Large golden scissors gleamed in the midday sun, as Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Rep. Riley Moore smiled through the nearly 100-degree temperature, cutting a large ribbon to officially open a new facility at the agency's Advanced Training Center (ATC) campus outside Harpers Ferry.
“I’m excited to see what this center can bring in advanced training and technologies to each and every single one of the people that join to serve the public and the people of the United States,” Noem said.
“I have long believed that when you invest in things, you show you truly do care about them. … when you see people invest and build, they’re saying that they’re investing in the people that will train here.”
The facility, Monarch Hall, aptly named for West Virginia’s state butterfly, is the newest state-of-the-art training facility on the campus, bringing with it excitement from Noem and the West Virginia representatives — an emotion clear during Monday’s press conference.
Monarch Hall, which cost $32.2 million, is 32,000 square feet and two stories. It holds three multipurpose classrooms, three conference rooms, six collaboration rooms, 78 workspaces and a “state-of-the-art” green screen room which will be used for “video production with visual effects and training aids for a realistic learning experience.”
"I want you to know how important this facility is," Scott said. "Not just Monarch Hall — we're here to do a ribbon cutting — but [it's] just one more spoke in this wheel that CBP has of investing in its people, investing in it's culture so that we provide America the best border security we possibly can. Effectiveness and efficiency wise."
During his time at the podium, Scott noted that he is a "product" of the ATC. The newly confirmed commissioner began his career in 1992 as a border patrol agent, and has risen through the ranks of leadership through his confirmation on June 18. According to a release from CBP, he's the first ever to hold the position after starting his career as a patrol agent trainee.
According to Capito, who was instrumental in securing the $32.2 million to fund the project between 2020-23, CBP’s work has been critical in slowing down the influx of fentanyl into the United States. According to data sourced from Customs and Border Protection, fentanyl seizures drastically increased from 2019 to 2023, jumping from 3,105 cumulative pounds in 2019 to over 25,000 pounds in 2023. Those numbers dropped slightly in 2024, to 21,151 pounds, and seizures this year are around those from May 2021, at 3,880.
The drop in 2024, as well as the lower-than-normal seizures this year, could have various reasons, from Mexico’s crackdown on cartels to less fentanyl being produced, but, combined with recent data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed a precipitous 42% drop in overdose deaths in West Virginia and a 25% reduction across the country, it appears that enhanced focus on detection by CBP is paying off.
This aligns with the new facilities' mission-critical training, which a document provided by CBP breaks down as:
Regarding the investment into the campus, Noem spoke highly of Capito securing the funding for the five-year project.
“She [Capito] has been so incredibly powerful in her advocacy for things that truly do matter,” Noem said. “She doesn’t just advocate for funding for this campus when she talks about Harpers Ferry and what this community means. For years, she’s championed [getting] the dollars that are necessary to get this hall.
“When she does that [gets funding] she tells the story — the story of the men and women that will be here, that will train here; what it means for our country, for our security and the ability of our families to sleep and raise their children at night in a country where they’re safe and can pursue the American Dream.”
Noem also pointed out that investment in the ATC will drive innovation for agents and other individuals on how to respond to a rapidly evolving law enforcement field.
“We face new challenges every day in this country; new challenges that our agents and individuals will have to be prepared for. I believe they’ll 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.
“We have a critical mission and I’m committed to making sure we fulfill that mission and do it to the best of our abilities. … We see challenges ahead in this country, new threats emerging everywhere but we don’t complain about them; we fix them. And how do we fix them? We fix them with men and women who love the United States of America who are trained, resourced and equipped to meet those challenges head-on.”
During his time at the podium, Moore commended Capito, his aunt, and expressed his views on the project’s importance, citing the January indictment of David Antonio Calderon, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who is set to face trial in the May 2024 murder of Samantha Dailey.
“Senator Capito was just touching on the effects of the border in West Virginia, this is just last May, two miles from here, an illegal immigrant killed someone in our community and burned her body. It’s hard to believe; it feels like every state is a border state," Moore said.
He quickly shifted.
“But on that somber note, I do want to say it’s great to be back here at this training center,” he said. “This new facility is crucial to expanding the good work of the CBP that’s been ongoing here in West Virginia. … I look forward to working with the Senator and you all here at the Advanced Training Center to expand and continue the mission.”
Moore touched on his previous visit to the ATC two weeks ago with colleagues from the House of Representatives, where he was able to experience a training simulation that allows instructors to “gauge officer and agent responses to life-like situations.” He recounted his time when he "disposed of two threats in 1 1/2 seconds" to delayed laughter.
“I did a good job on this,” he said. “There was a guy coming up with a knife and somebody in the car. I neutralized both of these folks in 1 1/2 seconds with seven rounds. One of them a headshot through the windshield."
It sounded like someone in attendance said, "Whoa."
"That's correct," Moore replied, causing laughter throughout the audience. “We’re big Second Amendment supporters in West Virginia.”
He then jokingly offered his services to Noem.
Overall, Moore is excited about the work that will be done within Monarch Hall as it translates to the field, and ended on a note that he will be introducing legislation to “swap” 25 acres from the Department of the Interior to DHS to continue the expansion of the campus.
While a map of the parcels in question is not available, land maps show that land managed by the Department of the Interior and that is adjacent to the CBP campus is currently part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The land mapping notes this parcel of National Park Service land is 147.65 acres, and includes multiple hiking trails.