Colleagues:
Our Department of Homeland Security is the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government. Our law enforcement work spans the globe and protects our country in every domain: on land, in the air, on the seas, and in cyberspace. Many of you perform this work on the front lines, at great risk to your personal safety, every single day. Others of you contribute to the law enforcement mission in different, important ways. Together, you perform the noble work of dedicating your talent and selves to the protection of others.
Law enforcement is indeed a noble profession.
This week is National Police Week, a time each year when law enforcement leaders and personnel from around the country and the world gather in Washington, D.C. to honor law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, making the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our communities and our country. We in the Department will be hosting ceremonies honoring our fallen colleagues, in Department headquarters and in the headquarters of each of our agencies that perform the vital law enforcement work. Some ceremonies already have taken place in different parts of the country and additional ceremonies will be held in the next few weeks.
It is our commitment and our obligation to not forget those who lost their lives in the line of duty. Their ultimate sacrifice has made it possible for us to enjoy the freedoms and the life that define this greatest country of ours. We recognize their families as well. The risks the fallen undertook, and the sacrifices they made, were undertaken and made by their loved ones too.
Please join me in honoring the lives and loved ones of the fallen whom we recognize this year:
U.S. Coast Guard
NATHAN B. BRUCKENTHAL, Petty Officer 3rd Class
End of Watch: April 24, 2004
TERRELL E. HORNE, III, Senior Chief
End of Watch: December 2, 2012
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
EDGARDO ACOSTA-FELICIANO, Agent
End of Watch: July 31, 2021
TROY ALLEN ADKINS, Officer
End of Watch: December 31, 2020
MARTIN BARRIOS, Agent
End of Watch: November 29, 2021
ANDREW RAYMOND BOUCHARD, Officer
End of Watch: December 19, 2020
YOKEMIA CONYERS, Officer
End of Watch: August 18, 2021
DANIEL PAUL COX, Agent
End of Watch: July 31, 2021
LUIS HERIBERTO DOMINGUEZ, Agent
End of Watch: September 23, 2021
VICTOR JULIAN DONATE, Officer
End of Watch: October 7, 2021
RUBEN FACIO, Officer
End of Watch: July 17, 2021
ALEJANDRO FLORES-BAÑUELOS, Agent
End of Watch: March 15, 2021
BEVERLY GOOD, Director of Field Operations
End of Watch: January 28, 2021
DAVID H. GRAY, Enforcement Analyst Specialist
End of Watch: October 8, 2021
GENARO GUERRERO, Officer
End of Watch: February 15, 2021
ALFREDO MOISES IBARRA, Agent
End of Watch: September 27, 2021
MATHEW LESLIE LYONS, Port Director
End of Watch: October 28, 2021
SALVADOR MARTINEZ JR, Agent
End of Watch: November 30, 2021
ROBERT ALLAN MAYER JR, Special Agent
End of Watch: January 30, 2021
CHAD EDWARD MCBROOM, Agent
End of Watch: August 29, 2021
CARLOS C. MENDOZA, Officer
End of Watch: February 24, 2021
RUDY MORALES JR, Mechanic
End of Watch: February 5, 2021
JUAN OLLERVIDEZ III, Agriculture Specialist
End of Watch: December 16, 2020
ANIBAL ANTONIO PEREZ, Agent
End of Watch: November 5, 2021
DAVID BLANCO RAMIREZ, Agent
End of Watch: September 26, 2021
MONICA JUNE RIOLA, Officer
End of Watch: August 20, 2021
DAVID BRYANT SAAVEDRA, Officer
End of Watch: September 2, 2021
RAFAEL GILBERTO SANCHEZ, Agent
End of Watch: October 24, 2021
CRISPIN SAN JOSE, Officer
End of Watch: March 9, 2021
BYRON DON SHIELDS, Officer
End of Watch: January 20, 2021
CESAR DANGARAN SIBONGA, Officer
End of Watch: February 7, 2021
CHRISTOPHER SHANE SIMPKINS, Agent
End of Watch: April 12, 2021
ERIK JAMES SKELTON, Officer
End of Watch: August 24, 2021
FRANCISCO V. TOMAS, Technician
End of Watch: September 1, 2021
JUAN MANUEL URRUTIA, Agent
End of Watch: May 28, 2021
WOLF RUBEN VALMOND, Officer Trainee
End of Watch: December 15, 2019
FREDDIE VASQUEZ, Agent
End of Watch: May 8, 2021
DENIS JASPER WELLS, Facility Operations Specialist
End of Watch: December 17, 2020
RICARDO ZARATE, Agent
End of Watch: August 16, 2021
Federal Protective Service
LOWERY WARE, SR, Inspector
End of Watch: July 23, 2020
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
ROBERTO CARLOS CANTU, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: September 13, 2021
BRADLEY JOHN HARRIS, Special Agent
End of Watch: December 22, 2020
WILLIAM HAYES, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: January 3, 2022
RONALD MASON HUNTER JR, Section Chief
End of Watch: August 9, 2021
BRADLEY K. KAM, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: October 12, 2021
DANNY KEITH LAUGHNER JR, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: October 1, 2020
DAVID MIZE, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: December 19, 2021
MIGUEL ANGEL ORTIZ, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: August 30, 2021
RONALD ROLAND PHILLIPS, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: July 26, 2020
JUAN ROJAS, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: August 7, 2020
OLYNTHIA JERMAINE TURNER, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: September 18, 2021
ROSA ELISA VASQUEZ, Deportation Officer
End of Watch: November 5, 2021
U.S. Secret Service
CHARLES LUNSFORD FRIEND, Special Agent in Charge
End of Watch: October 23, 2018
THOMAS J. JOHNSTON, Resident Agent
End of Watch: February 26, 2001
KEITH A. MILLS, Lead Special Officer
End of Watch: April 25, 2021
Transportation Security Administration
SHAWN HENNESSEE, Senior Federal Air Marshal
End of Watch: August 26, 2021
These individuals will be remembered, and they will forever remain with us.
To those of you who continue to serve on the front lines – who risk so much of yourselves in the service of our country – we thank you, your families, and your loved ones.
Thank you to all of you for everything you do.
Alejandro N. Mayorkas
Secretary of Homeland Security
With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.