Plenary Session 3: The Homeland Enterprise Now and the Way Ahead

Our society is shifting rapidly and our longstanding institutions are trying to keep pace. New technologies, better training, and efforts to diversify our nation’s police forces have all had positive impact. Everyday we call on our police to be more than law enforcement officers and expect them to also respond to nonviolent calls relating to mental illness, addiction, and other social ills. Still we hear for calls to “defund.” Is it time to ask more of our police and cut resources? What technologies might we better leverage in our policing?

One of the most positive trends in international travel over the last decade has been the demonstrated ability to adapt. We saw significant increases in both passenger and cargo, then decreases due to COVID for passengers, but increases for cargo, and now a strong return on passenger – all against a background of a shifting threat environment. US government agencies and the travel industry also piloted innovative ideas and technologies to alleviate common stress points, as well as changes in operational procedures and staffing. As just one example, these stakeholders partnered to quickly implement enhancements in response to COVID to protect passenger health, safety, and security – and continued adapting. As passengers increasingly return to international travel, we will need to continue that spirit of adaptation and innovation. This session will identify opportunities to increase technology and communication, cooperate between international governments with commensurate screening processes and standards, and implement process best practices to further enhance the future of international travel.

The Homeland Security Enterprise was built with an initial focus on external threats and natural disasters. In the past 20 years, most attacks in the US have come from domestically radicalized individuals and we are seeing an increase in hate groups motivated toward violence. How are we working to address radicalization of all stripes? Can the federal counterterrorism enterprise support domestic operations while keeping with our national core values?