WASHINGTON – Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Under Secretary for Policy Robert Silvers participated in the Munich Security Conference (MSC) to discuss the importance of homeland security to the United States’ broader national security, including its role confronting state-based threats and building whole-of-society approaches to resilience.
On Friday, Secretary Mayorkas addressed senior intelligence officials at the conference, stressing the importance of bolstering information sharing between nations and within their own societies to better address the threats of 2023 and beyond. “We need to increase exponentially our investment in international and subnational partnership to prepare our nations for the threats we can predict and the ones we cannot,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “The more we all invest in our own homeland security, the safer we will all become.” You can read his full remarks at: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/02/17/secretary-mayorkas-remarks-munich-security-conference-intelligence-luncheon
Secretary Mayorkas participated in a public panel entitled “Greyzone Anatomy: Dissecting Hybrid Threats” alongside Pål Johnson, the Minister of Defence of Sweden, Ana Revenco, the Minister of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Moldova, and Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission’s Vice President for Promoting Our European Way of Life. The group outlined the similar threats each nation faces and discussed opportunities to share best practices and build resiliency. “The threats I mentioned know no boundaries. They impact many more than their intended recipient,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “Our threat landscape now can be addressed only through collective action.”
On Saturday, the Secretary joined German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser for a “Conversation on Critical Infrastructure” where he addressed the need for robust private sector engagement at home and abroad to defend against the threats we face. The two leaders also discussed approaches to recruitment challenges facing government agencies addressing critical infrastructure threats. He joined Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann, and other members of the U.S. delegation to attend Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks.
Secretary Mayorkas held several bilateral discussions with international counterparts, global business leaders, and nonprofit executives, including Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, and Executive Director of Europol Catherine De Bolle. Among the topics discussed included increasing international collaboration to combat transnational criminal organizations and the trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs, critical infrastructure security, and the uses and risks of new artificial intelligence technology.
Under Secretary for Policy Robert Silvers spoke at the Munich Cyber Security Conference on Friday, outlining, for the first time, DHS’s vision for strengthening cyber defense around the world. “The war in Ukraine teaches us that defense matters. Resilience matters. Our relationships matter,” said Under Secretary Silvers. “We have seen that doing the hard work on the front end pays off – company to company, government to company, and government to government. We are acting on these lessons globally.” You can read his full remarks here: https://www.dhs.gov/publication/under-secretary-silvers-delivers-remarks-munich-cyber-security-conference
Prior to attending the Munich Security Conference, Secretary Mayorkas visited Rzeszów, Poland near the Ukraine border to observe U.S. efforts to support both nations in their fight against the unjust Russian invasion. In February 2022, the President designated DHS as the lead Federal agency to coordinate domestic preparedness and response efforts related to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis. In March 2022, DHS launched Uniting 4 Ukraine (U4U), a process that enables certain Ukrainians, along with their immediate family members, to request advanced authorization to travel to the United States to seek parole at a port of entry. Since then, the U.S. Government has admitted or paroled into the United States through various legal pathways nearly 260,000 displaced Ukrainians and their immediate family members.
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