Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection Ten Years Later

Turquoise Center
September 29, 2011

Jeffrey O. Baldwin is a Senior Executive with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Director of Field Operations in Houston.  After an introduction by Ali Candir, Mr. Baldwin delivered a short presentation as the honored guest of the Gulen Institute's latest Luncheon Forum. Emphasizing the need for communication and trust between the Department of Homeland Security and the citizens it protects, Mr. Baldwin provided a brief summary of recent developments in Customs and Border Protection and invited the community members to voice their questions or concerns.

Thanks in part to the galvanization of security agencies after 9/11, Mr. Baldwin insisted that America is safer, stronger, and more secure today than ever before. The consolidation of state agencies into the single Department of Homeland Security has made efficient information sharing and cooperation possible.  Mr. Baldwin described the benefits of this reorganization and suggested that border protection can no longer afford to be clandestine.  In order to be effective, security agencies must be transparent to each other and to the citizens they protect.

In this spirit of open communication, Mr. Baldwin engaged the attendees in a lively Q&A.  "I want to listen to you and hear your concerns as we talk about Homeland Security," Mr. Baldwin said, and the resulting discussion lasted almost as long as his speech.  Members of the Houston community expressed their gratitude to Mr. Baldwin for the work that he does, and several attendees expressed concerns that "See Something, Say Something" programs may encourage targeting.  Mr. Baldwin addressed each question directly, and emphasized that security is not about suspicion, but information.  He assured the audience that there is no airport security training material that demonizes Muslims.  On the contrary, security officers are provided with cultural sensitivity training that has been developed with input from national Muslim communities.

You can read the event report by clicking here.