In her farewell speech at the National Press Club in Washington today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the “key to success” during her four and a half years leading the DHS has been shaping a department that’s “flexible and agile.”
“Being flexible and agile means acknowledging that we may not be able to stop all threats all the time, but we can and must be prepared to address them quickly when they happen, minimize their consequences, draw pragmatic lessons and emerge stronger and better,” she said. “These are the most critical elements of our ability to meet our complex mission. And I believe we are seeing that approach bear fruit in a profound, positive way.”
Napolitano is leaving the department to head the University of California without a successor in place.
She hailed her “see something, say something” program, which D.C. commuters are periodically reminded of in a booming Napolitano voice ringing across the Metro platforms. The secretary said she expanded the campaign “to more than 250 states, cities, transportation systems, universities and private sector entities nationwide to encourage the public to play an active role in reporting suspicious activity.”
Napolitano also praised her shift in immigration enforcement to focus on “criminals, national security and public safety threats, repeat offenders, and egregious immigration violators.”
“Over the past four and a half years, we have invested historic resources to prevent illegal cross-border activity area, and because of these investments and manpower, and technology, and infrastructure our borders are now better staffed and better protected than at any time in our nations history. It illegal crossings have dropped to near 40-year lows,” she said.
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