There is a terrorist threat to this country that remains, and I believe that counter-terrorism needs to be the cornerstone of our mission, our vast mission… and aviation security is something that we still have a fair amount of concerns about. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
We continually evaluate the world situation, and we not infrequently make changes to aviation security. We either step it up or we feel sometimes we’re in a position to dial it back, and so this is something that happens periodically, and people should not overreact to it or over-speculate about what’s going on. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
ISIL, AQ, now have the ability to literally reach into our homeland through social media, through the Internet, to recruit and inspire. It makes for a more complicated homeland security environment. And so it requires a whole of government approach, not just military and law enforcement, homeland security, aviation security, and the like. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
Immigration is the most difficult issue I’ve ever dealt with, and I’ve dealt with some tough issues: drones, gays in the military, WikiLeaks, Guantanamo. But immigration is hardest because there are so few people willing to talk and build consensus. Everybody’s firmly made up their mind. It’s a polarized issue. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
There are many examples in our history of overheated rhetoric leading to fear and prejudice and government overreach. My own grandfather, a sociologist, was dragged in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. He said he wasn’t a Communist and explained that American Negroes were patriots like everyone else. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
Overly simplistic suggestions that we ban people from entering this country, based on religion, or ban people from an entire region of the world is counterproductive. It will not work. We need to build bridges to communities, to American-Muslim communities right now, to encourage them to help us in our homeland security efforts. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
Yes, it is frustrating to listen to those who foment fear, suspicion and intolerance, who don’t know the mistakes of history, and are in the midst of repeating them. Have faith that the character of the American people as a whole is such that, in the end, we will choose not to drink this brand of soiled milk. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
The nature of Homeland Security is that no news is good news. And no news sometimes means somebody got interdicted at the border, somebody got interdicted before they could get on an airplane, somebody was arrested providing material support to terrorism. Homeland Security means very often something you never hear about. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
The arc of the American story is long, it is bumpy and uncertain, but it always bends toward a more perfect union. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
History will record not only the transformational changes President Obama brought about, but also that in 2008, he was elected president with 69 million votes – the largest popular vote for any one person in the history of this country, based on a campaign of hope and inspiration. Jeh Johnson Read Quote
