The lawsuit filed on Tuesday, September 7, in the Second Circuit challenging the federal government’s border search policy is yet another attempt to complicate and restrict our ability to protect the United States. At issue is the government’s position that its authority to protect the border includes the ability to review and examine the contents of personal electronic devices.
New legal challenge to DHS laptop searches at U.S. border | Homeland Security News Wire The Obama administration has continued a Bush administration policy which permits officers at U.S. borders to detain travelers’ laptop computers and examine their contents even without suspecting the traveler of wrongdoing — or, in the language of DHS policy, “absent […]
Arizona’s ‘Sheriff Joe,’ Immigration Firebrand, Squares Off With Feds The Justice Department upped its political and legal pressure on Arizona and its most notable lawman Thursday when it sued Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio for allegedly failing to adequately cooperate with a civil rights investigation that predates the state’s controversial anti-immigration measures. Although the […]
Laser-powered, ground-charged UAV stays aloft for hours – Homeland Security Newswire
A UAV is only as good as its power source: if the drone cannot stay over target for long periods of time and must return to base to refuel. A Seattle-based company has demonstrated that it can use a laser beam to charge the UAV’s photovoltaic cells, generating enough power to keep the drone in the air for hours.
The announcement Monday afternoon by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano that Predator B unmanned aerial vehicles will begin patrolling the skies over American’s Southwest border, funded in part by the latest $600 million infusion of cash from Congress, ought to raise some very serious questions about the manner in which increasingly limited homeland security funds are being spent. If DHS wants to deploy Predator B UAVs, then at least admit that Predators are far more expensive than almost every other alternative – or make the case why this is a better choice. Thus far, the explanations are lacking, and this should not be allowed to continue. When Congress returns, or whenever GAO gets around to it, Secretary Napolitano should be required publicly to address some of the following questions.
Two men arrested in Amsterdam may have been conducting a dry run for a potential terrorist attack, U.S. officials said Tuesday after a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle and a knife and box cutters were found in one of the men’s luggage.
State of Arizona files Opening Brief in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – Homeland Security Newswire
Yesterday, 26 August 2010, the State of Arizona filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco its Opening Brief in seeking to overturn the decision of District Court Judge Susan Bolton enjoining enforcement of parts of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070.
Border Patrol suicides are on the rise – GovExec
Since February 2008, 15 Border Patrol agents, 13 of whom were stationed in the Southwest, have committed suicide, the Associated Press reports. This marks an alarming increase for an agency that didn’t have any suicides for almost four years leading up to 2008, the report noted.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced an interim final rule establishing a fee for the use of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). An approved ESTA is required for all individuals traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Leaving aside whether the fee will have its intended effect of boosting tourism, the successful implementation of ESTA is a critical security feature of the modernized VWP. The ESTA compliance rate has reached 99 percent, so in short, ESTA has enhanced the security of the United States.
The DHS Office of Immigration Statistics report “Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2009” is a must read for those interested in immigration enforcement. The report sheds an interesting light on the federal government’s argument against portions of Arizona law, S.B. 1070, and it also contains some positive long-term metrics that demonstrate the sustained work of law enforcement in this area. The American public’s view that the government does not have a long-term commitment to enforcement has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to immigration reform. But results demonstrate some progress and a bipartisan commitment.
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