Implementing new cargo-scanning regulations that have questionable security value and will assuredly disrupt the global supply chain and further undermine American commerce, jobs and the economy at large seems like a remarkably bad idea.
Security Debrief contributor Michael Braun, former chief of DEA operations, discusses the spiraling drug violence in Mexico, and how it is impacting American communities, with the LA Time’s Josh Meyer.
One of the most misunderstood programs at DHS has been the US-VISIT program. In some ways, US-VISIT has been a victim of its own success. It is now facing new opposition as the program attempts to expand the program. Where US-VISIT has drawn the most criticism, however, is usually a result of some aspect of the original blueprint going unfunded or getting bogged down by Congressional pushback. Thus the idea of a single “person-centric” biometric database for all visitors visiting or working in the U.S. remains unfulfilled.
Today’s Washington Post has a startling revelation that Consistent Cleaning Services, a local cleaning contractor, may have assigned undocumented employees to work at DHS Secretary Chertoff’s home. This was done apparently after the company assured the Chertoffs that the workers had legal status. Even more startling is the company owner’s tact to go to the Washington Post after being investigated and fined by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in what can only be viewed as a desperate attempt to be excused for his own failure to comply with the basic requirements of immigration law.
Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security hosted the last installment of exclusive blogger roundtable events that Secretary Chertoff has been attending throughout his tenure. Below is a transcript from the event which covered the current state of DHS and future of the agency.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans on having 20 airports operational by the end of 2009. However, despite the solid nature of the program, enrollment numbers have been quite low – around 5000 at last count. To CBP’s great credit, they have recognized that bringing in one traveler at a time to the CBP offices in the basement of airports is not a way to grow the program quickly.
It appears that Rick Perry, the governor of border state Texas, has just discovered he has illegal aliens in his jails. And that some of them are being released back into the community to possibly commit more crimes when they should have been deported. (Federal law dictates that aliens convicted of felonies are automatically eligible for deportation.) He wants some heads to roll – just preferably not his. So he has written the classic “strongly worded letter” to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Governor Janet Napolitano brings several critical qualities to the role as the chief executive of the Department of Homeland Security. First, as governor of Arizona she is a chief executive. It can’t be emphasized enough how important executive management skills are for this job. You have two herculean tasks confronting you: one is the security mission itself, but the other is the ongoing management challenges that still must be addressed in this massive merger that created DHS.
The Secure Communities Initiative, a new program launched by ICE in the last month, is an admirable step to facilitate cooperation with local and federal law enforcement to identify criminal aliens incarcerated in the nation’s jails to prevent them from being released back onto the streets.
John Torres, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will take the helm after yesterday’s announcement that Assistant Secretary Julie Myers is stepping down.
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