Noem attends ribbon cutting in Harpers Ferry, W. Va. for CBP’s Monarch Hall 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on June 23 to celebrate the opening of Monarch Hall—a 32,300-square-foot advanced training and learning center named in honor of the West Virginia state butterfly. The facility is part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s 224-acre Advanced Training Center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attended the event, along with U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), U.S. Representative Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, and many other CBP officials.

Noem said she was looking forward to seeing what the center will bring in advanced training and technologies “to each and every single one of the people that joined to serve the public and the people of the United States.”

Noem said that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito “will go down in history as one of the most effective senators this country has ever seen.” Not only did she secure over $32 million to complete Monarch Hall, but “she tells the story of the men and women that will be here, that will train here—what it means for our country, what it means for our security.”

Monarch Hall provides the ability for families to raise their children securely in a country “where they are safe and where they can still pursue the American dream” she said. When you invest and build you are saying that you’re “investing in the people that will train here.
And we face new challenges every single day in this country, new challenges that our agents and our individuals will have to be prepared for.

“I believe that they will be prepared for them because of what we’re doing here to make sure that we’re resourcing and equipping them the way that we should.” Facilities like Monarch Hall provide the necessary training, said Noem.

“We see challenges ahead in this country, new threats emerging everywhere. But we don’t complain about them, we fix them,” Noem said.