Mayorkas says federal authorities are addressing New Jersey drone sightings

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the federal government is taking action to address the aerial drones that have prompted concern among New Jersey residents.

"There's no question that people are seeing drones," he told "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview on Sunday. "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."

"Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones," Mayorkas added. "But there's no question that drones are being sighted."

There have been numerous reports of drone activity along the East Coast since November. Mayorkas cited the 2023 change of a Federal Aviation Administration rule that allows drones to fly at night as to why there might be an uptick in sightings.

"I want to assure the American public that we are on it," he said, before calling on Congress to expand local and state authority to help address the issue.

"It is critical, as we all have said for a number of years, that we need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation," Mayorkas said. "Our authorities currently are limited and they are set to expire. We need them extended and expanded."

"We want state and local authorities to also have the ability to counter growing activity under federal supervision," he added, echoing sentiments from local officials.

In New York, the Stewart International Airport runways were shut down for an hour on Friday after the FAA reported drone sightings in the area. Afterwards, Gov. Kathy Hochul called on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which would strengthen the FAA's drone oversight and give states more power to investigate the sightings.

Addressing national security concerns the sightings have prompted, Mayorkas said the U.S. knows of no foreign involvement and that it remains "vigilant" in investigating the drone sightings.

Stephanopoulos pressed Mayorkas about past security threats drones have caused, including the arrest of a Chinese national last week who allegedly flew a drone over an Air Force base in California.

"When a drone is flown over restricted airspace, we act very, very swiftly," the homeland security secretary said. "In fact, when an individual in California flew a drone over restricted airspace, that individual was identified, apprehended and is being charged by federal authorities."

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Stephanopoulos in a subsequent interview that he and his wife saw drones above his home in the Garden State two days ago.

"I can't tell you the number of people that have come up to me concerned about it," Christie said. "To say this is not unusual activity, it's just wrong."

Christie credited Mayorkas for answering questions in his earlier interview, but said authorities needed to be "more vocal."

"When people see this kind of activity, it's a newish technology to most people, and they're worried about it and concerned," he said. "It's a lack of communication from the government at the federal and state level that's at fault here."

President-elect Donald Trump criticized the government's response to the sightings in a Truth Social post on Friday, saying if the government can't let the public know what's going on, then the drones should be shot down.

"With respect to the ability to incapacitate those drones, we are limited in our authorities," Mayorkas responded. "We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that and outside our department, but we need those authorities expanded as well."

"It is our job to be vigilant in the federal government, with our state and local partners on behalf of the American public, and we can assure their safety by reason of that vigilance," Mayorkas said. "We deploy personnel, technology, and, if there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly."

"Right now, we are not aware of any. If we become aware of any, we will communicate accordingly and take appropriate action," he added.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan contributed to this report.