** Watch the Senator’s opening remarks and questioning here.**
(Washington, DC) — On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, secured a commitment from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas to work with her on the New Hampshire-specific migrant encounter data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that Shaheen has been requesting for months.
During her remarks, Shaheen also raised the ongoing telecommunications infrastructure gaps facing local law enforcement along the Northern border, and Secretary Mayorkas committed to working with Senator Shaheen to address these telecommunications issues as well. Watch the Senator’s opening remarks and questioning here.
“Most of the discussion about our borders has to do with the Southern border. But in fact, what we’re seeing is increased encounters across our Northern border as well. […] We need accurate information, so we know how to address law enforcement issues, communication issues at our Northern border just as we do at the Southern border,” said Shaheen.
Last week, Shaheen sent a letter to Secretary Mayorkas urging for the release of New Hampshire-specific border encounter data. In the letter, Shaheen calls on CBP to release this data, which has not been made available despite the Senator’s request. Her letter also requests an expansion of telecommunications infrastructure and attention to other resources to assist law enforcement in the region. The Senator’s letter comes as the number of migrant encounters on the Northern border rose compared to last year’s data.
Senator Shaheen has long advocated for and worked to enhance protections at our Northern border. In addition to the above letter that Senator Shaheen sent last week to Secretary Mayorkas about the importance of protecting New Hampshire’s border, in September, Shaheen visited officials in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, to receive a briefing on immigration enforcement efforts and ongoing communications challenges due to the remoteness of the area and lack of technology infrastructure. During the current appropriations cycle, Senator Shaheen continues to advocate for funding for the Northern border. When she was the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, she oversaw increased funding for CBP and included direction to DHS to focus on the Northern border. As Governor, and in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she worked on a bipartisan basis with the New Hampshire State Legislature to increase security at the border and ports of entry.