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DHS secretary Napolitano issues additional Action Directives on cyber security and northern border strategy
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Trend: Homeland security as a job source
CBP launches National Career Day around the United States to announce CBP’s goal for hiring approximately 11,000 frontline and mission and operations support positions in 2009
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With drug-related killings doubling in 2008 over 2007, and with drug lords becoming more brazen in their attacks on the state, the U.S. Joint Forces Command warns of the potential for “rapid and sudden collapse” of the Mexican government
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SENTRI, launched in 1995, is a land-border crossing program that provides expedited CBP processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers along the U.S./Mexico border
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The Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program (C-TPAT) was established in 2001 to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve international supply chain and U.S. border security; DHS says program is achieving its goals, with more than 8,000 applicants validated since 2003
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E-Verify was supposed to take effect 15 January, but was delayed to 20 February; system allows employers to verify their employees’ eligibility to work legally in the United States
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Japan spent more than $44 million dollars to install the biometric system at 30 airports; a deported South Korean woman was able to re-enter Japan by using fingerprint-altering special tape
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RFID technology is incorporated into more and more documents (e-passports, enhanced driver’s licenses); trouble is, the technology still suffers from privacy and security vulnerabilities
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New system, connected to the U.S. National Data Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia
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DHS will begin to collect biometric data from permanent residents of the United States and from refugees; new rule, to go into effect on 18 January 2009, will include “nearly all aliens,” except Canadian citizens on brief visits
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The H2-B visa program allows foreign workers into the United States for specific seasonal jobs; the program is capped at 66,000 workers per year; regulatory changes in the waning days of the administration aim to set in place policies favored by the business sector
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GAO says that DHS has not developed accurate cost estimates for the proposed tracking of travelers leaving the U.S. and has failed to include how much the system would cost airlines and cruise lines to build
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The first UAV is expected to begin patrolling the U.S.-Canada border in January
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Laptops contain e-mails, pictures, financial documents, and more; searching them may offer law enforcement officials far more revealing pictures of travelers than suitcase inspections at airports might yield
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Napolitano offers Obama pragmatic take on immigration… Microsoft, ESRI to help improve DHS operations… Inbox: Brits baying for blood over ID
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There are important employer obligations to consider when employing immigrants during an economic downturn
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Paperless boarding pass will allow passengers to receive boarding passes electronically on their cell phones or PDAs
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Amit Yoran and Dwight Williams held important positions at DHS; now in private industry, they offer their view and the challenges the department will face next year
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ESTA Authorization required for all visa waiver countries as of 12 January… Georgia vet school leak kept quiet… Microsoft infuses “long awaited” with new meaning
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Massive overhaul of U.S. immigration services planned… USDA awards CRI $50 Million counter-terrorism and security support services contract… Unisys wins DHS contract… European intrusion detection market - what are the future trends?
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The long view
CBP IA Operation Hometown reduces violence and corruption: Tomsheck shuts it down -- Pt. 5
Operation Hometown appears to be yet another example in a series of programs at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demonstrating blatant dysfunctionality and mismanagement within the Department of Homeland Security. Meticulously designed to target border violence and corruption among CBP employees, Operation Hometown was labeled a success in reaching its stated objectives. CBP Internal Affair’s (IA) James F. Tomsheck,however, shut the program down. As Congress and President Obama debate various aspects of a new federal immigration policy,few politicians are willing to acknowledge the serious problems at CBP Internal Affairs – but they should, as these problems may directly impact the success of any or all new immigration reforms.
More money, different approach offer opportunities to border security tech companies
The number of border agents has reached roughly 21,000, up from 5,000 two decades ago. In fiscal year 2012, spending for border and immigration enforcement totaled almost $18 billion — 24 percent more than the combined budgets of the FBI, the DEA, the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (total: $14.4 billion). One major trend driving the border security industry is the government’s shift from large-scale border security infrastructure projects to small unit security systems.
Lawmakers want more attention to be paid to security along the northern border
Over the years, concerns over U.S. border security have largely focused on the southern border, where hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants have been apprehended and millions of dollars in illegal drugs have been seized by border patrol agents. One reason for the inattention to the northern border is that it is not associated with highly charged issues such as immigration, day laborers, and violent drug traffickers.Scotty Greenwood, a senior adviser to the Canadian-American Business Council, is not surprised that the southern border gets more attention than the northern border. “The political theater isn’t as intense when you’re talking about what a good job we do.”