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Border Security

Integrating and Aligning Border and Aviation Security Approaches

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September 16, 2011

DHS is by no means perfect. However, its organizational promise – that concentrating large operational agencies under one roof would improve security – has been met at the border. The DHS border screening model – identifying bad guys around the world, finding out in advance who is traveling, and making sure that the bad guys cannot pretend to be someone else – also applies to aviation security, though it has not been used much at airports. We’ve run out of ways to check all passengers for weapons, and everyone—including TSA—agrees that new approaches are needed.

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Perry's support for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants draws fire

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September 14, 2011

Perry’s support for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants draws fire | 2012 Presidential… Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and other GOP contenders, sensing a potential weakness on a big issue to many Republican voters, are hammering Perry for supporting a law permitting in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants. The first-in-the-nation law was passed by the Texas […]

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Upcoming Panel: Our Borders a Decade after 9/11

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September 9, 2011

Ten years after 19 foreign hijackers staged the 9/11 attacks, much has changed in America’s immigration and border-control policies, and much has not. The Center for Immigration Studies will host a panel discussion to examine what’s been done in immigration and related areas since 9/11 to strengthen America’s security and what challenges remain.

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ATF chief, Arizona prosecutor resign amid gun inquiries

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August 30, 2011

ATF chief, Arizona prosecutor resign amid gun inquiries – USATODAY.com The acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Arizona’s top federal prosecutor resigned Tuesday in the midst of congressional and Justice Department inquiries into a controversial gun trafficking investigation that allowed hundreds of firearms to fall into the hands of […]

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Obama halts some immigration cases

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August 18, 2011

from Metro Desk The Obama administration took one of its boldest steps yet toward addressing illegal immigration today by announcing it would halt potentially thousands of cases in federal immigration court if they do not involve criminals or people with flagrant immigration violations. Related articles, courtesy of Zemanta: U.S. to review 300,000 deportation cases ACLU […]

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Napolitano Is Releasing a Border Strategy Tomorrow; Does Anyone Care?

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July 6, 2011

Local TV in Arizona has reported that on Thursday, July 7, 2011, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, with Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin and Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, will be announcing the 2011 Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy in Nogales, Ariz. Unless the Attorney General is a surprise guest, I doubt this press conference will be more than the rhetoric the secretary herself complains about incessantly.

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Droning On and On

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July 6, 2011

John Villasenor at Brookings released “Cyber-Physical Attacks and Drone Strikes: The Next Homeland Security Threat,” that is well-worth the time to digest. While the thrust of the paper was to highlight the potential ability of U.S. adversaries to use UAVs to launch a cyber-physical attack, I could not help but think of how such unmanned vehicles might be used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes along the border. While CBP pursues a “one size fits all” strategy of using Predator UAVs as their sole unmanned platform, the rest of the world apparently sees the advantages of using a mix of significantly smaller unmanned aircraft for surveillance purposes.

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Can a Predator Be Used to Deliver Pizza?

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June 30, 2011

It is a legitimate question to ask what we are getting for our money. An even better question, and one that is not so frequently asked, is “Could we have gotten something better for the money we spent?” CBP celebrated 10,000 hours of Predator UAV flight recently, but bragging about that is similar to a hypothetical pizza parlor owner bragging about how the Humvee his shop uses to deliver pizzas has never failed in delivering pizza to his customers. In my mind, only a foolish person would buy a $20,000 slice of pizza, no matter what toppings were on it. Someone needs to ask if the Predator is CBP’s equivalent of that slice of pizza.

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ATF's "Fast and Furious" Speculation and Facts

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June 29, 2011

If you have been following the news reports concerning ATF’s Operation “Fast and Furious,” you are acutely aware that CBP agent Brian Terry was killed in the line of duty and some of the weapons found at the scene have been traced back to what is now known as “Operation Fast and Furious.” For various political reasons, including conspiracy theories, there has been and continues to be a feeding frenzy by reporters and commentators on both the left and the right. Everyone needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and look at the facts.

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A Call for Better Border Security Metrics

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June 27, 2011

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has complained on more than one occasion that Republicans are “moving the goalposts” when it comes to border security. One reason, as former DHS economist Bryan Roberts and I argue in a new piece for Foreign Affairs, is that the current metrics for measuring progress at the border are lousy. Apprehensions at the border may be falling, but does that mean illegal immigrants have been deterred from trying?

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