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TSA: ACLU’s terrorist watch list facts and figures are a myth
The Transportation Security Administration refutes the facts and figures used by the ACLU in the latter’s claim that the list is now 1-million strong
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Debate over environmental impact of border fence continues
The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area is part of the U.S.-Mexico border, and all agree that the area’s ecosystem is particularly delicate; DHS wants to build a fence there, but environmentalists object
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DHS wants nearly 60 border watch towers
DHS proposes nearly five dozen towers, ranging from 80 feet to 200 feet tall, to be erected in rural areas in Arizona
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University of Texas sues DHS over border fence
UT systems files motions in court last week asking that the court demand that DHS comply with a March settlement detailing how the fence would be built on part of the UT-Brownsville campus
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U.S. Supreme Court rejects environmentalists' challenge to border fence
DHS waived 19 federal laws so a fence could be built on the Arizona-Mexico border; two environmentalist groups challenged the ruling, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected challenge
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U.S. remains the dominant leader in science and technology worldwide
Perceptions to the contrary notwithstanding, the United States remains the world’s undisputed leader in science and technology; the key factor enabling U.S. science and engineering workforce to grow: inflow of foreign students, scientists, and engineers
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State Department: Robust security for U.S. e-passport
Popular misconception notwithstanding, the new U.S. e-passprt are safe, says the State Department. One example: The card’s photograph cannot be removed with solvent; a laser engraving process embeds the photograph into the polycarbonate card stock, meaning that attempts to remove your picture will visibly mar the card
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Texas bolsters border security, enhances trade
U.S. trade with Mexico has more than quadrupled in the past 15 years from $81 million in 1993 to nearly $350 billion in 2007; projected to reach at least 10 times that number by 2020, Mexico is the fastest-growing U.S. trade partner; nearly 80 percent of the trade between the United States and Mexico is transported via roads or rail; in Texas alone, that equates to 3.1 million inbound and 2.7 million outbound trucks each year; General Barry McCaffrey says it is possible to bolster security while accommodating growing trade
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Canadian border agency modernizes border security
The modernized program, to be introduced 20 June, will require members to adhere to stricter, better-defined, and more targeted security measures to strengthen border and supply chain security
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Trains to pass through X-ray at Turkey-Iran border gate
Turkey is installing a radiography scanner system at its border with Iran; as trains approach the Kapıköy border point, they will undergo radiography scanning once they are traveling at a stable speed, generally 30 kilometers per hour, after security precautions have been taken to protect passengers and train personnel
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Australia to use UAVs to bolster border security
Australia’s customs agency has been testing an Israeli-made UAV in efforts to enhance the security of the country’s borders
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A dead end for free trade? II
Tightening border security along the U.S.-Canada border is hampering trade, experts say; delays owing to security checks have cascading effects, as supplies and raw materials are late arriving at manufacturing plants
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Turning buses into mobile sensing platforms
Modern buses could be used as mobile sensing platforms, sending out live information that can be used to control traffic and detect road hazards, according to European researchers
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A dead end for free trade? I
Tightening border security along the U.S.-Canada border is hampering trade, experts say; delays owing to security checks have cascading effects, as supplies and raw materials are late arriving at manufacturing plants
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Border expo highlights issues, features technology
Speakers at an important border security conference and expo highlight major border security and immigration monitoring topics, while more than one hundred companies exhibit the latest border control technology
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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.”