MEDIA RELEASE

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano met Friday, Nov. 12 with leaders of the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) to underscore the Department’s continued commitment to partnering with the nation’s travel and tourism industry to facilitate the flow of trade and travel while maintaining high security standards to protect the American people.

During the meeting, Secretary Napolitano emphasized DHS’ efforts to streamline security and customs screening for travelers through trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry — a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiative that utilizes biometric identification and thorough background checks to expedite the screening process at airports for its more than 80,000 participants — and highlighted DHS’ continued collaboration with our private sector partners and international allies to strengthen global supply chain security through a layered approach to identifying, deterring and disrupting threats.

She also reiterated the Department’s unprecedented commitment to bolstering the security of the international aviation system to protect the traveling public through partnerships with the private sector; enhanced international standards and collaboration; modernization of security infrastructure at airports across the country; and increased deployments of security personnel and the latest security technology.

Napolitano also stressed the critical role of the American public and the travel and tourism industry in adapting and responding to ever-evolving threats — highlighting the Department’s nationwide “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats and the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.