Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday suggested that a rule change by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in September of 2023 “may be one of the reasons” for the reports of drone sightings at night in the northeast of the country.
Drones have been spotted in recent weeks across New Jersey and neighboring states, prompting concern among residents and lawmakers and launching investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The FBI says that it has received over 3,000 tips related to the drone sightings, with most of the purported observations occurring at night.
“In September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night,” the Biden administration official told ABC News’ This Week on Sunday. “And that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk.”
Mayorkas acknowledged that “there’s no question that drones are being sighted.” The Biden admin official noted that “thousands” are flying in the United States every day, and that “more than one million drones” are registered nationwide.
“I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings,” he said in the interview.
How Has the Government Responded to Mystery Drones?
Mayorkas’ comments came after governors, members of Congress, local officials and police have all publicly raised concerns about the uptick in sightings. While some of the videos shared to social media have been deemed to be of airplanes or normal aircraft activity, others remain unexplained. Leading politicians and officials have also publicly talked about their own experience observing the flying objects.
“At this point, we have not identified any basis for believing that there’s any criminal activity involved, that there’s any national security threat, that there’s any particular public safety threat, or that there is a malicious foreign actor involved in these drones,” one senior official of President Joe Biden’s administration told reporters during a press call on Saturday.
A National Security Council spokesperson added: “At least some portion of what has been reported to be drones have on further inquiry turned out to be manned aircraft that were lawfully in the airspace and that is not uncommon for people to see things that appear to be drones that turn out not to be drones.”
Backlash to Government’s Drone Response
The federal government response has sparked significant criticism, with some accusing officials of “lying” or malicious activity.
On Friday night, President-elect Donald Trump spoke out in favor of shooting down the mysterious drones if necessary, while suggesting that the Biden administration was withholding information about the sightings.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT.”
“They’re lying to us. First, they say you’re not seeing what you’re seeing. There’s nothing here, nothing here to be seen. And then they tell us that they don’t know what it is. They don’t know what’s happening. It’s all a lie,” New Jersey Assemblyman Erik Peterson told CNN on Saturday.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, suggested the government is behind the drones.
The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on.
It really is that bad.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 15, 2024
“The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on. It really is that bad,” the lawmaker wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening.
On Sunday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he was “pushing for answers.”
“I’m calling for @SecMayorkas to deploy special drone-detection tech across NY and NJ. And I’m working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
I’m pushing for answers amid these drone sightings.
I’m calling for @SecMayorkas to deploy special drone-detection tech across NY and NJ.
And I’m working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 15, 2024
