(NewsNation) — In a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas identified artificial intelligence and the People’s Republic of China as top threats to national security.
Speaking on the evolving threat landscape, Mayorkas spoke about the risks of attacks from foreign adversaries, the threat of violent domestic terrorism and increasing immigration due to pandemic and climate refugees, as well as those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Mayorkas also addressed the end of Title 42 and what the administration is doing to address the crisis on the border. He emphasized that migrants expelled under the policy do not have an enforcement record or a ban on attempting to enter the U.S. again.
“2.3 million encounters is not 2.3 million unique individuals who we encounter,” Mayorkas said.
In response to accusations the Biden administration is not doing enough, Mayorkas said they are working with other countries migrants pass through to better secure their borders and stop the flow of people, as well as creating programs like a recently added parole program for individuals from certain countries. Since the implementation of the program, he said they have seen a 95% drop in migrants from those countries.
Ultimately, Mayorkas said deterrence is not enough when one considers the level of desperation driving people to leave their home countries. Instead, he said, the goal is to focus on creating legal pathways to immigration, cutting out smugglers and providing safe and orderly ways for migrants to come to the U.S., and delivering consequences for those who attempt to sidestep those legal routes to immigration.
The secretary announced his department has implemented a new addition to their core vision, combating exploitation and human trafficking, with the goal of supporting victims of trafficking and stopping those who commit those crimes.
Mayorkas also announced two new initiatives for his department, in cooperation with the larger Biden administration. The first was effort to address threats from China, including working to prevent attacks on critical infrastructure and increasing screening to better identify Chinese travelers who are attempting to gather intelligence or steal intellectual property.
The second was a task to understand how artificial intelligence changes the security landscape. Mayorkas said his department was beginning to use AI, but would be testing it to avoid bias.
“We can never allow ourselves to be susceptible to failures of imagination,” Mayorkas said, noting that such a failure contributed to allowing the 9/11 attacks to happen. “We must look to the future and imagine the otherwise unimaginable to ensure whatever threats we face, we will be prepared to meet them.”
He highlighted the increased cybersecurity capabilities of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, America’s major foreign adversaries, emphasizing the need to protect critical infrastructure, as well as guarding against propaganda. Mayorkas listed the origins of COVID-19, Russia’s justification for invading Ukraine and disinformation on U.S. elections as areas where those countries use tools like social media to sow disinformation and increase the political divide.
“Our adversaries exploit innovations designed to bring us closer together, like social media, to in fact push us apart,” Mayorkas said.