoses. It's the highest number of
drug-related deaths our country's ever

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seen. More deaths than the peak of the
AIDS academic in 1995. It's in a single

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year that we lost nearly as many
Americans to drug overdose as we lost

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an entire World War I. It's almost as
many as we lost in 12 years of fighting

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in Vietnam. That is just overdose
deaths. That number as high as it is

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says nothing about the long-term health
damage to our citizens who survive. To

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say nothing about the human misery, the
families ripped apart and the extremes

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of crime and violence inherent in the
illegal drug enterprise. Let me be

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clear about marijuana. It is a
potentially dangerous gateway drug that

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frequently leads to the use of harder
drugs. Additionally science tells us

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it's not only psychologically addictive
but can have profound negative impacts

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on the still developing minds of teens
and people up into their mid-20s.

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Beyond that, however, its use and
possession is against federal law and

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until that law is changed by the United
States Congress, we in DHS along with

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the rest of the federal government are
sworn to uphold all the laws that are

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on the books. DHS personnel will
continue to investigate marijuana

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illegal pathways along the network into
the United States. Its distribution

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within the homeland and will arrest
those involved in the drug trade

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according to federal law. CBP, our
custom professionals, will continue to

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search for marijuana in sea, air, and
land ports of entry and, when found,

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take similar and appropriate actions.
When marijuana is found at aviation

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checkpoints and baggage screening TSA
personnel will also take appropriate

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action. Finally, ICE will continue to
use marijuana possession, distributions

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and convictions as essential elements
as they build their deportation removal

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apprehension packages for targeted
operations against illegal aliens

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living in the United States. They have
done this in the past and are doing it

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today and will continue into the
future. Now about terrorism. The TCO's

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have a devastating effect on our
homeland. Yet the other aspect of the

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threat of course is terrorism. For a
brief moment after the 9/11 attacks, we

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all came together as a country. We
stood shoulder to shoulder against this

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horrible, horrible threat to our way of
life. The years have passed and we grown

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somewhat accustomed to it and now question
all the security all of the issues we have

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put in place to secure the nation
because it is a little bit of an

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inconvenience at an airport. A little
bit of an inconvenience as you pass on

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to an airplane. The threat to our
nation and American way of life has not

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diminished. In fact the threat has
metastasized and decentralized and the

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risk is threatening us today in a way
that is worse than we experienced 16

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years ago on 9/11. As I speak these
words, the FBI has open terrorism

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investigations in all of our 50 states.
Since 2013 there have been 37 ISIS

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linked plots to attack the country. This
is all bad news, but it gets worse.

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Experts estimate perhaps 10,000
citizens of Europe have joined the

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caliphate fight in Syria and in Iraq.
Thousands more from nations in Asia,

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Africa, the Western Hemisphere have
also joined that fight. They have

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learned how to make IEDs, employ drones
to drop ordinance and acquired

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experience on the battlefield that by
all reports they are beginning to

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increasingly bring home. As a coalition
we lead wins against what are best

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described as conventional terrorist
formations in the caliphate. The

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expectations that many of these holy
warriors will survive and come back to

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their home countries where they will
wreak murderous havoc in Europe, Asia,

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the Maghreb, the Caribbean and the
United States. Because many are

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citizens of countries and are Visa
Waiver Program countries they can more

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00:21:37.922 --> 00:21:43.992
easily travel to the United States
which makes us and continues to make us

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the prime terrorist target. Homegrown
terrorism is a very, very difficult

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challenge. Few of the challenges we
face from a terrorism point of view are

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even close to difficult. Over the past
few years we have seen an unprecedented

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spike in homegrown terrorism. In the
past 12 months alone there have been 36

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homegrown terrorism cases opened in 18
states. These are the cases we know

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00:22:13.104 --> 00:22:16.274
about. Homegrown terrorism is
notoriously difficult to predict,

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detect, and certainly almost impossible
to control. And what's feeding the

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violence, typically what's feeding the
violence is the Internet. From anywhere

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across the world they are sharing
hateful propaganda with impressionable

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people. They are publish revolting
how-to manuals, teaching followers

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how to build bombs and kill innocent
people. They trade dehumanizing

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pictures with grotesque captions,
headless bodies and innocent people

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being thrown from buildings, rape
victims being stoned to death. If

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you're a terrorist with an innocent
Internet connection like the one on

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your ever-present cell phone you can
recruit new soldiers, plan your attacks

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and upload a video calling for jihad
with just a few clicks. Thanks to new

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and ever improving and proliferating
encryption devices and secure

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communication techniques these
individuals are becoming harder and

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harder and I predict eventually
impossible to detect. Until, community

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leaders and social service providers,
teachers, local law enforcement, and

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00:23:26.758 --> 00:23:33.038
more aware of their options to prevent
that message of hate from taking hold

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our nation's youth are prey to these
predators. We are under attack from

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terrorism both within and outside of
the borders. These men and women are

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without conscience and they operate
without rules. They despise the United

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States because we are a nation of
rights, of laws and of freedoms. They

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have a single mission and that is our
destruction. I tell you without

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exaggeration they try to carry out this
mission each and every day, each and

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every night. They are relentless. They
cannot be stopped. Unless men and women

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like those that serve in DHS, our
military and law enforcement are ever

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vigilant and they are. Cyber for a
minute. Not just bombs and guns are

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threatened against us. Another entire
kind of conflict has taken place in the

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computer network. We are under constant
attack by a wide range of adversaries

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with an even wider range of
capabilities in this realm. There are

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nation-state actors with extremely
sophisticated tools. Global criminal

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organizations that operate like a
legitimate business right down to

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customer service support. There are even
lone wolves, cyber terrorists that simply

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buy malware on the Internet. Their
motivations vary from military to

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espionage from financial to political.
Sometimes they just want to create

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havoc. They target our government
networks, they target our critical

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infrastructure systems throughout
America are being bombarded on a daily

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even hourly basis. Our water treatment
plants, and transportation systems,

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our electric grid, the financial
sectors and everything in between.

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These attackers steal intellectual
property, personal data and health

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information there are thieves, vandals,
saboteurs, enemies of democracy and

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potentially much, much more. We live in
an interconnected world that is not a

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trend. That is in fact reality. We rely
on technology for everything. From our

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coffee makers to running global
corporations, but this reliance and

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perhaps overreliance brings risks. What
would happen to our country if the

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stock market could not process trades?
What would happen to the transportation

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00:25:55.038 --> 00:25:59.762
system if the navigation satellite
suddenly went dead? What would happen

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if a major American city lost power?
Cyber threats present a tremendous

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00:26:03.732 --> 00:26:07.732
danger to the American way of life. The
consequences of the digital threats are

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no less significant than threats from a
physical world. Every day we prepared

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to fight what many people cannot even
imagine. It's a big job. This

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department. We are up against criminal
organizations, terrorists,

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cyber-attacks, wannabe assassin,
pandemics, hurricanes, and oil spills.

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The danger is real. So is our
dedication, our professionalism and our

275
00:26:33.732 --> 00:26:41.380
expertise. These risks, these hazards
that is why we do what we do. 16 times

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in my life I have raised my right hand
and solemnly swore before my God that I

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would support and defend the
Constitution of the United States. Our

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00:26:49.089 --> 00:26:54.699
nation is unique in that we swear our
allegiance to a piece of paper, a

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constitution, to law. Not to a king or
to a president or to a party but to the

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supreme law of the land. Every single
DHS employee has taken the same oath.

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To the same Constitution. We vowed to
uphold the law and operate within it.

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We have a sacred duty. That is the
continuation of the United States as we

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know it. To protect our way of life in
the exceptional people we are. Every

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day we take a stand against the forces
that endeavor to take that

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exceptionalism away from us. I am proud
to say with help from our international

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00:27:31.015 --> 00:27:35.795
interagency and private sector partners
and state and local partners, we are

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00:27:35.795 --> 00:27:40.155
standing strong and winning the battle.
We must win the battle 100 percent of

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00:27:40.155 --> 00:27:46.115
the time every day. Our adversaries
only have to get one punch in

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00:27:46.115 --> 00:27:51.800
occasionally to make their point. Back
to talking about crime. No better

290
00:27:51.800 --> 00:27:55.661
argument for secure borders than the
transnational criminal organizations we

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00:27:55.661 --> 00:28:00.431
face. Since the first week of President
Trump's administration we have actively

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00:28:00.431 --> 00:28:06.491
securing our borders and enforcing our
immigration laws. Not only is this our

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00:28:06.497 --> 00:28:11.417
right as a sovereign nation it's our
responsibility to ensure the safety of

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00:28:11.417 --> 00:28:16.467
the American people. People who
illegally cross our borders do not

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00:28:16.467 --> 00:28:21.560
respect the laws of our nation. We want
to get the lawbreakers off our streets

296
00:28:21.560 --> 00:28:25.540
and out of our country for the good of
our communities. Being serious about

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00:28:25.540 --> 00:28:29.170
our borders and our laws is not just
good for the American people. It will

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00:28:29.170 --> 00:28:34.360
also save lives. In fiscal year 2016,
Customs and Border Protection saved

299
00:28:34.360 --> 00:28:40.170
nearly 4,000 near-death individuals who
had found themselves abandon by the

300
00:28:40.170 --> 00:28:48.640
coyotes, the traffickers in the desert
and nearly died. 4,000 CBP saved. Much

301
00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:52.160
has been made of our efforts to
discourage women from endangering

302
00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:56.140
themselves and their children at the
hands of these human smugglers, but it

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00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:59.550
is working. While more than 16,000
family units were apprehended at the

304
00:28:59.550 --> 00:29:04.400
border in December only 1,100 were
apprehended in March. This is a

305
00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:10.400
phenomenal drop in movement. Every one
of them that did not come did not

306
00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:14.050
subject themselves to the dangers of
the network and the abuse of that

307
00:29:14.050 --> 00:29:18.450
network. Fewer people are crossing the
border illegally means fewer deaths in

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00:29:18.450 --> 00:29:22.450
the desert and fewer people, as I say,
submitting themselves to the terrible,

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00:29:22.450 --> 00:29:28.070
terrible network experience. There's
nothing more, and I know I speak for

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00:29:28.070 --> 00:29:31.480
the Attorney General, nothing more we
would like to do than to put these

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00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:37.437
human smugglers out of business and we
will do anything in our departments to

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00:29:37.437 --> 00:29:42.996
do just that within the law. The drop
in illegal immigration is really

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00:29:42.996 --> 00:29:49.346
remarkable. The dramatic reduction is
evident across the Southwest border. In

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00:29:49.346 --> 00:29:53.904
fact, March apprehensions were 30
percent lower than February and 64

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00:29:53.904 --> 00:29:58.178
percent lower than this time last year.
These numbers are lower because we

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00:29:58.178 --> 00:30:02.178
showed we are serious about border
security and enforcing our immigration

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00:30:02.178 --> 00:30:06.778
laws. We have ended catch and release
and also focused on apprehending and

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00:30:06.778 --> 00:30:11.068
prosecuting and convicting the
traffickers or the coyotes themselves.

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00:30:11.068 --> 00:30:18.338
We haven't done that before. We have
significantly increased detainers of

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00:30:18.338 --> 00:30:23.088
deportation we have arrested more
criminal aliens. We will continue to

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00:30:23.088 --> 00:30:26.328
expand our approach to include the
prosecution of anyone including family

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00:30:26.328 --> 00:30:30.558
members that pay the traffickers
especially when they pay the

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00:30:30.558 --> 00:30:37.038
traffickers to move children up that
terrible network. Our DHS personnel who

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00:30:37.038 --> 00:30:43.728
enforced the laws primarily ICE and CBP
know they have a job to do and are

325
00:30:43.729 --> 00:30:46.859
trained to do it and they are doing it
humanely and in accordance with the

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00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:51.529
laws as passed by the United States
Congress. These dedicated and selfless

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00:30:51.529 --> 00:30:55.527
men and women have the knowledge, the
training, and the resources and, this

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00:30:55.527 --> 00:31:01.217
is a big one, they know they have an
administration and a department, and a

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00:31:01.217 --> 00:31:06.546
secretary that have their back. While
we've seen a drop in human smuggling

330
00:31:06.546 --> 00:31:11.396
agencies across the department continue
to seize vast amounts of dangerous

331
00:31:11.396 --> 00:31:16.009
drugs. At the midpoint of this fiscal
year the Coast Guard is combating a

332
00:31:16.009 --> 00:31:22.331
sharp uptick in cocaine flow and has
already removed nearly 243,000 pounds

333
00:31:22.331 --> 00:31:28.221
that were headed to the United States.
CBP has reported a 39 percent increase

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00:31:28.221 --> 00:31:33.227
in cocaine seizures. For a total of
over 43,000 pounds. They've also seen

335
00:31:33.227 --> 00:31:36.347
an increase in heroin and
methamphetamine seizures, and again,

336
00:31:36.347 --> 00:31:40.347
it's only halfway through the fiscal
year. When you consider that CBP sees

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00:31:40.347 --> 00:31:46.657
an average of four tons of drugs every
single day in 2016 and that number has

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00:31:46.657 --> 00:31:51.082
going up you can see the nation has a
serious, serious drug problem. We need

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00:31:51.082 --> 00:31:55.059
a national and a comprehensive drug
demand strategy and a commitment to

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00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:58.919
reduce drug demand in the United
States. I don't mean arresting our way

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00:31:58.919 --> 00:32:02.959
out of this. I mean it's a
comprehensive plan to reduce drug

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00:32:02.959 --> 00:32:07.549
demand. A focused effort that not only
employs the four measures of the

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00:32:07.549 --> 00:32:11.849
federal, state and local governments
but also Hollywood, professional sports

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00:32:11.849 --> 00:32:17.389
figures and teams and high school
coaches and Boy and Girl Scout leaders.

345
00:32:17.389 --> 00:32:22.589
And community activists, as well as, law
enforcement like the FBI and DEA and

346
00:32:22.590 --> 00:32:29.510
their Chasing the Dragon program. As
well as priests, pastors, rabbis and

347
00:32:29.510 --> 00:32:33.280
Imams to lead their flocks. Finally,
ladies and gentlemen, it all begins at

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00:32:33.280 --> 00:32:37.510
home. Parents have got to be more
engaged in what their children are

349
00:32:37.510 --> 00:32:43.690
doing whether it's on the Internet or
taking drugs, experimenting with drugs.

350
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The time is now because the president,
this president, has recognized this

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00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:51.830
problem. He has signed an Executive
Order establishing the president's

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00:32:51.830 --> 00:32:56.930
Commission on Combating Drug Addiction
of which I am part. One of the things

353
00:32:56.930 --> 00:33:01.254
we are certainly trying to do and I
will never point fingers at the source

354
00:33:01.254 --> 00:33:06.502
of the immigration but we have deterred
successfully a huge amount of

355
00:33:06.502 --> 00:33:09.871
immigration, illegal immigration,
coming up from Central America

356
00:33:09.871 --> 00:33:14.401
countries. For the most part they leave
because there is no economic

357
00:33:14.401 --> 00:33:19.076
opportunity there for them. We are
trying to get at that issue as well. We

358
00:33:19.076 --> 00:33:22.756
along with the state department and
others are hosting a conference in

359
00:33:22.756 --> 00:33:27.076
Miami in the middle of June. We will
have Mexico, who is helping us cohost,

360
00:33:27.076 --> 00:33:31.076
we will have all four of the Central
American countries in question attend

361
00:33:31.076 --> 00:33:35.186
there. The inter-American development
Bank, Ambassador Luis Moreno is fully

362
00:33:35.186 --> 00:33:39.076
on board with us and we will have
European partners come in. The

363
00:33:39.076 --> 00:33:45.676
Canadians, and the Colombians will come
down, as well as, Panama and Costa Rica

364
00:33:45.686 --> 00:33:49.686
will come in as observers. What we are
going to try to do is have a conference to

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00:33:49.686 --> 00:33:55.046
stimulate economic development, investment
in the three countries Honduras, El Salvador

366
00:33:55.046 --> 00:34:01.636
and Guatemala. That way try to create
an environment in those countries

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00:34:01.636 --> 00:34:03.146
where people will stay

368
00:34:03.146 --> 00:34:07.146
there where their families are where
their culture is where their churches

369
00:34:07.146 --> 00:34:13.036
are. And not take that terrible trip up
into the United States. They lack the

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00:34:13.036 --> 00:34:17.036
economic opportunity that's why the
vast majority of them leave. As I say

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00:34:17.036 --> 00:34:22.866
cohosting with Mexico we will try to
make a difference. We are not trying to

372
00:34:22.866 --> 00:34:26.056
keep them away we are trying to give
them a reason to stay home. This

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00:34:26.056 --> 00:34:29.906
conference on Central American
prosperity and security is designed to

374
00:34:29.906 --> 00:34:36.466
help these countries. In a way we have
never really attempted before. As I

375
00:34:36.466 --> 00:34:40.706
mentioned a number of times and
hearings and what not, we have tried to

376
00:34:40.706 --> 00:34:45.446
push the borders of the United States
as far away as possible. We do this in

377
00:34:45.449 --> 00:34:50.229
various ways. Partnering with countries
like Columbia and Mexico, in

378
00:34:50.229 --> 00:34:56.491
particular. In the Caribbean nations.
Using the incredibly capable national

379
00:34:56.491 --> 00:35:01.051
security cutters of the United States
Coast Guard that do unbelievable work

380
00:35:01.052 --> 00:35:05.052
in the Caribbean and the eastern
Pacific and interdicting loads of

381
00:35:05.052 --> 00:35:11.522
cocaine and other drugs by the ton, not
by the gram, not by the kilo, but by the

382
00:35:11.522 --> 00:35:16.646
ton. We must use our relative
geographic distance to our advantage. We

383
00:35:16.646 --> 00:35:20.796
have to stop criminals and terrorists
from threatening our homeland. We need

384
00:35:20.796 --> 00:35:25.506
to know who is coming into our country.
Where they have been and why they're

385
00:35:25.506 --> 00:35:30.564
coming here. Before they arrive at our
doorstep. The first step is improving

386
00:35:30.564 --> 00:35:36.464
vetting processes and increasing the
reliability of that vetting procedure

387
00:35:36.470 --> 00:35:41.740
overseas. We will use all the tools we have
available social media, new technology,

388
00:35:41.740 --> 00:35:47.660
biometrics, more investigators and
top-notch intelligence. Last year DHS

389
00:35:47.660 --> 00:35:53.317
and our analysis folks developed 900
new Intel leads. 500 of those were not

390
00:35:53.317 --> 00:35:57.849
previously known in the Intel
community. These were bad people. We

391
00:35:57.849 --> 00:36:01.849
identified and prevented from coming to
our country. This work helped the

392
00:36:01.849 --> 00:36:05.849
intelligence community and DHS
personnel keep people with terrorist

393
00:36:05.849 --> 00:36:11.099
ties out of the United States. We have
operationalized intelligence,

394
00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:14.669
everything we do is based on the
intelligence we gain from a myriad of

395
00:36:14.669 --> 00:36:19.099
sources not just what we gain, what we
develop but intelligence provided us

396
00:36:19.099 --> 00:36:23.099
throughout the intel community.
We have successfully, fairly

397
00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:28.099
successfully, been able to stop much
terrorism from coming to our shores.

398
00:36:28.099 --> 00:36:33.689
The same applies to what we do in the
world of cyber. Partnering with not

399
00:36:33.689 --> 00:36:38.639
only other aspects of the United States
government and other agencies, but as well as, in a

400
00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:42.639
big way the commercial and even
international partners to help us

401
00:36:42.642 --> 00:36:49.542
prevent this destructive force, as well.
Employee morale as I close out my

402
00:36:49.542 --> 00:36:53.542
remarks, employee morale for too long
the men and women of my department have

403
00:36:53.542 --> 00:36:59.462
been political ponds. They been asked
to do more with less and less and less.

404
00:36:59.462 --> 00:37:03.802
In many ways, similar to the treatment
suffered by law enforcement over the

405
00:37:03.802 --> 00:37:07.862
past few years, they are often ridiculed
and insulted by public officials and

406
00:37:07.862 --> 00:37:11.862
frequently convicted in the court of
public opinion on unfounded allegations

407
00:37:11.862 --> 00:37:19.032
testified to by street lawyers and
street spokespersons. If lawmakers do

408
00:37:19.032 --> 00:37:24.552
not like the laws that we enforce and
we are charged to enforce and sworn to

409
00:37:24.552 --> 00:37:29.884
enforce they should have the courage
and the skill to change the laws.

410
00:37:29.884 --> 00:37:33.924
Otherwise they should shut up and support
the men and women on the front lines.

411
00:37:33.924 --> 00:37:41.584
[Applause]

412
00:37:41.584 --> 00:37:43.329
My people have been discouraged
from doing their

413
00:37:43.329 --> 00:37:47.539
jobs for nearly a decade. Disabled by
pointless bureaucracy and political

414
00:37:47.539 --> 00:37:52.519
meddling and suffered a disrespecting
contempt by public officials who have

415
00:37:52.529 --> 00:37:57.909
no idea what it means to serve. During
my confirmation process and hearings

416
00:37:57.909 --> 00:38:01.629
members of Congress, the press, and
other public officials frequently asked

417
00:38:01.629 --> 00:38:05.089
me about the morale problems the
department experienced over the last

418
00:38:05.089 --> 00:38:11.639
few years. My response has simply been
when you discourage and disable and

419
00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:17.119
when you unjustly criticize and default to
believing the initial reports as

420
00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:22.449
opposed to defaulting to believing the
stories told by my professionals. When

421
00:38:22.449 --> 00:38:27.129
you do those things and show disrespect
to the individual who is risking his or

422
00:38:27.129 --> 00:38:31.949
her life to defend the country. When you
do those things what do you expect? All

423
00:38:31.949 --> 00:38:36.576
of this stopped on January 20. It
stopped with President Trump and it

424
00:38:36.576 --> 00:38:41.246
stopped with me. My people, the men and
women of the department, do a difficult

425
00:38:41.246 --> 00:38:46.509
and at times and nearly impossible job
in the service of the American people. They

426
00:38:46.509 --> 00:38:50.289
deserve our nation’s thanks and
respect. They deserve to be proud of

427
00:38:50.289 --> 00:38:55.979
the jobs they do. We are moving in
exactly the right direction. Why?

428
00:38:55.979 --> 00:39:00.409
Because the best way to improve morale
is to let employees do the jobs they

429
00:39:00.409 --> 00:39:04.459
were hired and trained to do and to
recognize them for doing those jobs.

430
00:39:04.459 --> 00:39:06.949
[Pause]

431
00:39:06.949 --> 00:39:10.929
We will never apologize for enforcing and
upholding the laws of the country.

432
00:39:10.929 --> 00:39:16.959
We will never apologize for carrying out
our mission. We will never apologize

433
00:39:16.959 --> 00:39:23.339
for making our country more secure. We
ask nothing more than respect and

434
00:39:23.339 --> 00:39:30.279
support. We don't do this for the thank
yous, we seldom get thank yous. We do

435
00:39:30.279 --> 00:39:35.909
this to keep America strong, secure,
and free. We live in a dangerous world

436
00:39:35.909 --> 00:39:41.819
ladies and gentlemen, those dangers are
increasing not decreasing. Changing

437
00:39:41.819 --> 00:39:48.369
speed and direction every single day.
Every day we are vigilant and prepared

438
00:39:48.369 --> 00:39:53.439
and every day we do our jobs. With
that, I will close and say thank you

439
00:39:53.439 --> 00:39:59.019
for the opportunity GW to come up here
and make these comments. In particular,

440
00:39:59.019 --> 00:40:04.179
I want to thank the men and women over
nearly a quarter of a million that do

441
00:40:04.179 --> 00:40:10.359
the job at DHS every single day. They
are all important. In my personal

442
00:40:10.359 --> 00:40:14.899
opinion you are all heroic and all
great public servants. Keep on

443
00:40:14.899 --> 00:40:16.329
charging. Thanks very much.

444
00:40:16.329 --> 00:40:28.019
[Applause]

445
00:40:28.019 --> 00:40:29.868
Since you mentioned you rarely get the

446
00:40:29.868 --> 00:40:34.618
thank yous. Let me thank you for a
phenomenal tour de force covering a

447
00:40:34.618 --> 00:40:39.528
whole range of issues that the
department grapples with day in and day

448
00:40:39.528 --> 00:40:43.528
out. So thank you, Mr. Secretary. Let me
also acknowledge we have a couple of

449
00:40:43.528 --> 00:40:48.898
predecessors here I see Secretary
Chertoff, I see Jane Lute sitting next to Judge

450
00:40:48.898 --> 00:40:55.948
Webster one of my oldest mentors and we
have our newly nominated and confirmed

451
00:40:55.948 --> 00:40:59.558
Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke,
congratulations. Kirsten one of our

452
00:40:59.558 --> 00:41:04.398
senior fellows. We have a great, great
group of people here today. I thought I

453
00:41:04.398 --> 00:41:10.448
would start with a question that cuts
at the actual title of today's

454
00:41:10.448 --> 00:41:16.508
event. The home and away. You had
mentioned in particular discussing cyber

455
00:41:16.508 --> 00:41:23.228
the interconnected risk that we face
today. Can you expound or expand a

456
00:41:23.228 --> 00:41:31.068
little bit upon the home and away game
and obviously DHS has a very

457
00:41:31.068 --> 00:41:34.978
significant international role but how
do you see that coming together

458
00:41:34.978 --> 00:41:39.818
especially since just before you came
to the department you are combatant

459
00:41:39.818 --> 00:41:44.848
commander at US Southern command, which
obviously shares a number of those

460
00:41:44.848 --> 00:41:50.438
risks. How do you see the military
component interact with DHS and more

461
00:41:50.438 --> 00:42:00.657
generally the risk we face today? I
would just offer a story. A very, very

462
00:42:00.657 --> 00:42:06.387
good friend of mine, his name is Jeh
Johnson. I was in Southern command in

463
00:42:06.387 --> 00:42:10.387
that particular part. That command is
responsible for interacting with our

464
00:42:10.387 --> 00:42:14.757
great partners in Central America, South
America and the Caribbean. And it was

465
00:42:14.757 --> 00:42:19.187
during the big UAC crisis, the
unaccompanied child crisis, I think it

466
00:42:19.187 --> 00:42:23.597
was '14, Jeh had just taken the job he
called me up one day and he said and

467
00:42:23.597 --> 00:42:27.877
I had been in my job in SOUTHCOM for a
period of time and he called and said,

468
00:42:27.877 --> 00:42:33.770
'Kel, you gotta help me out. What can
you do to stop all of this illegal

469
00:42:33.770 --> 00:42:38.330
immigration? And all of the drugs and
the rest of it coming up into the

470
00:42:38.330 --> 00:42:43.640
United States?' I said, 'Jeh, where are
you right now?' He said, 'I'm in Texas. I'm on

471
00:42:43.640 --> 00:42:46.770
the Rio Grande border.' I said, 'Which
way are you looking?' He said, 'I'm

472
00:42:46.770 --> 00:42:51.560
looking south.' I said, 'I'll tell you what,
why don't you meet me in Guatemala on a river

473
00:42:51.560 --> 00:42:56.949
and you and I can stand in that river
and look north and you will see an

474
00:42:56.949 --> 00:43:02.379
entirely different perspective as to
the problems of drugs, violence, and

475
00:43:02.379 --> 00:43:06.379
illegal immigration.' And to his great
credit, he did that the next week and

476
00:43:06.379 --> 00:43:11.109
we stood there on the river between
Mexico and Guatemala. That began a

477
00:43:11.109 --> 00:43:16.689
relationship that Jeh and I, we tried
to VTC weekly we didn't pull it off

478
00:43:16.689 --> 00:43:21.229
weekly, but certainly a couple times a
month. We talked almost every week on

479
00:43:21.229 --> 00:43:25.419
various issues sometimes more than
that. By contrast, and this gets to the

480
00:43:25.419 --> 00:43:30.209
military piece. By contrast, with the
exception of running detention ops at

481
00:43:30.209 --> 00:43:34.249
Guantánamo Bay which was my
responsibility. Very, very proud of

482
00:43:34.249 --> 00:43:37.859
that mission that I accomplished with
my people. Very proud of the men and

483
00:43:37.859 --> 00:43:41.959
women that do a great job down there
every single day in Guantánamo.

484
00:43:41.959 --> 00:43:45.489
But with the exception of Guantánamo
in 39 months I never had a

485
00:43:45.489 --> 00:43:49.259
conversation with the secretary of
defense about SOUTHCOM. But I had

486
00:43:49.259 --> 00:43:54.079
weekly conversations, sometimes more
often than that, with the secretary of

487
00:43:54.079 --> 00:44:01.724
homeland security. The reality and that
part of the world where there is very,

488
00:44:01.724 --> 00:44:05.954
very little possibility, little
possibility, for state on state

489
00:44:05.954 --> 00:44:10.184
violence but a huge partnering
responsibility and very, very proud to

490
00:44:10.184 --> 00:44:14.335
say that while I was there my
predecessor Admiral Kurt Tidd

491
00:44:14.335 --> 00:44:15.975
who is there now carries on

492
00:44:15.975 --> 00:44:20.845
that tradition of tremendous partnering
and Kurt Tidd and I, Admiral Tidd and I

493
00:44:20.845 --> 00:44:23.375
now the commander of southern command

494
00:44:23.375 --> 00:44:29.438
speak frequently. Again the same
relationship. When we were in the green

495
00:44:29.438 --> 00:44:33.468
room prior to your remarks we chatted
very briefly about the Terrorist

496
00:44:33.468 --> 00:44:38.048
Screening Center and some capabilities
brought to there. In your remarks you

497
00:44:38.048 --> 00:44:42.778
talked about operationalizing
intelligence. Can you expand a little

498
00:44:42.778 --> 00:44:49.368
bit in terms of how these pieces are
coming together? Are we fully utilizing

499
00:44:49.368 --> 00:44:54.698
the capabilities that are there and
obviously the intent is always to get

500
00:44:54.698 --> 00:44:58.478
there before the bomb goes off?
Intelligence is the lifeblood for our

501
00:44:58.478 --> 00:45:01.598
campaign against terrorists or
transnational criminal enterprises.

502
00:45:01.598 --> 00:45:07.668
What sorts of steps do you see from a
terror travel perspective and then

503
00:45:07.668 --> 00:45:12.338
speaking about our partners in Mexico?
It started a little bumpy. Can you give us a

504
00:45:12.338 --> 00:45:18.517
sense of where that bilat is, the US-Mexico
right now? Let me start with the

505
00:45:18.517 --> 00:45:24.644
Mexican relationship. Mexico when I was
in Southern command was not part of the

506
00:45:24.644 --> 00:45:29.684
Southern command set of partners that I
interacted with. However I interacted

507
00:45:29.684 --> 00:45:36.124
with their military frequently in
conferences. Things like that. I have

508
00:45:36.124 --> 00:45:41.954
friends in the senior levels of the
Mexican military. I knew a number of

509
00:45:41.954 --> 00:45:49.934
ministers within the Mexican
government. So When I took this job, I

510
00:45:49.934 --> 00:45:54.734
made it a point to get to Mexico,
Central America and then Mexico very,

511
00:45:54.734 --> 00:45:57.994
very quickly to maintain the tremendous
relationship that we do have. They are great

512
00:45:57.994 --> 00:46:02.374
partners. Along the Southwest border
with our CBP and local law enforcement.

513
00:46:02.374 --> 00:46:05.804
They are great partners in
counterterrorism. They are great

514
00:46:05.804 --> 00:46:09.624
partners in working with our law
enforcement and intelligence agencies

515
00:46:09.624 --> 00:46:15.754
and sharing information. We help them,
they help us. Last year they stopped

516
00:46:15.756 --> 00:46:19.756
and took in to apprehend or detained
and sent back to their home countries

517
00:46:19.756 --> 00:46:26.046
160,000 Central Americans before they
ever got beyond 100 miles from the

518
00:46:26.046 --> 00:46:29.916
Guatemalan borders. They are great
partners. I think that it continues. I

519
00:46:29.916 --> 00:46:36.686
don't think there's - - I'm
increasingly close to the new Mexican

520
00:46:36.686 --> 00:46:40.006
ambassador to United States I met him
first in Mexico City when I was down

521
00:46:40.006 --> 00:46:44.296
there with Rex Tillerson. I don't think
there's a Mexican - - I hope there's

522
00:46:44.296 --> 00:46:47.856
not a Mexican official that comes to
Washington that doesn't not drop by. I

523
00:46:47.856 --> 00:46:52.736
am going to Mexico for second visit pretty quick.
We are in good shape and good

524
00:46:52.736 --> 00:46:56.736
coordination in partnership with the
Mexican government, the Mexican military,

525
00:46:56.736 --> 00:47:02.356
Mexican law enforcement. They are suffering.
Again, from our drug demand. We have to

526
00:47:02.356 --> 00:47:08.346
recognize that. On the issue of
terrorism, I am comforted by what I now

527
00:47:08.346 --> 00:47:12.346
know are the capability of the
Department of Homeland Security. I've

528
00:47:12.346 --> 00:47:20.846
been around a long, long time. I've
been in a fair number of fights. But I

529
00:47:20.848 --> 00:47:25.638
take comfort in the fact that this
organization, DHS, is so effective in

530
00:47:25.638 --> 00:47:29.638
what it does in terms of Intel sharing
and taking advantage of databases as

531
00:47:29.638 --> 00:47:34.978
well as producing our own intel. I
would tell you when a person of

532
00:47:34.978 --> 00:47:39.338
interest that is to say someone who is
not a terrorist list buys a plane

533
00:47:39.338 --> 00:47:47.708
ticket in Tokyo and is flying to Abu
Dhabi we know about it. He's not even

534
00:47:47.708 --> 00:47:52.698
coming here. The information sharing
with the European partners with

535
00:47:52.698 --> 00:47:58.008
everybody. It's really, really comforting.
I would close on the topic by saying

536
00:47:58.008 --> 00:48:04.708
when you hear a report of a family an
individual, whatever, at an airport

537
00:48:04.708 --> 00:48:12.838
being put into secondary screening, or
being refused entry into the United

538
00:48:12.838 --> 00:48:18.568
States, believe me, it's not because of
their skin color. It's not because of

539
00:48:18.568 --> 00:48:21.378
the part of the country or world they
come from, it's not because of their

540
00:48:21.378 --> 00:48:27.768
religion. It's because something, some
indicator or tipper brought the CBP

541
00:48:27.768 --> 00:48:32.408
professional and they are professionals
brought them to make a decision to put

542
00:48:32.408 --> 00:48:36.408
them an additional screening. It may be
something they said, their story

543
00:48:36.408 --> 00:48:40.308
didn't work out. It may have been
something on their cell phone that

544
00:48:40.308 --> 00:48:45.168
brought the attention. There is always,
always, always more to the story. I

545
00:48:45.168 --> 00:48:48.288
can't tell you the number of phone
calls I get from members of Congress

546
00:48:48.288 --> 00:48:54.458
telling me about how we are refusing
someone's entry at LAX or JFK because

547
00:48:54.458 --> 00:48:59.778
they are Muslim or because they are Arab.
It's absolutely not true. We do it for a

548
00:48:59.778 --> 00:49:05.086
reason. You should applaud those men
and women for doing what they do. You

549
00:49:05.086 --> 00:49:10.046
mentioned transnational criminal
organizations, which I might note has

550
00:49:10.046 --> 00:49:15.506
been elevated in your leadership at the
Department of Homeland Security. I

551
00:49:15.506 --> 00:49:20.606
think rightfully so. You mentioned
terrorist organizations both FTO's,

552
00:49:20.606 --> 00:49:26.726
foreign terrorist organizations, as well
as, homegrown extremists. You mentioned

553
00:49:26.726 --> 00:49:32.406
cyber. Not that that is a short list.
It's a very, very, very big list. Anything missing

554
00:49:32.406 --> 00:49:37.636
on the list that keeps you up at night
in terms of risks and threats? I would

555
00:49:37.636 --> 00:49:42.366
say the only thing that keeps me up at
night when I was at SOUTHCOM I talked

556
00:49:42.366 --> 00:49:47.025
about this a lot. Often times told not
to talk about it, but I did anyways.

557
00:49:47.025 --> 00:49:50.025
[Laughter]

558
00:49:50.025 --> 00:49:54.025
This issue of the network that we are
going to - - we have already slowed

559
00:49:54.025 --> 00:49:59.945
down in 90 days we have slowed down. 70
percent reduction in illegal migrants

560
00:49:59.945 --> 00:50:03.675
into the United States in 90 days. We
haven't even done anything - - we've

561
00:50:03.675 --> 00:50:10.135
done things that we haven't done the
big things yet. Partnering with DOJ we

562
00:50:10.135 --> 00:50:13.935
have made a difference to say the least
at the southwest border. This network

563
00:50:13.935 --> 00:50:18.065
is so well-developed and is so
efficient, it can move anything. It

564
00:50:18.065 --> 00:50:22.345
moves hundreds and hundreds of tons of
illegal drugs into the United States

565
00:50:22.345 --> 00:50:31.035
every year. Until recently, tens of
thousands of illegal immigration - -

566
00:50:31.035 --> 00:50:37.215
immigrants and that included special
interest aliens. In unlimited numbers.

567
00:50:37.215 --> 00:50:42.887
It could move other things too. Often
times in the last administration I was

568
00:50:42.887 --> 00:50:47.077
often told no terrorists or the cartels
will not allow this incredible network

569
00:50:47.077 --> 00:50:55.257
so efficient so well-developed that the
cartels would never let anyone in that

570
00:50:55.257 --> 00:51:01.206
was carrying a pandemic type weapon or
biological weapon or a dirty bomb or

571
00:51:01.206 --> 00:51:05.206
nuclear weapon because it would be bad
for business. In a sense they are

572
00:51:05.206 --> 00:51:10.266
right. As I would always point out,
there's a lot of subcontractors in this

573
00:51:10.266 --> 00:51:16.669
network. These guys don't check
passports. They don't do explosive

574
00:51:16.669 --> 00:51:20.669
residue testing. They don't look in
anyone's bag. If you have the money

575
00:51:20.669 --> 00:51:25.579
you're in. I said a lot back then and
I'm trying to do something about it

576
00:51:25.579 --> 00:51:30.829
now. If there is, when there is another
terrorist attack in our country. If it

577
00:51:30.829 --> 00:51:37.269
comes from outside the country up until
90 days ago I would say that individual

578
00:51:37.269 --> 00:51:40.879
as we would do the forensics on it that
individual or individuals gets into

579
00:51:40.879 --> 00:51:46.649
United States through the southwest border.
I am staying up late at night, every night

580
00:51:46.649 --> 00:51:50.879
to try to prevent that from happening.
That's what keeps me up awake at night.

581
00:51:50.879 --> 00:51:54.879
The reality is smuggling, is smuggling,
is smuggling. The old joke was if

582
00:51:54.879 --> 00:51:59.089
you want to smuggle in a tactical
nuclear weapon just wrap it in a bail

583
00:51:59.089 --> 00:52:03.319
of marijuana that's some of our drug
seizure challenges. I think that's a right

584
00:52:03.319 --> 00:52:09.609
issue. Increasingly, you are seeing cartels
engage in terrorist tactics. Terrorists

585
00:52:09.609 --> 00:52:14.629
are obviously engaged in criminal
operations. On top of whatever else it

586
00:52:14.629 --> 00:52:21.689
is it's a criminal operation. Anything
from the counterterrorism environment

587
00:52:21.689 --> 00:52:25.689
you think can be brought to bear. When
you think of criminal enterprises and I

588
00:52:25.689 --> 00:52:30.769
think you referred to them as dark
networks, which they are. Anything

589
00:52:30.769 --> 00:52:37.099
there to understand the business you
think we ought to be bringing to bear

590
00:52:37.099 --> 00:52:42.639
in the post 9/11 environment so much in
the terror finance countering

591
00:52:42.639 --> 00:52:46.939
terrorism from a financial perspective
is there anything unique there that can

592
00:52:46.939 --> 00:52:53.389
be brought - - A few years ago, when Bill
McRaven, now retired, not only a good

593
00:52:53.389 --> 00:52:58.443
friend of mine and a phenomenal
gunfighter and warrior, SEAl, he and

594
00:52:58.443 --> 00:53:02.251
I collaborated when he had special
operations command and I had the

595
00:53:02.251 --> 00:53:07.571
command in Miami. On drilling down
pretty hard on how the terrorists

596
00:53:07.571 --> 00:53:13.461
interact with criminal organizations.
Once again, told repeatedly to let it

597
00:53:13.461 --> 00:53:21.381
go that it was not a military issue,
consequently, don't get involved in it.

598
00:53:21.381 --> 00:53:26.611
What we learned and we are learning
more and more is a nexus, a touching,

599
00:53:26.611 --> 00:53:32.311
between criminal networks and terrorist
networks. We know, as an example, the

600
00:53:32.311 --> 00:53:39.841
money laundering of massive amounts of
profit from the US drug demand are - -

601
00:53:39.841 --> 00:53:47.721
there are terrorist organizations that
make money from that money laundering

602
00:53:47.721 --> 00:53:53.041
process. We know, as an example, when
cocaine moves into the Maghreb. The

603
00:53:53.041 --> 00:53:57.261
terrorist organizations, Boko Haram,
that kind of thing, they allow it to pass

604
00:53:57.261 --> 00:54:03.551
into Europe and they just take - - it's
an incredibly lucrative way to raise

605
00:54:03.551 --> 00:54:08.101
money. They are not doing it in huge
amounts yet, I don't believe, but to me

606
00:54:08.101 --> 00:54:11.931
it would be a next step. The nexus
between criminal networks and terrorist

607
00:54:11.931 --> 00:54:18.191
networks is real and I would predict
would get more sophisticated. It takes

608
00:54:18.191 --> 00:54:23.101
networks to defeat networks, that's
pulling all the pieces in there. Let's

609
00:54:23.101 --> 00:54:34.801
turn to the cyber sets of issues. When
you start looking at the mass and vast

610
00:54:34.801 --> 00:54:41.021
responsibility to protect all of our
critical infrastructures. If everything

611
00:54:41.021 --> 00:54:47.331
is critical, nothing is critical. Where
would you see - - I'm not suggesting, I

612
00:54:47.331 --> 00:54:51.611
think, DHS designated 17
infrastructures to be critical. They

613
00:54:51.611 --> 00:54:57.171
all are. When you start looking at
limited resources, unlimited risk, and

614
00:54:57.171 --> 00:55:02.551
a thinking enemy, where do you
prioritize your resources? Anything

615
00:55:02.551 --> 00:55:07.701
from where you see NPPD going and
obviously some of the good

616
00:55:07.701 --> 00:55:13.911
congressional activity there? Whether
NPPD should be reauthorized in

617
00:55:13.911 --> 00:55:20.481
different kinds of ways? As you know, the
department is tasked with protecting the

618
00:55:20.481 --> 00:55:29.471
.gov nets and we do that. But, you know,
not perfectly, but we do that and we extend

619
00:55:29.471 --> 00:55:34.771
a great deal of time and energy and
attention to that. The other aspect is

620
00:55:34.771 --> 00:55:41.191
to partner to the greatest group
possible with commercial concerns. I

621
00:55:41.191 --> 00:55:47.041
was just out in Seattle and met with
the leadership of Microsoft. They are

622
00:55:47.041 --> 00:55:53.521
very interested in partnering as we
are. It's something that certainly

623
00:55:53.521 --> 00:55:59.631
President Trump has taken on and
organized and is very, very involved in

624
00:55:59.631 --> 00:56:06.231
outreaching. The government, God knows,
can't do it by itself, in fact,

625
00:56:06.231 --> 00:56:14.421
probably could do it less capably if it
didn't employ - - couldn't do it as

626
00:56:14.421 --> 00:56:18.731
well if it didn't have these
partnerships with the commercial realm

627
00:56:18.731 --> 00:56:22.550
that I think should get better and
better and better. It's nonstop,

628
00:56:22.550 --> 00:56:27.410
relentless and as I said President
Trump has taken that on and is

629
00:56:27.410 --> 00:56:35.500
organizing certainly a commission kind
of thing to look at it I am really,

630
00:56:35.500 --> 00:56:41.770
really impressed with the interest by
the United States Congress, Congressman

631
00:56:41.770 --> 00:56:47.430
McCaul from Texas, as an example, he and
his staff are extremely knowledgeable

632
00:56:47.430 --> 00:56:54.120
and very engaged as his other aspects
to Congress but I think it's a whole of

633
00:56:54.120 --> 00:56:58.600
government thing and, I think,
eventually with the way the president

634
00:56:58.600 --> 00:57:03.390
is going it will be a whole of
government and the whole of private realm,

635
00:57:03.390 --> 00:57:07.390
as well. As you say, Frank, you can't protect
everything. Just before Jeh left,

636
00:57:07.390 --> 00:57:14.680
he put the electoral system under critical
infrastructure. That is controversial.

637
00:57:14.680 --> 00:57:19.580
I have tried to explain to people why
he did it and what it really does mean.

638
00:57:19.580 --> 00:57:21.570
It's another one of those things where
we say we are from the federal

639
00:57:21.570 --> 00:57:26.300
government and we are here to help.
Generally, when I say that most people

640
00:57:26.300 --> 00:57:30.080
head for the doors and they should. The
reality is we are from the federal

641
00:57:30.080 --> 00:57:34.080
government and we are here to partner.
Any news on the executive order?

642
00:57:34.080 --> 00:57:45.420
Standing by with bated breath. Another
question along the lines of budget and

643
00:57:45.420 --> 00:57:52.010
I think you rightfully said the
department is being tasked with more

644
00:57:52.010 --> 00:57:57.610
and more and arguably getting fewer and
fewer resources to be able to deliver

645
00:57:57.610 --> 00:58:02.880
on that vast mission. Where do you see
things standing there and how do you

646
00:58:02.880 --> 00:58:07.850
see that playing out? Any concerns?
There are always concerns you never

647
00:58:07.850 --> 00:58:12.010
have enough money. One of the things
Elaine is gonna do is get into an

648
00:58:12.010 --> 00:58:16.008
efficiency thing. We have an EO to do
that very thing to report out in six

649
00:58:16.008 --> 00:58:20.908
months. We are going to look at what
Jeh started and I will continue on

650
00:58:20.908 --> 00:58:25.798
steroids and that is a unity of effort
within the department to streamline it

651
00:58:25.798 --> 00:58:33.738
to see where we duplicate efforts and
acquisitions. It's amazing the maze

652
00:58:33.738 --> 00:58:38.858
that is DHS in terms of different pay
scales and acquisition processes, anyways,

653
00:58:38.858 --> 00:58:43.218
but Elaine, the number two, is gonna fix
all that in six months or less.

654
00:58:43.218 --> 00:58:45.508
[Laughter]

655
00:58:45.508 --> 00:58:49.838
I think we have to, and the world we
live in today up until, through the

656
00:58:49.838 --> 00:58:54.618
Cold War and up until fairly recently.
There was always this defense and

657
00:58:54.618 --> 00:58:59.908
nondefense spending and defense and
nondefense professionals, I think, the

658
00:58:59.908 --> 00:59:06.588
world we live in today the away game,
Department of Defense, CIA, NSA has got

659
00:59:06.588 --> 00:59:12.288
to meld with the home game and that is
DHS. In terms of going forward we have

660
00:59:12.288 --> 00:59:18.338
to think in terms of the security and
nonsecurity. As opposed to simple

661
00:59:18.338 --> 00:59:23.298
defense and over there. One of the
things we had a great conference down

662
00:59:23.298 --> 00:59:28.438
in special operations command last week
and Tony Thomas and I and others were

663
00:59:28.438 --> 00:59:32.998
there. Thinking in terms of as the
caliphate is broken up and we are

664
00:59:32.998 --> 00:59:38.248
having great success in Iraq and Syria
doing just that. As that caliphate

665
00:59:38.248 --> 00:59:42.168
breaks up, the whole effort
metastasizes more, decentralizes

666
00:59:42.168 --> 00:59:50.208
more and our country from a smaller
point of view but from a domestic point

667
00:59:50.208 --> 00:59:54.478
of view is at greater risk. The idea we
think in terms of security and

668
00:59:54.478 --> 00:59:58.738
nonsecurity as opposed to over there
and back here. I think we have to do

669
00:59:58.742 --> 01:00:04.062
that. When we do that, you take the
Coast Guard. The Coast Guard today does

670
01:00:04.062 --> 01:00:10.792
a phenomenal number of missions. It is
taking hundreds of tons of drugs out of

671
01:00:10.792 --> 01:00:17.442
the Caribbean flow. It's wrapping
itself around the Arctic. Not to

672
01:00:17.442 --> 01:00:22.192
mention saving boaters lives off of
Florida or up on the great lakes.

673
01:00:22.192 --> 01:00:28.282
Everything they do has to do with the
security of our nation. And so, to not

674
01:00:28.282 --> 01:00:34.462
look at them as part of the security
equation, makes no sense. I would say

675
01:00:34.462 --> 01:00:38.402
that we should think in terms of
security not defense. And the tyranny

676
01:00:38.402 --> 01:00:45.112
of time requires one or two last, very
quick questions. You mention Syria. In

677
01:00:45.112 --> 01:00:50.952
your role as secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security were

678
01:00:50.952 --> 01:00:56.132
you weighing in on some of the
decisions at least from what the

679
01:00:56.132 --> 01:01:01.312
implications could be to defend the
homeland in terms of ramping up which

680
01:01:01.312 --> 01:01:06.752
quite honestly we need to obviously
accelerate the away game. What sort of

681
01:01:06.752 --> 01:01:11.342
implications does it have from homeland
security perspective and did you weigh

682
01:01:11.342 --> 01:01:15.922
in on some of the decision? I was
involved as a member of the cabinet and

683
01:01:15.922 --> 01:01:23.072
member of the national security cabinet
I was involved in the discussions in the

684
01:01:23.072 --> 01:01:28.802
situation room. The president was, to
say the least, I don't think he would

685
01:01:28.802 --> 01:01:32.502
mind my saying this, he was open to
anyone at the table talking and giving

686
01:01:32.502 --> 01:01:37.662
their idea. Clearly you had someone
like Jim Mattis, Rex Tillerson, Joe Dunford,

687
01:01:37.662 --> 01:01:43.992
General Dunford, myself and others, there was
give-and-take, he took all of that in.

688
01:01:43.992 --> 01:01:45.822
and in my opinion I don't

689
01:01:45.822 --> 01:01:52.822
think he would mind my saying this, made
exactly the right decision. Going

690
01:01:52.822 --> 01:01:58.087
forward from Syria and who knows where
that will end, we had some

691
01:01:58.087 --> 01:02:02.907
opportunities in the past we never sees
going forward the one thing that does

692
01:02:02.907 --> 01:02:08.047
concerns me and I know concerns the
European friends and allies is that as

693
01:02:08.047 --> 01:02:13.767
the caliphate goes away and we are
already seeing large numbers of the

694
01:02:13.767 --> 01:02:18.947
fighters go home because they are from
Europe, they are passport holders, born

695
01:02:18.947 --> 01:02:26.167
and raised in most cases in Europe. As
they go into Europe, into a - - back

696
01:02:26.167 --> 01:02:29.887
into a continent that did not know they
left for two or three or one years to

697
01:02:29.887 --> 01:02:33.807
fight. Most of those countries, as I
mentioned in my comments, are visa

698
01:02:33.807 --> 01:02:39.787
waiver countries. We have to start
looking very hard at that program. Not

699
01:02:39.787 --> 01:02:43.477
eliminating it and not doing anything
excessive but to look very hard at that

700
01:02:43.477 --> 01:02:50.297
program and say what do we need to do
because the real intent in many cases

701
01:02:50.297 --> 01:02:55.227
is for these individuals to get to the
United States. We are the Super Bowl in

702
01:02:55.227 --> 01:02:58.217
terms of terrorists. That's what they
want to do and that's where they want

703
01:02:58.217 --> 01:03:01.567
to come. Whether it is knocking down
airplanes in flight and you know I've

704
01:03:01.567 --> 01:03:07.577
some taken decisions about that we will
likely expand. They want to get here.

705
01:03:07.577 --> 01:03:12.887
They want to do us harm. That is my
concern now that we are winning, if you

706
01:03:12.887 --> 01:03:19.837
will, in Iraq and soon to win in Syria.
Those fighters go back to their homes

707
01:03:19.837 --> 01:03:23.837
in Europe and very possibly make the
trip to the United States. It's

708
01:03:23.837 --> 01:03:29.877
sobering but I'm glad you are taking
that foresight to the next realm. The

709
01:03:29.877 --> 01:03:33.397
returning foreign fighter issue is a
vexing challenge including some of the

710
01:03:33.397 --> 01:03:38.507
Visa Waiver Programs. I might also note
other foreign terrorist organizations,

711
01:03:38.507 --> 01:03:46.927
potentially, have been biding their time. Al Qaeda
they are down, but not out. The reality

712
01:03:46.927 --> 01:03:53.677
is, it's a direct concern of the United
States. Let me ask the final question and

713
01:03:53.677 --> 01:03:59.367
you have served and had a very
distinguished military career. In all

714
01:03:59.367 --> 01:04:05.507
sorts of roles and capacities. Everyone
I have spoken to will tell me this is a

715
01:04:05.507 --> 01:04:12.837
soldier's general. A marine. You're a
Marine. With all due respect to the

716
01:04:12.837 --> 01:04:20.157
soldiers. A marine, sorry about that.
The reality is everyone will

717
01:04:20.157 --> 01:04:22.057
tell you that you are thinking about

718
01:04:22.057 --> 01:04:26.057
the men and women on the very front
line. On the pointy end of the spear.

719
01:04:26.057 --> 01:04:31.527
Now that you are at the Department of
Homeland Security. They don't bode

720
01:04:31.527 --> 01:04:38.487
overly well in surveys in terms of
morale. I am glad you mentioned the

721
01:04:38.487 --> 01:04:44.327
unity of effort on steroids, by the way,
which I think it needs. Not an illegal

722
01:04:44.327 --> 01:04:50.847
steroid but where would you see things
going there? Now that you have an

723
01:04:50.847 --> 01:04:53.797
opportunity to speak to that and you do
every day and I know you do every day,

724
01:04:53.797 --> 01:04:54.587
that workforce,

725
01:04:54.587 --> 01:04:59.127
but what should we be thinking? The
rest of us as citizens in terms of the

726
01:04:59.127 --> 01:05:03.677
men and women? You should think about
the fact that we haven't had an

727
01:05:03.677 --> 01:05:09.327
airliner crash into a skyscraper in New
York in quite a while. You should think

728
01:05:09.327 --> 01:05:13.967
in terms we haven't had an airliner
that has been hijacked. You should

729
01:05:13.967 --> 01:05:20.247
think in terms of the number of bad
people that are here illegal in our country

730
01:05:20.247 --> 01:05:24.447
that are either not here anymore or are
hiding because ICE is after them and

731
01:05:24.447 --> 01:05:26.527
they are going to get them. You

732
01:05:26.527 --> 01:05:29.307
can think about the number of
terrorists that don't get through the

733
01:05:29.307 --> 01:05:35.867
CBP checkpoints. Whether they are the
land checkpoints, sea, or air.

734
01:05:35.867 --> 01:05:45.617
In 45 and half years in the Marine Corps,
it came to me you can get human beings to

735
01:05:45.617 --> 01:05:51.527
do anything you want them to do. They
will invade and take Iwo Jima or

736
01:05:51.527 --> 01:05:56.897
they'll shine your shoes. You have to
teach them how to do it, encourage them and

737
01:05:56.897 --> 01:06:02.377
you have to lead and you have to give
them credit. The worst, I'm told, morale

738
01:06:02.377 --> 01:06:08.567
in the federal government is in this
department. 90 days ago, I made a deal

739
01:06:08.567 --> 01:06:12.567
with the people in this department. I
would protect them. I have their back.

740
01:06:12.567 --> 01:06:16.257
I will encourage them to do their jobs,
which they are doing each and every

741
01:06:16.257 --> 01:06:20.927
day. I suspect not because of me, but
because of the people they are that

742
01:06:20.927 --> 01:06:26.567
their morale is already going in the
right direction. Not because of Kelly,

743
01:06:26.567 --> 01:06:31.927
but because of what this administration
has told them to do within the law.

744
01:06:31.927 --> 01:06:37.397
They are really, really good people.
They are remarkable in their dedication

745
01:06:37.397 --> 01:06:42.477
and every American ought to be very,
very happy that they have men and women

746
01:06:42.477 --> 01:06:47.857
that fill out the ranks in DHS looking
out for them and their families.

747
01:06:47.857 --> 01:06:53.517
General Kelly, Mr. Secretary, thank you
for taking the time to join us. Thank

748
01:06:53.522 --> 01:06:58.662
you for your leadership. Please know
you are calling on all of us in

749
01:06:58.662 --> 01:07:02.662
whatever role we can play to help.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

750
01:07:02.662 --> 01:07:25.282
[Applause]