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