agencies and a number of cap that level departments ranging from the department of agriculture, the department of energy, treasury, justice. one level official responsible for homeland security, border security, treasury, so forth. just within the last 11 months i i have been office, dealing with the situation we had this summer in the rio grande valley. it at one of having conference table, the officials responsible for aviation to deal, port security, in a comprehensive, strategic way, various situations that , like the situation that occurred in the rio grande valley. there is no one cabinet level

official responsible for the land-searder -- we are moving toward in general a risk-based strategy to homeland security. perhaps the most notable example of that is t.s.a. t.s.a. has t.s.a. precheck. a lot of people here are a member of t.s.a. precheck, i'm sure. submit some information on background. you get to the airport, there's a shorter line. less aviation security screening when you get there. it enables us to free up resources to devote toward the class of individuals we know ess about at the airports.

popular has become with the public. it's the agency of the the government that the public deals with the most. at the same time we've developed and grown t.s.a. precheck. it's an amazing fact i like to repeat to audiences. just in the first three months of calendar year 2014. t.s.a. has seized from the carry-orn luggage of aviation passengers people getting ready to get on the airplane that you carry-on firearms in luggage including 1,471 of which were loaded, over 3,000 various different types of weapons seized by t.s.a. in the first months of 2014 alone. i salute the work of this

organization. there is a lot of misunderstanding, misapprehensions about the state of our border security right now, particularly the southern order. i'm more devoted to the transparency in terms of the numbers of people removed in the course of a fiscal year. i think there's a fair amount of misunderstanding and mystery surrounding the numbers, so i'm committed to more transparency and we're developing better ways to make that happen. under t, the case that president obama in particular and over the last three presidents, president clinton, bush, and obama, we've dedicated an unprecedented amount of personnel, technology, to border

security, particularly the southern border. i gave a speech at csis about a month ago when i talked about our border security efforts, the number of additional patrol agents which has gone from 8,600 in the year 2005 to over 18,000 now. the day president obama took office, there were approximately 15,700 border patrol agencies. there are now over 18,000. the amount of fence has gone to over 700 69 now. we've gone over the last 15 years from two 84 vessels.

all sorts of surveillance technology, mobile surveillance technology, night vision technology, and this investment by our presidents, the congress with the support of the american public has shown results. a lot of illegal migration is driven by push-pull factors relating to economics, the economy in the country you're leaving, the economy of the country you're going to. very clearly, the violence, poverty in countries where my grants leave from. -- migrants leave from. there is an aspect to illegal migration clearly. but in fiscal year 2000, apprehensions on the southern border, which are an indicator of total attempts to cross the border, reached a high of 1.643 million. the last several years, it's

been down 70% from that to around 400 to 500,000 a year. as simon noted, the population of undocumented in this country reached a high of 1.2 million in 2006. today it's now around, according to pew estimates, 11.3 million. it has stopped growing. it has actually decreased over the last several years, it has stopped growing for the first 19 80's. the 55% of which were just in the rio grande valley sector alone. i saw the situation myself in a number of visits to south texas

to mcallen to new mexico to phoenix. it was clearly humanitarian aspect to our response, but we responded aggressively to the . ike this past summer an aggressive public awareness campaign about the dangers of the trip for child -- for a child, and the numbers today of unaccompanied children crossing are at the lowest they've been in almost two years. the high point was june 10, 2014. and it dropped dramatically from that point forward to the point where the number of unaccompanied children crossing the southern border is in the rio grande sector in particular the lowest it's been in almost

.wo years all this is affected by push and pull factors, but we're determined that we need to do more ourselves for border security. i'm concerned about the possibility of another rise in illegal migration. much of it is seasonal. it begins to climb each year at the beginning of the year, peaks in the early summer and drops off when it gets hot in the late summer so we're concerned about another rise. and we have to depart against another rise in illegal migration of the type we saw this past summer. so we have to be aware of the fact that the economy in this country is getting better. so we're committed to sustaining the infrastructure that was put in place. we announced several days ago the opening of another detention

facility in dilly, texas, that has the capablity to detain adults with their children. we've announced the closure of artesia last summer on the campus of fletsy in new mexico. that was intended to be temporary. we announced the closure of it. but we're building more detention infrastructure. some people are critical of that. in my view, it is essential that we have this infrastructure in place to guard against additional rises in illegal .igration

>> ice does it its thing, the . ast guard does its thing for investigations to support the other two. i've directed the creation of border security metrics that will define publicly how we efine border security.

. i will say this. as the president has said many times, legislative action is always preferable but we've waited now for years for the congress to act and the congress has not acted. in 2013 the senate passed a comprehensive bill by a vote of 68-3 . a bipartisan coalition in support of immigration reform. the house did not act. the house did not act in 2013. house has not acted in 2014. the president has waited. in the meantime we've identified a number of executive actions that we can take within our

existing legal authority to fix what everyone recognizes is a broken immigration system. and so our reforms will be comprehensive. i am satisfied that our reforms are within our existing legal uthorities and they will address a number of things including border security. the president is committed to border security. the president is committed to reducing illegal migration in the future. so we'll be announcing a set of comprehensive reforms all within our existing legal authority to fix the broken immigration system. so with that, i'm happy to answer questions. >> thank you. [applause]

we've already gotten some questions. let me start with a couple from me and then we'll dive into the public questions. , d.h.s., l, in 2011 john morton, issued something called the morton memo which set new priorities for removal in the u.s. has it worked? has it been successful? are we safer today because of it? >> i'm very familiar with the morton memo.

there are actually several morton memos. >> yeah. >> there's a lot of guidance issued by i.c.e. about priories for removal. and in my view, the guidance ould be clearer. one can remain fully committed to prioritizing threats to national security, public safety, border security, and at the same time provide clear guidance to the field, to the workers out there who enforce and administer the immigration laws. one of the things that i'm committed to -- and i learned this from being the senior lawyer for the department of -- the field -- you

know, you can issue policy statements from washington, but the field has to be clear about what it is that is expected of them. d so i'm committed to making sure that whatever we do is properly explained to the work force, people in the field, people in the field may not always agree with our policies, but in my judgment, if they understand them and they feel as though their views have been heard and reflected in some way, that presents a good equation for success in the implementation of it. so working with -- working in the department of defense, which is, you know, a very, very large organization of three million people, in my experience, if you

properly educate and train the work force on the policies that you want to bring about, they have greater chance for success and implementation in a way that seems to be reflected in the policy statements. and so that is a priority for me. i think that the morton memo, the march morton memo that you user to, march, 2011, could some additional clarity. and i know that the i.c.e. leadership agrees with that. >> so we should expect that. > i didn't say that. the existing policy. >> ok. related to that, what did we learn from daca and what kind of lessons have we learned about he use of pros cue torle discretion, a process that could affect more than a million

people, we're now in the renewal of it, so we're in the second round of daca. what have you taken away in terms of how successful has it been, what can we learn, what can be done better? >> we've learned a lot, c.i.s. has learned a lot about implementation of the program from that experience. something like over 700,000 people have applied. we're in the renewal phase right now. i think there have been something like 600,000 who have been accepted into daca. very definitely when you start up new program there are lessons learned in doing so. and i think from my -- i wasn't rt of d.h.s. in 2012, but my observation is that while there may have been some bumps in the road in the start-up of it like there are in any large government program, the

implementation of it is gone relatively -- gone relatively well. it's obviously made a lot of people happy and provided for a better life for a lot of people. so that's my take on it. >> i'll just say that we've seen a report that's about to come out any day from an academic in california who's looked at some of the -- when people applied -- reapplied, they had to put down some data on their earnings and their income, and the data -- there's now -- he's going to be releasing an initial analysis showing a significant increase in the earnings of the daca recipients in the first two years, which is what we had hoped. you guys have done a great job. the questions are terrific. thank you. so we've got some fun ones come up here, mr. secretary. adult the dention, adult and

child detention. we have a new facility in >> dilly. >> we've got new questions about the propriety of this type of detention for -- as was written here, that the american immigration lawyers association yesterday and 130 organizations sent the president a letter asking him to stop the mass of mily detentions of central americans fleeing. what are your thoughts on how we go forward here? >> before the experience of the 34 ,000 the 32, tention beds that i.c.e. maintains, something like only i for 95 were available family units, for adults who bring their kids across the border. that is a very, very, very small

francisco of the total capacity -- fraction of the total capacity so when we had the situation this summer, rather than just simply apprehending them, processing them, and sending them to the nearest bus station so they can go into the interior, we're talking about family units, now, and the numbers of individuals in family units was very similar month to month, day to day as the numbers of unaccompanied kids that were crossing the border over the summer. rather than just simply sending them to the nearest bus station, we felt it necessary to build additional detention capability in part y units, because it is important to send midst of a in the

spike that if you come here and you invest $8,000 paying a coyote to come here, don't assume you're going to get here and be able to stay. so we built ar teach ya on the campus in new mexico. i visited there myself when we opened it. very definitely there are some things that we should have done and did to improve the ability or attorney clients to communicate. ar teach ya is in a remote area. i think dilly is, too. we've done things to improve the ability to communicate. we're still working on that. maintaining the capacity for the adults who

bring their kids across the border is a critical component to border security in that we need to continue to have that capacity. that's my view, and i think that just 95 beds out of 34,000 is not sufficient for that purpose when you're dealing with family units. >> wait times on the border. trade has exploded so rapidly, the infrastructure was really -- that we had facilitate immigration along the border was really constructed for a trade relationship probably of about one third the current size of what we have now. we know that wait 250eu78s are increasing, slowing down economic activity and growth on both sides. what are your thoughts? >> wait times at airports? >> no. the wait times on the southern border for cargo and -- come into the u.s. has increased in some cases.

we've made some investments. what are your thoughts about what we can be doing over the next five to 10 years to invest in border infrastructure to help make sure that we can not only keep up with the current levels of trade but anticipate the future level. > this is something that president obama is committed to. one of my first -- my first conference that i attended among the three leaders was in march taluca where the three of them got together to talk about facilitating trade, lawful trade and travel. frankly, i did not appreciate until i got into the job that a big part of my job is promoting, facilitating lawful trade and travel because we have the customs component within d.h.s.

so the leaders have embarked on a number of initiatives to do that. for the caunds we have beyond the border initiative. i was in ottawa in september meeting with my counterparts there to talk about that, how we build on that. we want to continue to build infrastructure within our budget constraints to facilitate lawful trade and travel. but we also want to make it more efficient, easier from a bureaucratic standpoint, a single point of entry into our complex system for managing exports and imports, so that somebody who is ex porting or importing goods into or out of this country has a single point of entry into a government agency. i'm hoping that minister blaney and i will sign an agreement soon enhancing preclearance capablity in canada in a number

of respects. preclearance has the advantage of both promoting security but also promoting lawful travel, so he and i will be signing an agreement like that very, very soon. and we continue to look with mexico to a number of ways we can build trade there. it's very important to the relationship, so it's a my priority for the president. therefore, it's a high priority of mine. >> i'll reflect that i was lucky enough to be in a meeting with the president and vice president before they went to mexico in the fall of last year, and i mini- -- in my little two bit, i talked about border -- he went on at length about border construction in a nerdy way. i was really -- i was blown away by the depth of his understanding of how central

this is to our economy. and so i think we've made some strides in recent years. there's been significant -- the know gal easy opening which came there's a first rail crossing. i don't know if that's been finished. our policy makers have a lot of work to do to keep up. two more and we'll let you go. i know you have a lot to do in the next few days. i should say, by the way, that there were a series of questions about the timing of the announcement. what i what we know from news reports this morning is the president will be giving a speech in las vegas on friday. one of the fun questions was, are you going to be there, mr. secretary? no.o, >> ok. you haven't checked your schedule yet? could be a fun week for all of us. couple more and we'll let you

go. this is a good friend who's been writing with great thoughtfulness about these issues in recent months. >> where's the fox reporter. >> vox. >> lucas is here. where are you? >> lucas is here. all right. let me give that -- >> lucas, i don't know if you submitted anything but -- so she asked an interesting questioning going back to mornlte. the morton memos. currently, we have deprioritized the deportation of people without criminal records in the interior. there's been significant change in the way we've managed the interior deportation system. n 2014 there were only some -- this is not something that's well understood. if, let's say the executive ction covers half or so of the

undocumented population, what happens in terms of deportation priorities of the rest. ? well, reality is, we have a finite level of resources to enforce our immigration laws and so like virtually every other law enforcement agency, we have to prioritize. some people seem to deny the very existence of prosecutorial discretion but it exists in every law enforcement agency and you have to prioritize and you don't leave it to the individuals on the ground to figure out the priorities. policy should be set at a senior level, so we have, in fact, prioritized border security, public safety, national security, which is why the very high percentage of those who are

convicted of various types of crimes. i think that's a good policy. think it should be maintained so long as we have a finite number of resources -- resources, we need to continue to focus on malaysian of public safety and the american -- behalf of public safety. those who threaten national security, and i fully suspect that that policy will continue. >> final question. what we are hearing is that whatever executive action comes, it will -- the family ties will be a significant component of it? gbt, 267,000 lgbt undocumented

who lack these formal family ties. is there any thought given to how as you remake the system and you're constantly making the system, i would argue that this administration has made our border far saver, the immigration system far better and more humane in recent years. that's a debatable point but we believe that. how do we think about this issue? scombroo well, i'll say this. family unification, family unite a policy reflected in our immigration laws. i think it's a good policy so i -- and i believe the policy priority of family unite, family unification -- unity, family unification should

be maintained. i believe in the sanctity of the family unit. i know the president believes in the sanctity of the family unit. i've told this story many times. i'll never forget it. my first visit to mcallen station, may 11, 2014, mother's day and i wanted to see the kids myself on mother's day. with my wife. and the first little girl i encounter, i asked her through a translator, where's your mother? she said i don't have a mother but i'm looking for my father in the united states. that's why i'm here. and i heard that story over and over again on the border. family eve that consistent with u.s. immigration policy. at the same time we've got to maintain border security.

we can't have policies that operate as a magnet for future illegal migration. and i believe that there are ys that a number of policy priorities can be reflected, implemented, and co-exist ent with one another. and so think that's what i have to say. >> final thoughts? anything we didn't cover you want to get out before you go? new to -- i was new to when ation law and policy i came into this job. before that, it was fiscal law, i still deal with fiscal law. and ve been disheartened disappointed with how volatile

the issue has become in american application -- politics. hope people will look at immigration reform from a common sense point of view. what makes common sense? what's practical? what's pragmatic. and i hope that through the good work of your organization, simon, and others and the speeches i will continue to make, people will recognize the great strides we've made in border security over the last 10, 15 years, in this administration and the two prior administrations. illegal migration has, in fact, gone down significantly in the last 15 years through all the nvestments we've made in

resources, it's gone up significantly. there's more to do. clearly there's more to do to meet future border security challenges. we're going to do that. we're committed to doing that, and i'd like to do it with congress but will find ways to do it without congress if we can't. a lot of people in congress were very anxious that we do something about the spike in illegal migration this past summer. ok. i agree with you. so help me out with supplemental funding. congress was not able to pass supplemental funding, so we dealt with the situation on the border by reprogramming from existing resources. i had to take several hundred million dollars out of the disaster relief fund to pay for our response to the surge in the rio grande valley sector this

past summer. formatly, we did not have a major event this summer. hurricane season's about over. so you got knock on wood on that one. so i'd like everyone to fully appreciate and understand the great strides we've made in border security over the last 15 years, the common sense approach to our reform efforts in recognition of the reality of a broken immigration system. and to recognize what i believe is a fairly wide latitude within existing executive authority to ix the system. it can't be that -- we can't -- we're not allowed to lift a finger to fix the broken immigration system until congress acts. we've been waiting for congress to act. can't be that we're not allowed

to take action in a number of respects to reform the system. and we will. we've identified a number of ways that we will, which the president will speak to in the coming days. and so -- and i guess my last point on this is, i hope that organizations such as this can help us to remove some of the misapprehensions about immigration policy, board security in this country. it doesn't help when public about, you y things know, theoretical threats, chasing ghosts on the southern border. and so it's my responsibility to kind of unring that bell to talk about the facts, and so i hope that organizations such as yours will continue to do so as well, so -- those are my closings thoughts. sorry i went on a little long. >> well, what we do know is that

we're about to have, from all news accounts, a very spirited debate about all these issues in the weeks and months to come. we know you're going to be at the center of this with your very able team, and certainly we're going to continue to do our nart trying to make sure that there's occasionally data driving some of the punditry on policy makers. these are tough issues, this is hard stuff. and i -- part of my mission and somebody who's worked on these issues for a long time, i've helped pass nafta in 1993. my involvement in these policy matters go back literally two decades now. i'm proud of what d.h.s. has been able to do in the midst of unbelievably complicated politics and operationally tough challenges and i hope you and your big team have pride in how

they've made our borders safer, the immigration system more humane, and we do have a lot more work to do. thank you for being here today. >> thanks. >> you can clap now. [applause] >> thank you. good luck. >> thank you very much. >> yeah. >> thanks, everybody. >> in 2013 president obama visited a las vegas high school to talk about immigration policy. on friday he'll be returning to that same high school to talk again about the executive action he's taking on immigration issues. here are his remarks from two years ago. this is 25 minutes.

>> thank you, thank you! thank you so much. thank you. [applause] thank you. well, it is good to be back in las vegas. [cheers and applause] >> and it is good to be among so many good friends. let me start off by thanking everybody at dell sol high school for hosting us. [cheers and applause] go dragons! let me thank your outstanding .rincipal, lisa peoplea there are all kinds of notable guests here but i just want to

mention a few. first of all, our outstanding secretary of -- department of homeland security, janet neopolitano is here. [cheers and applause] . our wonderful secretary of the interior, tim salazar. former secretary of labor, sew lease. two of the outstanding members of the congressional delegation from nevada, steve horseford and jean tight is. your own mayor, carolyn goodman, but we also have some mayors that flew in because they know how important an issue -- the issue we're going to talk about today is. maria lopez rogers. kassim reed from atlanta, georgia, greg stan from phoenix,

arizona, and ashley swearingen from fresno, california. [cheers and applause] and all of you are here as well as some of the top labor leaders in the country and we are just so grateful. some outstanding business leaders are here as well and of course we've got wonderful students here so i could not be prouder of our students. cheers and applause] >> those of you who haven't taken a seat, feel free to take a seat. >> we love you! >> i love you back. last week, last week i had the a or of being sworn in for

second term as president 06 the united states. [cheers and applause] and during my inaugural address i talked about how making progress on the defining challenges of our time doesn't require us to settle every debate or ignore every difference that we may have. but it does require us to find common ground and move forward in common purpose. it requires us to act. i know that some issues will be harder to lift that others. some deebts will be more con 10 -- dee bates will be -- will be more contention. i came here because of a challenge where the differences are dwindling. we're a -- where a broad conception is emerging and where a call for action can now be heard coming from all across america. i'm here today because the time has come for common sense,

comprehensive freags reform. [cheers and applause] now's the time. ow's the time. now's the time. >> u.s.a.! u.s.a.! . now's the time >> i'm here because -- i'm here because most americans agree that it's time to fix the system that's been broken for way too long. i'm here because business leaders, faith leaders, labor leaders, law enforcement, and leaders from both parties are coming together to say now is the time to find a better way to

welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see america as the land of opportunity. now's the time to do this so we can strengthen our economy and strengthen our country's future. think about it. we define ourselves as a nation of immigrants. that's what we are in our bones. the promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that's always been one of our greatest strengths. it keeps our work force young. it keeps our country on the cutting edge, and it's helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known. after all, immigrants helped start businesses like google and yahoo. they created entire new industries that in turn created new jobs and new prosperity for our citizens. in recent years, one in four high-tech startups in america were founded by immigrants.

one in four new small business owners were immigrants, including right here in nevada. folks who came here seeking opportunity and now want to share that opportunity with other americans. but we all know that today we have an immigration system that's out of date and badly broken. a system that's holding us back instead of helping us grow our economy and strengthen our middle class. right now we have 11 million undocumented immigrants in america. 11 million men and women from all over the world who live their lives in the shadows. yes, they broke the rules, they crossed the border illegally. maybe they overstayed their visas. those are the facts. no one disputes them. pu these 11 million men and women are now here. many of them have been here for

years. and the over whemming majority of these individuals aren't looking for any trouble. they're contributing members of the community. they're looking out for their families. they're looking out for their neighbors. they're we haven into the fabric of our lives. every day, like the rest of us, they go out and try to earn a living. often they do that in the shadow economy, a place where employers may offer them less than the minimum paige wage or make them work overtime without extra pay. and when that happens it's not just bad for them, it's bad for the entire economy. because all the businesses that are trying to do the right thing, that are hiring people legally, paying a decent wage, following the rules, they're the ones who suffer. they've got to compete against companies that are breaking the rules. and the wages and working conditions of american workers are threatened, too.

so if we're truly committed to strengthening our middle class and providing more ladder's of opportunity to those who are willing to work hard to make it into the middle class, we've got to fix is system. -- the system. we have to make sure that every business and every worker in america is playing by the same set of rules. we have to bring the shadow economy into the light so that everybody's held accountable. businesses for who they hire and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law. that's common sense. that's why we need comprehensive immigration reform. and -- cheers and applause] there's another economic reason why we need reform. it's not just about the folks who come here illegally and have the effect they have on our economy it's also about the

folks who try to come here legally but have a hard time doing so. and the effect that has on our economy. right now there are brilliant students from all over the world sitting in classrooms at our top universities. they're earning degrees in the fields of the future like engineering and computer science. but once they finish school, once they earn that diploma, there's a good chance they'll have to leave our country. think about that. intel was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and then stayed here. instagram was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and then stayed here. right now in one of those classrooms there's a student wrestling with how to turn their big idea, their intel or instagram into a big business. we're giving them all the skills they need to figure that out.

but then we're going to turn around and tell them to start that business and create those jobs in china or india or mexico or some place else. that's not how you grow new industries in america. that's how you give new industries to our competitors. that's why we need comprehensive immigration reform. cheers and applause] now, during my first term, we took steps to try and patch up some of the worst cracks in the system. first we strengthened security at the borders so that we could finally stem the tide of illegal immigrants. we put more boots on the ground on the southern border than any time in our history. today illegal crossings are down from nearly 80% at their peak in 2000. [applause] >> second, we focus our

enforcement effort on criminals who are here illegally and who endepage danger our communities and today deportation of criminals is at its highest level ever. we took off the cause of the dreamers, the young people who were brought to this country -- can cheers and applause] young people who have grown up here, built their lives here, have futures here. we said that if you're able to meet some basic criteria, like pursuing an education, then we'll consider offering you a chance to come out of the shadows so that you can come here and work legally. so that you can finally have the dignity of knowing you belong. but because this change isn't permanent, we need congress to act and not just on the dream act. we need congress to act on a comprehensive approach that

finally deals with the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in the country right now. that's what we need. cheers and applause] now, the good news is that for the first time in many years, republicans and democrats seem ady to tackle this problem together. cheers and applause] members of both parties in both chambers are actively working on a solution. yesterday a bipartisan group of senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform which are very much in line with the principles i proposed and campaigned on for the last few years. for this moment it looks like there's a genuine desire to get

this done soon, and that's very encouraging. but this time, action must following. we can't allow immigration reform to get bogged down in an endless debate. we've been debating this a very long time. so it's not as if we don't know technically what needs to get done. as a consequence to help move this process along, today i'm laying out my ideas for immigration reform. and my hope is that this provides some key markers to members of congress as they craft a bill, because the ideas i'm proposing have traditionally been supported by democrats like ted kennedy and republicans like president george w. bush. you don't get that matchup very often. so we know where the consensus should be. now, of course, there will be rigorous debate about many of the details, and every stake

holder should engage in real give-and-take in the process. but it's important for us to recognize that the foundation for bipartisan action is already in place. and if congress is unable to move forward in a timely fashion, i will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away. [cheers and applause] the principles are pretty straightforward. there are a lot of details behind it. we're going to hand out a bunch of paper so that everybody will know exactly what we're talking about, but the principles are

pretty straightforward. first, i believe we need to stay focused on enforcement. that means continuing to strengthen security at our borders. it means cracking down more forcefully on businesses that knowingly hire undocumented workers. to be fair, most businesses want to do the right thing, but a lot of them have a hard time figuring out who's here legally, who's not, so we need to implement a national system that allows businesses to quickly and accurately verify someone's employment status. if they still unknowingly hire undocumented workers, then we need to ramp up the penalties. second, we have to deal with the 1 million individuals who are here illegally. we agree that these men and women should have to earn their way to citizenship. but for comprehensive immigration reform to work, it must be clear from the outset that there is a clear pathway to

citizenship. cheers and applause] we've got to lay out a path, a process that includes passing a background check, paying taxes, paying a penalty, learning english, and then going to the back of the line behind all the folks who are trying to come here legally, that's only fair, right? so that means it won't be a quick process, but it will be a fair process and it will lift these individuals out of the shadows and give them a chance to earn their way to a green card and eventually to citizenship. cheers and applause] and the third principle is we've got to bring our legal immigration system into the 21st century, because it no longer reflects the realities of our time.

for example, if you are a citizen, you shouldn't have to wait years before your family is able to join you in america. [cheers and applause] . you shouldn't have to wait years. if you're a foreign student who wants to pursue a career in science or technology or a foreign entrepreneur who wants to start a business with the backing of american investors, we should help you do that here, because if you succeed, you'll create american businesses, and american jobs, you'll help us grow our economy, you'll help us strengthen our middle class. so that's what comprehensive immigration reform looks like. smarter enforcement, a pathway to earned citizenship, imprivements in the legal immigration system so that we continue to be a magnet for the best and the brightest all

around the world. it's pretty straightforward. the question now is simple. do we have the resolve as a people, as a country, as a government to finally put this issue behind us? i believe that we do. [cheers and applause] believe that we do. i believe we are finally at a moment where comprehensive immigration reform is within our grasp. but i promise you this. the closer we get, no more emotional -- the more emotional this debate is going to become. immigration's always been an issue that enflames passions. that's not suppliesing. you know, there are few things that are more important to us as a society than who gets to come here and call our country home. who gets the privilege of becoming a citizen of the united

states of america? that's a big deal. when we talk about that in the abstract, it's easy sometimes for the discussion to take on a feeling of us versus them. and when that happens, a lot of folks forget that most of us used to be them. [cheers and applause] e forget that. it's really important for us to remember our history. unless you're one of the first americans, a native american, you came from some place else, somebody brought you here. cheers and applause] ken salazar, he's of a mexican-american decent but he points out his family's been living where he lives for 400

years, so he didn't immigrate nywhere. the irish who left behind a land of famine, the germans, who fled persecution, the scandinavians who arrived eager to pioneer our west, the russians, the chinese, the japanese, the west indians, the huddled masses who came through ellis island on one coast and angel island on the other -- [applause] all those folks before they were . , they were them and when each new wave of immigrants arrived, they faced resistance from those who are already here. they faced hardship. they faced racism.

hey 235eused ridicule -- faced ridicule. but over time as they went about their daily lives, as they earned a living, as they raised a family, as they built a community, as their they did the part to build the nation. s andwere the einstein , and, people we may not remember. it built the country hand by hand. rick i've wreck. k-by-brick. they knew that what makes someone an american is not just blood or birth. it is allegiance to the founders and the faith that anyone from

anywhere can write the next great chapter of our story. that is still true today. alan.sk he is here. he is around your -- there he is -- he is around here. there he is. he was brought to this country .hen he was a child he felt american in every way. he was. except on paper. driving around town with the new

licenses in earning some extra cash from the summer job at the mall. he knew he could not do those things. it did not matter. what mattered was earning in education so that he could live up to his potential? he heard theen news that we were going to offer emerge, for folks to even if for two years at a time, he was one of the first to sign up. he was one of the first people in nevada did get approved. -- to get approved. [applause] in that moment, he said, i felt fear vanished and felt accepted. today, he is in his second year and studying to

become a doctor. he hopes to join the air force. he is working hard every single day to build a better life for himself and his family. all he wants is the opportunity to do his part to build a better america. , in the coming weeks, there is the idea of reform becoming more real. and, the debate becomes more heated. who are trying to pull this apart. and all who share the same hopes and dreams. this is not just a

debate about policy. it is about people. it is about men, women, and young people who want a chance to earn their way to the american story. that hast our history, only made the nation stronger and how we will make sure the century is the same as the last. welcomingn century everybody who aspires to do more and is willing to work hard, wil ling to pledge allegiance to the flag. thank you. god bless. >> the president addresses the nation on the topic of immigration and will outline his executive action on the issue.

live coverage from the white house at 8:00. governor'scan association is meeting in florida. the session included a panel of governors that have been touted as presidential candidates. they are mike pence, bobby perry, and scott walker. they talk about obama's immigration policies. this is a half-hour. >> here we go. all right. the host of "meet the press." chuck todd. and applause] these are thesee,

only governors who expressed interest in running for president. governor christie, you are not up here anymore. totally understand. that joke work for everybody? >> i did not express anything. >> it is about roping you in. i will kick things off in a minute and i want you guys to use no cards. we are not standing up and asking questions. pass them up. we will go for an hour. i am talking about the issues of the day and there is some news on immigration. our governorsh here in congress. startor kasich, let me with you. you are close with speaker boehner, how should they respond

to the action announced tomorrow night? what would you advise? >> my view is that they should be at this right away. my sense is that they should have put it off and make it clear to him that they are not going to listen to people who have no interest in the solution. ohio, would, in look at problems and offer solutions. look at problems and offer solutions and that is what we win.ith a gratifying they should have sat down with him and hammered it out. if you go quick and do not include us, we do not need to poison anymore wells. maybe they can make the plea to him. say, look, we are not going to

roadblock you and have unrealistic solutions. we will take a look. when i was in congress, we came up with simpson-mazzoli. i think it is a mistake to move forward unilaterally. i think cooler heads need to prevail. it is never too late until it is too late. wence, you arents in leadership. you have sent power of the purse. that could make a showdown. >> it would make a mistake to have an immigration law -- it would be a mistake to have an immigration law with the stroke of the pen. i truly do believe that this should be resolved with the consent of the governed. the senate passed the immigration bill and americans

changed the majority in the senate. they ought to take it to the senate and sit down in january with the new republican majority in the senate and the historically large majority in the house and find common ground. that is what leadership looks like and what we do as governors. we sit and hammer it out. --sign executive orders signing executive orders is not leadership the lights that we practice -- the likes we practice every day. i am for the president to reconsider and demonstrate the leadership people want to see, sitting down with the new republican congress and finding genuine common ground on border security. there are a series of piece by piece reforms that can be

enhanced in the congress that would be in the long-term interest of the people. >> a third governor of here who has washington experience, i know you have to hide that these days. would you -- would the confessional -- congressional publicans be in a better position if they passed something? said, we have waited for the house. there is nothing that we have done on this issue. >> i think this president purposely was very plain about this and said, i will wait until after the midterms to take action, knowing it would be unpopular and he did not want to hurt the candidate. he said, my policies are going to be on the ballot. we did not say that. he said that. the american people rejected the

policies. he said, for political purposes, i am delaying taking action. he loses. arroganceheight of for a president to say, i am going to ignore the constitution and ignore the laws, i am going to do what i want. it may be the first president to consistently ignore separations of powers. i think it is amazing that you do not have good democrats of conscious -- conscience. imagine a republican resident who says, i am going to ignore the congress, pick what laws i want to enforce, take what parts of the affordable care act to enforce -- i think it is the height americans. arrogance.f

he got obamacare done and his stimulus done. he said this is a priority. he could have done this. if you are serious about negotiating with house leadership, he would be secure about -- and sear about securing the border. -- sincere about securing the border. >> you don't think republicans have any responsibility? >> i say that we have to be a party of solutions and reforms and the immigration system is broken. we need to make it easier for people to come here legally. we need to say the president, how can we trust you when you are not securing the border? it has to be trustworthy. if he wants to build up goodwill and want to have a productive conversation, as john and mike said, he has to secure the border. it is not hard. i will the fun the border as being secured when border state governors say the border is

secure. that is how you know. is not based on a 1000 page senate will. -- senate bill. codifying theally executive order -- in executive there.hat is already we are not breaking up families. these are people here. are we arguing over something that nobody was ever going to enforce? >> no. let me address your question from mye republicans perspective. one of the reasons they did not do that is because the american people are not for it. you are going to see the president take this action tomorrow that is unconstitutional, in his own words. >> we do not know it is

unconstitutional, yet. >> he said it was not legal to do, whether statutorily or constitutionally, i will let the lawyers hash that out. he said he could not do what he is going to do tomorrow. american people are not for this. building a case that the republicans in the house and the republican majority in the senate will come to him with what is most important to the american people, securing the border. thoughtful bill that does not detract from the needed personnel, the drones, the strategic fencing. >> that is in the bill. >> and needs to clearly address the border security issue singularly.

you will not get american support for an immigration reform bill until -- not isether -- until the border secure. then, americans will be open to a conversation about how to deal with these people. it is interesting. the further i get away from the border of texas and mexico, the more intense people are. >> i agree with you. i have noticed the same thing. iowa, new hampshire, south carolina -- i had to put that in. there is a different conversation in the middle of the country than florida or texas. >> that is true. that the american

people want to see the border secured. when sheriffs, district say,neys, police chiefs governor, thank you for deploying the national guard to secure the border. inordinateo pay amounts of money to prosecute individuals who are in the country illegally and committing crimes. president ishe taking a major political chance. putting his party in jeopardy and putting members of the senate and the house in jeopardy. maybe he does not care. i suggest that, if he goes through with this and sticks a finger in the eyes of the american people with no thought other than what he wants to do, he jeopardizes democrats getting

into power. walker, you have not spoken on this. perry talked about a stand-alone bill on border security. >> house republicans put something up. i'm saying that the conversation would be different with bill the republicans passed. >> i am an optimist. the president came and campaigned in my state that was 99% for him in the last election and he went with one of our new governor elect's in michigan and across the midwest. looked ate president the fact that the american people rejected the policies of the president and he and his political team desperately want

to get the topic changed. we did not get a majority of the united states senate, whether for or against immigration. we were elected because -- states likeat colorado and the new senator with the very well immigration policy. i would say this president does not want a focus on repealing obama -- obamacare. he wants to reduce the national debt and those of the things that the republicans were elected to do in the house and the senate. ist is why the president making such a big deal about it after the election. he wants to divert attention

from what the americans -- >> i was in congress in the most turbulent times and the most successful times. we went through government shutdown and, after we won the majority in the house, we had to shut down and the chairman of the budget committee beat us up pretty badly. feelers over to my office and said, it is in all of our interest to get a balanced budget. the same is true on this issue. this is the overall tone we hear in america today. countries are divided. it is like, you have your stuff and i have my stuff. what do we end up with when we finally have worked through many tough issues? and we a balanced budget

paid down a large amount of the national that. did i like everything bill clinton was doing? are you kidding? at the end of the day, good people need to be committed to solving problems. he says, border bill. no border bill. maybe it cannot be worked out. everybody knows we have a problem in the country and they may not like his or our solution. they want the problem solved. you have to be careful with the rhetoric. you get far out on that and people don't want to deal. you have to find out if you are interested in solving the problem. that is what i would have suggested.

do you think that congressional leadership should go to the brink? do you engage in the budgetary aspects and shutdowns? >> i think you go to court's. >> who is the aggrieved party? i assume there will be a court challenge. i'm curious who is the aggrieved party. with john. it is interesting that bill clinton did not say the republicans in congress are not going along with me so i will go by executive order. >> he said we should do a government shutdown. >> he did not go and issue the executive order after that.

>> the welfare reform. >> isn't that the difference? >> set-aside immigration. what the president is doing is repeatedly saying that he is the president of the united states and not the emperor. he says this is a legal and defended it time and again when he was pressured. he will now take action. i think it will be hard not to find anyone other than a partisan democrat who says this is illegal. on his part.ive it is all take. >> you have newt gingrich and bob dole at each other over the shutdown. my point is that i do not like what he is doing and think he is making a mistake. this is where we are going as a country. are we going to deal with the real problems of health care and immigration?

are we going to deal with the divided country? the thing i have learned is, if we did not get the clinton negotiatethe table to -- and we did not get everything we not done had that, we would not have balanced the budget. nothing gets fixed without bipartisan support. you cannot do it without bipartisan support. look, i did it. i was an architect of the balanced budget and you have madeleine albright coming in to talk to you and that is enough for a lifetime. limit onor, is there a what you advise on how to fight the president? >> the power of the congress is the power of the purse. the shutdown was good.

>> you are making a case that the shutdown worked. bill andve a catchall every confidence that john will getnd leadership out of the lame-duck session and will keep the government moving forward. i'm also confident that the republican majority in the senate and the house are going to write a budget and adopt a budget, going through a regular and orderly process with the appropriation bills. when i talk about the consent of the governed, that is it. if the president would go he is notis and providing real leadership on this issue facing our country and in the way the american people would expect a leader to

do. that is where the american people can reject funding. with the stroke of a pen, to announce policy and travel after the televised address, i want to say that is not the leadership we practice and not the leadership john kasich spirits. that is the leadership american people want to see in d.c.. the president and congress figuring it out. >> who is the aggrieved party? ? >> i think we are spending $12 million a month on border security and the numbers are just out in harris county.

3000 additional students from central america. cost -- the cost is an extraordinary amount of money that the president is exacerbating with the announcement that he will allow for this. i don't think it. i know it. i think there is zero possibility. -- a real possibility. greg abbott, the new incoming governor of texas will be a fabulous governor and his job description over the last six years when you was asked what he does, he says, i go to the office, i sue obama, and i go home.

>> you believe the state of texas will have standing to challenge the implementation of the executive order. >> i do. >> i think they should. think about how ridiculous it is. we are talking about getting the president of the united states to follow the law. there are a lot of basis for him to follow the law. he has a decision to make. he is not running for reelection. does he want to roll up his sleeves? he has real issues. instead of distracting us, the saidtion, people went and we do not like the bureaucrats when it comes to health care and we want a replacement for health care.

keystone is a small example of what the administration is doing to stop us from being energy independent. government-runt monopolies. we need to be bold and principled. we need to pass bold conservative reforms and show them how we can be energy independent and break up the monopoly and education. we need to make the president choose a fee is interesting in oraving or -- leading m demagogy. the only reason welfare became law after he vetoed it was because he had a republican majority you work with. jimmy carter increased spending on the pentagon. the president needs to admit that his approach has been rejected by the republican --

the american people. shouldn't the house have passed something? >> no. some form of a bill he did not like -- there was something there. it was a political tool. if he was serious, you would have dealt with it. this is been a political tool all long. thinks it serves him well. >> is immigration and problem? politicians have been played on immigration a lot. >> let's be real. you have a house and senate. if you could ram through obamacare and you were genuine and serious about it, why wouldn't he push it through?

he wanted the next election. he have pushed that before? he waited until afterwards. i think it is a cynical ploy to try to draw attention away from the success the republicans had connecting with the american people and look at what has happened. instead of talking about the states on the agenda, we are talking about immigration. i think the vast majority of the american people want to talk about this. come with me on the road and i will tell you that there are not a lot of people talking about immigration. it is not as big as economic reform, tax reform, school choice, welfare reform. >> i think this is where the president really misses this. i found the president is not

interested in this when he came to dallas and i asked to to take a look at the border. share something important here. the president did not know that his border patrol agent's were 45-50 miles away from the order. he looked at valerie jarrett and said, is that right? president does not care about securing the border. that is the problem. the american people do. clear messagea and congress sends a clear message about securing the border, he is wasting his time and the american people know he is wasting his time.

>> i hear of securing the border. give me a metric. what is the metric? >> come to the border. board -- the boots on the ground. here is what happened since may and july, we have 10,000 apprehensions among in may and june and, in july, after we searched, the law enforcement and parks and wildlife wardens the related put them in the reduction insaw a apprehensions in july and in august. that is what you are looking for. we are heading in the right direction and are sending a clear message with personnel, law enforcement, and military

individuals. you cannot just come and throw your hands up. it is not unlike what you would see happen in a community with a crime problem. you put law enforcement and patrol cars in the neighborhood. crime goes down. president doese not understand or want to see implemented. i am cynical. i think the president is not serious about border security and has never sent a message that he is. until he does, the american people will not trust him. >> do think the american people will have to -- with the 11 or 12 million here, do you think that any of you support a form of a path to citizenship for them? you say they pay fines and back taxes, is there a path to

citizenship? border, ie secure the think the american people will deal with people here illegally compassionately and rationally. for people tohard come here legally and that is bad for them and us. was the dumbest things we do is educate people and take them out of the country. -- one of the dumbest things we do is educate people and kick them out of the country. the american people say we are tired of government running our lives, 2% growth, allowing vladimir to go into the ukraine

-- look, we are in agreement that we need to secure the border and i think it would be abouto spend time talking becoming energy independent. >> a path to citizenship? >> we can keep talking about this. >> you do not have to take a long time to answer. border first and we will have the conversation. 10,000,000-11,000,000 people here. i'll answer the question you did not ask. are they we should drill for more oil and gas at home and i -- k we should bring >> all right. a path to citizenship? >> my grandfather emigrated from ireland and i do not think we

should reward people with citizenship when the first act was to violate the law. 2006, weow, back in were together and compromised. over,he democrats took and he thought of moving forward went away. the president had the senate and white house and did nothing about immigration reform. putting border security first we setting aside amnesty, could have a 21st century guestworker program. i want to put my voice and with bobby. this year, in america, the american people say they want to change direction in washington

c -- washington, d.c. and, they want to get the economy moving again. citizenship, will there have to be one? everybody stood still on the border. if you cannot figure out who is coming in the front door, you cannot run the house. we have to think about healing. i did not liket the idea of citizenship. we may have to do it. it may be a tough process. i would never say never do it. we have to do that. stay, thew them to issue of citizenship, i have andd lots of voices

everyone in this country has to have ane they opportunity. i know what they did. i know they jumped the line. i don't like it. there are a lot of people who have not jumped the line and are bitter about this. it may be necessary. i am open to it. i will tell you that. >> i am thinking you are not going to get invited to do moderation for the presidential debate. >> ok. >> last time i checked, immigration is not insignificant. >> there is already a path to citizenship in this country and i suggest it does not need to be changed. if you want to be a citizen, get in a line and pay the dues and

the time like everyone else. >> the president addresses the nation on immigration. live coverage from the white house on c-span. o."the answer is, "no ear c friend, cory gardner. lineage.as british if you have ever seen the proceedings of the house of commons, they say the right honorable gentleman. polite toil of being

someone you do not care for. a lot of these men and women do not know who they are when they are saying, my good friend. it is kind of disingenuous. the senate probably know each other. they may not like each other. there is a better chance of them being acquaintances, if not friends. david mark.t clancy became the active secret service director. he appeared before the judiciary committee to discuss white house security and what has been done to improve this. goodlatte.ired by

good morning. the judiciary committee will come to order and without objection the chair is authorized to declare recess of the committee at any time. we welcome everyone to this morning's hearing on oversight of the united states secret service. before we begin, i want to make members aware that the first portion of our hearing is open to the public. there may be items which we cannot discuss in an open setting because they fall into the category of being law enforcement sensitive information. thereafter, after the director has testified and we have concluded one round of questions we will recess briefly to clear the hearing room. after that, members and staff will be permitted to re-enter the room and we will convene the law enforcement sensitive portion of the hearing. today we welcome acting director clancy to a hearing to conduct oversight of the united states secret service. we very much appreciate you

being here today, particularly given that you have only been on the job for a little over a month. you had an exemplary record of service as the head of the presidential protective division, and we're grateful that you agreed to take the reins of the secret service at this critical juncture. the secret service created by president lincoln in 1865, has a long and distinguished history. the agency has two primary missions. criminal investigations, and protection of the president, vice president, and other dignitaries. while protection is clearly the most visible of its two missions, i would be remiss not to mention that the secret service has recently had a number of significant investigative accomplishments. including approximately 6,700 arrests for financial and cyber crimes in fiscal year 2014 alone. which prevented more than $3 billion in losses. it is important to note that the service has also had many successes, implementing its protective mission. in fiscal year 2014, the service

provided protection for 6,000 travel stops, including more than 2500 visits by foreign dignitaries, and two national special security events. secret service is entrusted with protecting some of our most valuable assets, including the president, the first family, and the white house. this is an extremely difficult, high-profile mission where which there is no margin for error. recent incidents give me great concern that the policies, procedures, and training at the secret service are not entirely up to the task. just after 7:15 p.m. on september 19th, 2014, omar gonzalez was able to scale the white house fence, evade numerous secret service officers outside the white house, and force his way through the unlocked front door, armed with a knife. although it was initially reported to the public, and congress, that gonzalez was apprehended just inside the north portico doors, we have

since learned that he actually made it all the way to the east room of the white house before being tackled by secret service officers. the department of homeland security's review of this event uncovered a laundry list of errors that evening. including, communication systems that didn't work, and that officers were not trained to use properly. a construction project along the white house fence that obscured officers' sight lines. unlocked front doors to the white house late on a friday evening. and a k-9 officer who was on a personal cell call without his radio earpiece in his ear, or his tactical radio at the time gonzalez scaled the fence. this delayed the officers response, meaning that the k-9 was not able to identify gonzalez as the target. the report also discusses a number of training and staff issues, as well as potential missed opportunities to stop gonzalez in the months leading up to september 19th. today's hearing will take place

in two parts. a public portion and a closed portion, from which we will drill further down into the deficiencies that have been revealed in the secret service's policies and procedures, as well as any deficiencies with the physical security at the white house. in particular, i am interested in discussing how the service intends to improve security at the white house when, as was true on september 19th, the president or other protectees, are not present. a month after omar gonzalez was able to enter the white house, another fence jumper was quickly apprehended by secret service officers, including the k-9 unit. it is my hope that this incident shows that the service has already implemented important reforms. however, the gonzalez fence jumper is just one of many events in the past few years that call into question whether the u.s. secret service is doing all it can to fulfill its mission and prevent mistakes. others include the colombian

prostitution scandal. the recent ability of a security guard with a criminal history to take a service webben into an elevator with the president. and the incident in the netherlands dealing with intoxicated secret service agents. given the vital role the secret service plays in the security of the president and the white house, it is critical that congress investigate the service's response to recent incidents and work with the service to make sure it fulfills its critical mission. this hearing is intended to do just that. and since the ranking member has not yet arrived, we will go ahead, and swear in our only witness and again welcome him. acting director, clancy, if you would raise your right hand and repeat after me. do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? thank you very much. let the record reflect that the acting director responded in the affirmative. and we welcome him.

joseph p. clancy was designated as the acting director of the united states secret service on october 1, 2014, by secretary of homeland security jey johnson. prior to accepting the position of acting director mr. clancy served as the executive director of cable security at comcast corporation. a 27-year veteran of the secret service, mr. clancy's career there began in 1984, in the philadelphia field office. mr. clancy was appointed special agent in charge of the presidential protective division on february 1, 2009. mr. clancy held this position until his retirement from the secret service on june 30, 2011. mr. clancy attended the united states military academy at west point, and is a graduate of villanova, university, with a bachelor of arts in political science, and criminal justice. prior to joining the secret service, mr. clancy worked as a high school teacher, and

football and baseball coach for the philadelphia archdiocese. mr. clancy, we appreciate your presence here today and we look forward to your testimony. your written statement will be entered into the record in its entirety, and we ask that you summarize your testimony in five minutes or less. to help you stay within that, there's a timing light on your table. so welcome, mr. clancy. >> thank you mr. chairman. chairman goodlatte, ranking member conyers and distinguished members of the committee. let me begin by recognizing the tremendous support this committee has given the secret service over many years, and acknowledge your staff both past and present to work with us on issues as varied as protection of former presidents, to cyber crime targeting our nation's banks and financial institutions. 44 days ago, i embarked on the greatest endeavor of my

professional life. the privilege of leading the dedicated and self-sacrificing employees of the secret service through a challenging time in the agency's storied history. while returning to public service after beginning a second career in the private sector was not an easy decision, the call to restore operational excellence to the secret service was too urgent to ignore. i did not come here today expecting this hearing to be easy but it is my hope that the next several hours will yield productive discussions about the state of the secret service. without question, the agency has been severely damaged in present years by failures ranging from disgraceful misconduct on the part of some employees, to operational breakdowns that undermine the trust and confidence that previous generations worked so hard to establish. one of those operational breakdowns was the white house incursion on september 19th of this year. i understand the committee was briefed last week on the department's review of the incident. i read the report. i found the findings devastating.

what hits the hardest is the range of shortcomings that ultimately allowed omar gonzalez to enter the white house practically unencumbered. although i firmly brief the secret service is better than this incident i openly acknowledge that a failure of this magnitude, especially in light of other recent incidents, requires immediate action and longer-term reform. the department found that the level of training for uniform division officers likely contributed to gonzalez's ability to breach the white house interior. and document -- there was confusion regarding the various roles and responsibilities during a fence jumping incident. to address this issue, i will continue to oversee the integrated training for white house uniform division officers, and tactical teams that was initiated after the september 19th incident. this training involves dynamic scenario based exercises simulating breaches of the white house grounds, my goal is to ensure that 100% of all white house branch officers receive this training by the end of the

calendar year. if someone does attempt to scale the white house fence i want to ensure they are met with immediate and forceful resistance. but i also view the fence itself as a needed deterrent for would-be jumpers. the secret service has long held that prevention is the linchpin of effective security plans which is why we are currently working with our partners in the national park service to look at potential changes that would assist in the detection and delay of any person attempting to scale the white house fence. special agent and uniform division staffing levels have direct impact on the secret service's ability to conduct regular in-service training. thanks to additional funding provided by congress, in fiscal year 2014 the secret service was able to hire a total of 238 new law enforcement positions, more than tripling the number of hired over the previous two years combined. this fiscal year we hope to surpass that number and continue our work to achieve staffing levels that are commensurate with mission requirements.

however, i recognize that staffing challenges are not remedied overnight. as it stands now the recruiting and onboard process takes approximately 12 months. with an additional 7 months of training for new agents and officers. while staffing concerns within the agency will take some time to resolve, i have taken immediate steps to improve the flow and quality of communication at all levels within the agency. an integral part of why i agreed to serve as acting director were troubling reports that some employees saw no option but to take their concerns to people outside the secret service. rather than trusting their supervisors, and the agency's leadership, to confront difficult issues head-on. that is unsustainable in any organization. while i have the utmost respect for the employees' right to report incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse in a confidential manner without fear of reprisal, i also see an urgent need to re-establish what i view as one of the most basic tenets of a well-functioning

workplace. trust your boss that he will stand up and do the right thing. one of the first things i did -- one of the first actions i took since assuming this position was to foster better communication between the rank and file, their supervisors, and the agency's executive leadership. i conducted town hall-style meetings with the secret service field offices around the country by video conference. i personally joined officers and agents at the white house complex during their daily roll call. in the event that employees are apprehensive about discussing their concerns with their supervisors i instructed the secret service ombudsman to establish a mechanism of elevating employee concerns directly to the executive review board for resolution. i made clear the importance of full accountability and directed that i be present when actions are taken. the core values of the secret service, justice, duty, courage, honesty and loyalty, have guided the agency through many challenges over the course of its history. now more than ever it is

critically important for us to recognize that in the midst of all the turmoil, there is exceptional work being carried out by thousands of secret service employees around the country and around the world who embody these core values. in my view, failure can be an integral part of success. whether that refers to an agency or to an individual. and we are confident we can fulfill our mission with honor, and restore the secret service's rightful place as the most respected protection service in the world. chairman goodlatte, and ranking member conyers, this concludes my opening remarks. i look forward to a good discussion, and will be happy to answer your questions during both the open, and closed, portions of today's hearing as appropriate. thank you. >> thank you, mr. clancy. and i will, ranking member has not yet arrived. i will begin the questioning and when he does arrive, we will recognize him for both his opening statement, and questions. as you know, the officers who

were present when omar gonzalez jumped the fence on september 19th believe that he was not armed and did not present a threat that would warrant the use of lethal force. it was ultimately discovered that he was, however, carrying a knife when he entered the white house. can you explain to us the service's policy for the use of lethal force? and given that mr. gonzalez did actually have a knife when he entered the white house, do you agree with the decision to withhold the report? >> yes, sir. dhs, department 6 of homeland security and the secret service have a very clear policy on the use of deadly force. basically, what it states is that an officer, when it's necessary, is authorized to use deadly force if the individual poses an immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury to the officer, the agent, or to someone else. >> and what nonlethal options does an officer have to subdue

or stop a fence jumper? >> sir, officers, in addition to their weapon, they have batons, they have cs spray, the pepper spray, and obviously they're trained to use their hands, as well, to transition to that mode. >> now are you looking into other options? >> sir, we're always looking at other options that are available. close consultation with other agencies, and we share information, so we're always evaluating the equipment that we have for our officers and agents. >> concern has been raised that there's an overreliance on the dogs, on the k-9s, that may have impeded the service's ability to stop gonzalez on september 19th. could you comment on that? >> sir, the k-9 are obviously a very important asset that we have on the north and south grounds of the white house complex. it is one option of several that officers can use in the event of a fence jumper. it's a decision that the officers have to make, depending on the circumstances, whether to

use the k-9. but, previous jumpers have been confronted with -- our officers have used their hands, have used their baton, they've used other equipment to stop these fence jumpers. >> thank you. i want to give you an opportunity to discuss an incident that occurred back in 2011. it's been reported that there was a period of initial confusion about whether gunshots had been fired toward the white house on november 11th, 2011, and that officers were told to stand down. can you comment on what the service did that evening? and the days following to investigate that shooting? and did the service realize or did it not realize that anything was wrong until the bullets were found on the side of the white house several days later? >> yes, sir. thank you. as i've been briefed, when we were aware of shots being fired, initially there were -- there

was a report over the radio that there was a standdown order. but that was quickly overridden. our officers responded appropriately, they went to their defensive positions at the white house complex because they did hear some noise that sounded similar to gunshots. we continue to -- try to identify where those noises came from. we knew there was construction down on constitution avenue, but we immediately, within two minutes, notified the park police of the sounds down by constitution avenue. within five minutes we located the vehicle where mr. ortega was -- what he was driving, within five minutes. within 30 minutes i believe we started a -- or built an incident command center on constitution avenue. and then we continued to stay with the course of the investigation of the next several days.

>> and how quickly was there a warrant for the arrest of the suspect in that case? >> how many days, sir? sir we identified -- as i've been briefed we identified mr. ortega that day as the owner of the vehicle, and then through the process of the investigation through our pittsburgh field office, we were able to identify where he was located, and i believe november 15th a warrant was served on him in the state of pennsylvania. >> so within a few days. >> yes, sir. >> not one day -- >> yes, sir. >> with regard to the elevator incident in atlanta on september 16th of this year. what steps has the service taken to review and revise its policies and procedures for handling third party security contractors? >> yes, sir. needless to say, sir, that was a break in our procedures. we did not follow procedures in our advance of that visit at the cdc. we have done a investigation on that, and the -- in general,

someone who only sworn law enforcement officials should be in close proximity to the president who are armed. in this case, we did not follow the proper procedures. it's not a matter of necessarily changing policies but more of an indication that we need to do better training. and reshape some of the training that we're doing with our folks on the protection details. >> on that, what is your policy for determining when third parties may be armed while in the proximity of the president, or another protected individual? how do you go about determining that? >> sir the advance agent will ask, first, is anyone -- if there's local security at the site, is anyone armed. and then, needless to say, we also do records checks on everyone who's going to be in close proximity of the president. in this case, again, we failed our procedures in allowing this gentleman to operate the elevator armed. >> thank you very much.