SUNDAY, **August 11** at 8:00 a.m. on Ch. 5.1 & 4:30 p.m. on Ch. 9.1

“REPORT FROM SANTA FE”

THIS WEEK - JANET NAPOLITANO

President of the University of California (U.C.) System

Former Secretary of the Homeland Security & Author

New Book: "How Safe Are We? Homeland Security Since 9/11"

Aug. 8, 2019 -- This week's guest on REPORT FROM SANTA FE is Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California systems, former Secretary of the Homeland Security Department, and author of "How Safe Are We? Homeland Security Since 9/11."

Napolitano grew up in Albuquerque and graduated from Sandia High School where she was voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” Her father, Dr. Leonard Napolitano, was Dean of the UNM Medical School and was the face of New Mexico medicine for decades. She was the first woman attorney general of Arizona and the first elected woman governor of Arizona. She is the first woman president of the University of California system, comprised of 10 campuses, 270,000 students, five medical centers, and three national labs (Los Alamos is among them).

As Cabinet Secretary for the Dept. of Homeland security under President Obama, she managed 250,000 employees and 22 agencies. She served as Secretary from 2009-2013 and has written the book “How Safe Are We? Homeland Security Since 9/11” describing all the changes in DHS since she was Secretary, both positive and negative.

Napolitano analyzes the family separation policy at the border and states unequivocally that it was Trump and AG Jeff Sessions that initiated the Zero Toleration policy that resulted in children being removed from their parents' arms and put in cages. Napolitano notes, “You didn’t see the travesty of family separation at the border under Obama. You think that would have gone unnoticed at the time? I don’t think so.”

This interview was filmed the day after the El Paso shootings and Napolitano stresses the dangers of that event and future mass shooting events. Other trends that she finds troubling are cybersecurity, election interference and Internet hacking, and the long-term effects of climate change.

Napolitano not only answers the titular question of “How Safe Are We?,” but grapples with how these security efforts have changed our country and society. Where are the failures that leave us vulnerable and what has our $1 trillion investment yielded over the last 15 years? America is a very resilient country, Napolitano believes, and will rise to the security challenges of the day aided by this bold and visionary report card.

QUOTE:

“With this brisk, compact, and urgent book, a great public servant warns of the most basic dangers that now threaten our homeland security. There is no issue more important.”

-- Michael Beschloss, author of “Presidents of War”