U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem joined U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Rep. Riley Moore and Customs and Border Protection leaders to cut the ribbon for the newest facility on the CBP campus, Monarch Hall, at Harpers Ferry. (Photo by Toni Milbourne)

HARPERS FERRY — The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) welcomed dignitaries to its Harpers Ferry campus to celebrate the ribbon-cutting for Monarch Hall, the newest building on the 224-acre campus located in the Eastern Panhandle.

Arriving to share in the event was U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, as well as U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., each of whom gave remarks during a brief ceremony prior to the official ribbon-cutting done by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott.

Monarch Hall, a $32.2 million construction project, brings to the CBP campus a 32,000-square-foot facility with three multipurpose classrooms, three conference rooms, six collaboration rooms, 78 workspaces and a state-of-the-art green room. Multiple levels of training will take place in Monarch Hall, named in honor of West Virginia’s state butterfly. Two training centers run their day-to-day operations from the Hall, supporting such areas as basic training to ensure effective preparedness for trainees; fentanyl detection training for canine teams and much more.

Executive Assistant Commissioner, Enterprise Services, Ntina Cooper, who served as master of ceremonies, reminded guests that it was 20 years ago that the first ribbon cutting was held to start the development of the CPB training center.

“ATC (Advanced Training Center) has truly found a home in Jefferson County,” Cooper said, adding that the complex and its development allows CBP to deliver mission-specific training to the workforce to meet the emerging homeland security challenges, both at and beyond the nation’s borders.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivered remarks at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection ribbon-cutting ceremony in Harpers Ferry Monday. (Photo by Toni Milbourne)

Noem called the gathering Monday a “monumental event for the CBP, Harpers Ferry and our country,” as she commended Capito for her continued support and hard work to obtain financial allocations for the center.

“Sen. Capito will go down in history as one of the most effective senators,” Noem said, saying that the she not only secured $32 million for the project, but that she also told and continues to tell the story of those who will train at the facility and all of those in West Virginia.

“I have long believed that when you invest in things, you show that you have faith in them,” Noem said during her remarks. “Where you invest your money is where you invest your future,” she continued, saying that investing in Monarch Hall and the entire CBP is an investment in the people who will train there in the future. Those individuals face new challenges for which they must be prepared.

“Facilities like this provide the training necessary,” she said.

Noem encouraged all those gathered to never lose sight of the mission at CBP – to secure the Homeland with honesty, integrity and in the best way that represents the United States of America.

Both Capito and Moore spoke about their commitment to further support CBP, not only because the facility lies within the borders of West Virginia, but also because it is essential to the safety and well-being of all Americans. Both referenced the problems, specifically at the southern border and the influx of drugs such as fentanyl into the Mountain State.

“What’s coming across the border – I can’t say enough about what President (Donald) Trump and the Secretary have accomplished in the last five to six months,” Capito said. “It takes a will, an incredible will, a steel will to move forward in an aggressive manner to be able to really change the face of, particularly, our southern border,” she continued.

Moore agreed, adding that the effects of the border issues can be seen everywhere.

“Just last May, two miles from here, an illegal immigrant killed someone and burned her body right here in West Virginia. It feels like every state is a border state,” he said as he commended those at CBP for their continued work to protect every American citizen.