As the illegal immigration crisis on the U.S. southern border with Mexico continues to overwhelm Border Patrol, the broader federal government and local municipalities, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced a new priority Monday afternoon.
“Domestic violent extremism poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today,” Mayorkas released in a statement. “As we work to safeguard our Nation, we must be vigilant in our efforts to identify and combat domestic violent extremism within both the broader community and our own organization. Hateful acts and violent extremism will not be tolerated within our Department.”
"Recent events, including the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol, have highlighted that domestic violent extremism poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today. Addressing this threat is an urgent priority of the Biden-Harris Administration and of this Department. We will continue to work with our partners to immediately address it," he continued in a letter to Department employees and staff. "As we work to safeguard the Nation and our values, we must be vigilant in our efforts to identify and combat domestic violent extremism within both the broader community and our own organization. Violent extremism has no place at DHS and we will work with urgency and focus to address it."
So what exactly will this "investigation" entail? And what specifically is Mayorkas trying to "identify?"
"At the direction of the Secretary, a cross-Departmental working group comprised of senior officials will immediately begin a comprehensive review of how to best prevent, detect, and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism within DHS. This internal team, which will be led by the Department’s Chief Security Officer, will produce a report with recommendations for the Secretary on how best to identify and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism, including those based on racially or ethnically-motivated violent extremism," DHS released.
Earlier this month Nation of Islam follower Noah Green, who was also an avid Louis Farrakhan fan, purposely crashed into a U.S. Capitol checkpoint. He killed one officer and wounded another before he was shot.
AG Garland and DHS Secretary Mayorkas will be testifying before the Senate Approps Committee on May 12 for a hearing titled "Domestic Violent Extremism in America": https://t.co/4hHRsiE5fX
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) April 26, 2021