ELIZABETH, N. J., Dec. 4  -- U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said Thursday at New Jersey's Kean University his department should not be divided into smaller parts.

Chertoff said the incoming administration of U. S. President-elect Barack Obama should not heed any suggestions for a divided Homeland Security department, The
(Newark, N. J.) Star-Ledger reported.

"If you look at the challenges we face, the last thing we need to do is to go back to the days of stove-piping and everybody protects their own turf," Chertoff said.

Chertoff also credited his department's handling of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, particularly after Hurricanes Ike and Katrina.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3  -- U. S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned his successor, Janet Napolitano, that she will have to fight off special interests in her new post.

The Hill reported Wednesday that Chertoff told reporters, "The biggest challenge to my successor (the Arizona governor) … is the willingness to take on very deeply embedded special interests that tend to have very specific views on particular issues," Chertoff said. "Every time you put a security measure in place you are goring somebody's ox."

He said while businesses usually complain about inconveniences, border towns complain about security measures that may seem unfriendly to tourists, Chertoff said.