Steve Tabor (00:08):
Good afternoon. My name is Steve Tabor, and I'm the TSA Federal Security Director here at the Miami International Airport. Under the first year of Secretary Noem's leadership, the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA has been focusing on delivering the golden age of travel, promised by President Trump. Travelers are seeing the results firsthand.
(00:29)
Families are able to visit the airport, keep their shoes on, families stay together in the family-friendly lanes, and our military members are going through the checkpoints in a quicker and easier manner than ever before. With historic events ahead in 2026, including the FIFA World Cup, the America 250 celebration, and the TSA's 25th anniversary, the year ahead will be a defining one for all of the men and women who work hard to keep our skies safe.
(00:57)
Secretary Noem has exciting plans for how the TSA will rise to the occasion, and we're thrilled to have her here in Miami and the great state of Florida to share those ideas. So on behalf of Administrator Ha McNeill, myself, Federal Air Marshal Special Agent in Charge, Adam Nakai, and the over 1,700 employees for the TSA here in Miami, I'd like to welcome the eighth United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Kristi Noem (01:22):
Thank you. Well, thank you, Steve, and thank you everybody for being here today. And I want to thank David for his leadership as well. I want to recognize the outstanding individuals behind me and thank them for their service. These TSA security officers do hard work every single day to make sure that when people are flying and crossing our country and traveling to other countries, that they can do so safely, but they also can do so in an environment that is convenient and efficient and friendly.
(01:52)
And the individuals behind us are a prime example of doing that job and doing that work every day and doing it with excellence. We're here at the Miami International Airport to talk about two different things. We want to talk about the investment that is being made in security, but also to talk about what they have accomplished as far as making America safe again.
(02:11)
Under President Trump's leadership, TSA has undertaken a large role in making sure that we're going after criminals, terrorists, and drug trafficking that could happen over our skies and through our flights that go across our country, but internationally each and every day. I want to talk about some of the results that they've had over the last year and highlight the work that is so important that our security checkpoints interdict everyday individuals that are dangerous, but also why these technology upgrades that we'll be investing in are so important to the future.
(02:44)
We are working, and what has happened here at this airport is that over the last year, they have prevented over 10,000 individuals from traveling that had ties to narco-terrorism, 85,000 individuals that had similar ties to terrorists and to terrorists on the watch list in the United States. Miami has a human trafficking unit that has done over 2,200 inspections over the last year and made 24 child exploitation arrests, and then also took 60 adverse actions in order to revoke over 90 passport revocations.
(03:21)
It's incredible the work that they have done to keep people safe, which is the mission that the Department of Homeland Security seeks to do every single day. In fact, this human trafficking unit also removed 85 different firearms, 82 of them which were loaded at the time that they removed them. The tactical response team did over 2,089 inspections, took 71 adverse actions, and had 22 different nominations to the terrorist screening data set, which is so important for us to be able to work from in order to keep terrorists out of our country or remove them when necessary.
(03:57)
They interrupted multiple individuals that were suspected of espionage and tech acquisition, which is so important to protecting our country in the future. And the Port Operations Command Center, the Regional Carrier Liaison Group, they denied boarding to nine different individuals that were on our suspected and terrorist screened database that is so important to keeping individuals with ties to terrorism around the world off of our airlines and out of our transportation networks.
(04:26)
As you can see, what happens here at the Miami International Airport is incredibly important to the security of the United States of America. This is one of the busiest airports in the world. In fact, under Steve's leadership and David's leadership, they have brought in not just the golden age of travel, but they've also incredibly focused on keeping that travel secure and making sure that it focuses on hospitality as well. We have over 1,700 TSA employees here.
(04:54)
They average 70,000 passengers per day, but just recently broke their all time record of passenger screens at close to 100,000 people on January 4th of 2026. In fact, in 2025, 25 million people went through this airport. They're now undertaking a $9 billion modernization plan. They're investing in technology to make it more efficient for passengers to go through their checkpoints and to do so in a way that makes the experience pleasant for them as they travel with their families and their friends.
(05:27)
TSA is putting $100 million into that investment. But just recently, we've also announced that we will be spending another $1 billion in technology upgrades across the country and our airports to partner with them on what they can do to keep Americans safe. We'll be increasing our canine presence with teams that will deploy all across the country, computed tomography and enhanced imaging technology. In fact, here at Concourse D at the Miami Airport is a state-of-the-art concourse that is allowing passengers to get screened over 30% faster.
(05:59)
They're using an automated return system that's allowing 500 different bins per hour to be returned automatically, saving the passengers time so they can get to their gates and get on their flights quickly. There's cross-screening lanes that have been invested in, and it's allowing multiple passengers to screen their baggage at one time so the process can go quicker. They're rolling out bulk resolution tech, making the possibility for liquids and more personal items to go on airplanes with individuals as long as they are deemed safe.
(06:28)
They're implementing biometric gates and will be implementing also TSA Touchless PreCheck ID and making targeted upgrades at the busiest airports. With these security upgrades that'll be invested in not just here at Miami, but across the country at those busiest airports, that billion dollars will make sure that we continue to keep America safe, but even those who travel into our country and visit us, that they will continue to be safe as they do that. We have big events coming up.
(06:58)
We have the FIFA World Cup coming up this year, and then also we'll focus on the Olympics. There's many individuals from many countries that will be coming to visit us, enjoy our hospitality. We want to make sure that we are prepared, that we're partnering with incredible airports like the Miami International Airport, and that we're doing it with the next generation greatest technology and security measures that are possible.
(07:21)
We're excited about the future, what they've done to stop terrorists and criminals from coming into our country, and also removing those that may already be here, but also what we can do to make sure that we're prepared for the future and any threats that may come as well while people enjoy the travel that is the golden age of travel, just like President Trump promised the American people. And with that, I'll open it up to any questions that you may have. Yes.
Reporters (07:51):
[Inaudible 00:07:52]
Kristi Noem (07:51):
You're asking me about the body cam footage from... There's a lot of discussion going on with that. The FBI is leading the investigation. And as that goes forward, that'll be at their discretion. Yes?
Reporters (08:17):
Hi. [Inaudible 00:08:17]
Kristi Noem (08:20):
We're continuing to work with the State Department on any changes on how that relationship works and the travel between the two countries will look in the future. Yes?
Reporters (08:29):
Secretary Noem?
Kristi Noem (08:30):
Yes.
Reporters (08:30):
[Inaudible 00:08:31] Is there any reconsideration to extend TPS [inaudible 00:08:40]
Kristi Noem (08:42):
Yes. TPS is Temporary Protected Status. It's a program that's long existed in law. It has always been meant to be temporary. Although under the Biden administration, we saw it abused and not utilized correctly according to how law dictates. President Trump is restoring that.
(08:59)
Any individual who is from a country where TPS is expiring has an opportunity to appeal that and to look at other programs that they may qualify for, and they have a number of months to do that. They should reach out to the State Department. They should reach out to the Department of Homeland Security, and we will help them with that.
Reporters (09:28):
DHS [inaudible 00:09:15] What do you say to those people who are worried?
Kristi Noem (09:30):
The State Department gives us the analysis and the Department of Homeland Security implements the program. So as TPS for Haiti expires, those individuals can all work with us to see if it is following the law to stay here. And if not, they will return home.
Steve Tabor (09:44):
Last question.
Reporters (09:46):
I wanted to ask about the [inaudible 00:09:47] Your reaction to that?
Kristi Noem (09:57):
No, I'm thankful that we get the chance every day at the department to make sure that we are enforcing the law and treating people equally in order to protect the American people. The decisions that come down, of course, we implement the law and we're grateful when a court sees that the right thing has been done. We'll continue to focus on getting dangerous criminals, murderers, and rapists and drug traffickers out of this country and bringing them to justice.
(10:24)
We're going to continue to try to work with the local law enforcement and the leadership in Minnesota to do that, to make that community safer. And I just want to remind you all, the reason that we're in this situation with so many dangerous people in the country is because of the policies of the previous administration. Under Joe Biden's administration, millions of people came into the United States that were completely unvetted.
(10:45)
And we know for a fact that we had people that were terrorists, suspected terrorists, dangerous criminals that came in and had been perpetuating violence on the American people. We're so grateful that the border is safe and secure, but now we need to make sure that we're bringing Americans that safety and security as well. And the one data point I would point to all of you is the fact that we are seeing record low crime rates and murder rates in over a hundred years.
(11:13)
Because of the work of those law enforcement officers, communities are safer. We're seeing less perpetuation of violence. And that's exactly why they took the oath to do their jobs in the first place when they first signed up to be a law enforcement officer. Good? Well, thank you all for being here. Thank you for your partnership.
(11:33)
We're grateful for the work that we have with this airport in bringing safety to travelers and also bringing us into the golden age of travel where we can do it more efficiently and with more hospitality. And thank all of you behind me for the great work that you do. We appreciate you. God bless you. Have a wonderful day.