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Secretary Noem Provides Update on Border Security and Drug Seizure Efforts at Otay Mesa, Feb. 13, 2026

February 13, 2026 · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · 0:32:41

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem opened the press conference at a port of entry she identified through the officials present — thanking the Border Patrol chief and CBP field leadership, and pointing to seized narcotics displayed in front of her as the work of frontline personnel, as she described it. She framed the event, in her words, as making America safe again and upholding the country’s laws.

CBP field-operations leadership speaking at the event thanked the Secretary and the Border Patrol chief for their partnership and stated that frontline personnel apply their training, intelligence and technology to keep dangerous narcotics out of communities at ports of entry — demanding work, as the official put it, carried out under challenging conditions at Otay Mesa. The speakers presented the seizures on display as evidence of that interdiction mission, as they stated it.

Why it matters

The Otay Mesa event is the department’s ports-of-entry chapter of its border case: legal crossing points, rather than the open border, as the front line for narcotics interdiction.

Sources: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Noem Provides Update on Border Security and Drug Seizure Efforts at Otay Mesa, Feb. 13, 2026”, Otay Mesa, California, 2026-02-13 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-02-13). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.