US Homeland Security Dept. Launches Internal Hunt For Violent Extremists - Mayorkas

 WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has initiated an internal assessment to identify and root out violent extremists within the organization, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said on Monday.

"Domestic violent extremism poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today," Mayorkas said in a statement. "We must be vigilant in our efforts to identify and combat domestic violent extremism within both the broader community and our own organization. Hateful acts and violent extremism will not be tolerated within our Department."

Mayorkas has made identifying, addressing, and preventing domestic violent extremism across our country a top priority, the announcement noted.

"At the direction of the Secretary, a cross-Departmental working group comprised of senior officials will immediately begin a comprehensive review of how to best prevent, detect, and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism within DHS," the statement said.

The internal team, led by the department's chief security officer, will produce a report with recommendations for the secretary on how best to identify and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism, including those based on racially- or ethnically-motivated violent extremism, the statement explained.