Top DHS official on how his background informs his mission: dismantling drug cartels
Top DHS official focused on defeating, disrupting and dismantling drug cartels Deputy Homeland Security Secretary John Tien, a 24-year Army vet, now finds himself with a new challenge, handed down by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas specifically because of his background : defeating, disrupting and dismantling Mexican drug cartels . "These cartels are responsible for human smuggling, human trafficking, narcotics trafficking in particular, who are making, shipping and selling dangerous and deadly narcotics," Tien told ABC News in an interview, laying blame with them for the spread of opioids like fentanyl. Tien is one of the most senior law enforcement officials in the country. His status as a veteran isn't so unique -- there are about 54,000 others working at the department, or about 20% of employees -- but it informs his work even out of the military. So, too, does his heritage. "As a first-generation Asian American, I know that I've got a responsibility to be bo...