OUR COMMUNITY

M

ichigan U.S. Sen. 
Gary Peters, chair-
man of the Homeland 
Security and Governmental 
Affairs Committee, and U.S. 
Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) Secretary 
Alejandro N. Mayorkas visited 
the Zekelman Holocaust Center 
in Farmington Hills on March 
18 to discuss threats against 
houses of worship and funding 
increases for the Nonprofit 
Security Grant Program 
(NSGP). 
Peters helped secure nearly 
$250 million for the NSGP
, 
a $70 million increase from 
previous funding levels, as part 
of the government funding bill 
President Joe Biden signed into 
law on March 15.
 “Congress has come together 
to provide resources to bolster 
the efforts that the Department 
of Homeland Security is 
engaged in, from intelligence 
gathering to security assess-
ments, for places of worship 
to make sure there are actual 
resources to put in, cameras or 
whatever system is being rec-
ommended by the Department 
of Homeland Security,
” Peters 
said. 

Peters and Mayorkas had a 
full day scheduled with events 
throughout Metro Detroit to 
discuss the critical role DHS 
plays in protecting Michigan 
communities, starting at the 
Zekelman Holocaust Center. 
“We wanted to start here 
and have religious leaders 
come together to talk about 
security threats that they face, 
or insecurities that they have, 
and how we can help address 
those,
” Peters said. 
“I will say Secretary 
Mayorkas, who I’ve had the 
privilege of working with over 
the last couple of years, is a 
great partner in this effort. 
I chair the Senate Committee 
on Homeland Security. We 
work very closely on a variety 
of issues. And when I invited 
him to come to Michigan, he 
wanted to have this meeting 
as a priority. He is absolutely 
focused on safeguarding places 
of worship.
” 
During the press confer-
ence, someone asked Peters 
and Mayorkas how the 
Department of Homeland 
Security and its various agen-
cies plan to build trust with 
minority and immigrant 

communities. Mayorkas said 
that trust isn’t built over 
night, and they are focused 
on building that trust. “That’s 
quite frankly, why we built 
the Center for Prevention 
Programs and Partnerships in 
the Department of Homeland 
Security, to reach out to com-
munities that might not feel 
that the bridge of distrust has 
been closed, to prove to them 
that we are worthy of their 
trust, that we are here for them 
… and to make them secure 
and safe in the practice of their 

faith and not shrink from their 
identity,
” said Mayorkas. 
Later in the day, Peters and 
Mayorkas met with leaders of 
Michigan’s Arab and Muslim 
American communities to dis-
cuss civil rights issues, includ-
ing travel screening processes. 
They then finished their visit 
by touring DHS facilities and 
meeting with employees of the 
U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland 
Security Investigations and 
Customs and Border Protection 
at Selfridge Air National Guard 
Base. 

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters and 
Homeland Security Secretary 
Alejandro N. Mayorkas visit 
Zekelman Holocaust Center.

Houses of 
Worship Receive 
Security Grants 

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

30 | MARCH 31 • 2022 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DHS PHOTOGRAPHER BEN APPLEBAUM

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE JN

Mayorkas speaking at the 
Zekelman Holocaust Center 
with Gary Peters 

At Selfridge Air National Guard Base

