Fwd: Press Release: READOUT OF SECRETARY JOHNSON’S VISIT TO ILLINOIS

[Zaher Sahloul]

Zaher Sahloul 

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Shora, Kareem" <Kareem...@HQ.DHS.GOV>
Date: June 13, 2014 at 1:42:40 
Subject: Press Release: READOUT OF SECRETARY JOHNSON’S VISIT TO ILLINOIS

Press Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
 
Press Release
June 13, 2014
Contact: DHS Press Office, (202) 282-8010
 
READOUT OF SECRETARY JOHNSON’S VISIT TO ILLINOIS
 
CHICAGO— Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson traveled to Illinois where he was joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representatives Luis Gutierrez and Bill Foster to conduct site visits to review regional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, participate in a civil rights community engagement meeting, and meet with immigration stakeholders. While in Illinois, Secretary Johnson, Senator Durbin, and Representative Gutierrez visited the Broadview Detention Facility and met with ICE employees.
 
In Chicago, Secretary Johnson participated in a roundtable discussion with local Syrian and Muslim-American community leaders – including representatives from the Coalition for a Democratic Syria, the American Relief Coalition for Syria, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council - hosted by the Syrian American Medical Society. During the meeting, Secretary Johnson underscored the important role community leaders play in working with government and local officials and engaging with chiefs of police and other local civic leaders to understand the many challenges facing their communities.
 
Over the past several months, DHS, through the community engagement efforts of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, has worked closely with key leaders and officials of Syrian-American organizations around the country to help address the joint concern of foreign fighter travel to and from Syria. Several of these community leaders have since partnered with DHS and facilitated community engagement work, focused on preventing violent extremism, intervening before someone commits an act of violence, and taking the appropriate measures to ensure community safety. The Secretary reiterated that this issue is not an isolated one, and partnership and inclusion are key to our collective goal of ensuring the safety and security of the American people.
 
Later, Secretary Johnson, joined by Senator Durbin and Representatives Gutierrez and Foster also met with important immigration stakeholders to discuss a variety of immigration issues, including the need to commonsense immigration reform. During the meeting, Secretary Johnson highlighted the renewal process for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the ongoing government-wide response to address the influx of unaccompanied children entering the United States across the Southwest border.
 
For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.
 
# # #