Secretary Michael Chertoff

CMSOnAir

In this podcast, CMS’s Executive Director Donald Kerwin speaks with Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on the intersection between international migration, refugee protection and national security. Secretary Chertoff discusses the lessons learned from 9/11 terrorist attacks, the security of the US refugee resettlement and visa waiver programs, proposals to bar Muslim immigrants from admission and to build a fence the length of the US-Mexico border, and the need for broad immigration reform. Michael Chertoff served as DHS Secretary from 2005 until 2009. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he was instrumental in developing and implementing the administration’s homeland security and immigration enforcement priorities. He also played a lead role in advocating for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Prior to leading DHS, Secretary Chertoff served as a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2003 to 2005, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice from 2001 to 2003, and worked for more than a decade as a federal prosecutor. Upon retiring from public service, he co-founded the Chertoff Group, which provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Immigration Task Force.