Border securityRep. King, CBP commissioner, Nassau County executive discuss borders

Published 10 March 2011

A high-level meeting took place in Mineola, Long Island, earlier this week between among Representative Pete King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Alan Bersin, commissioner, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Edward Mangano, Nassau County executive; a spokesperson said the meeting was about the Federal government’s efforts to make U.S. borders safe while working to promote commerce and trade

Meeting with Rep. Peter King 4 March 2011 // Source: HSNW

A high-level meeting took place in Mineola, Long Island on 4 March 2011 among Representative Pete King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Alan Bersin, commissioner, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Edward Mangano, Nassau County executive, and two county attorneys. Katie Grilli-Robles, press secretary for the Nassau County Executive’s office told Homeland Security NewsWire that “Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano had the opportunity to speak with Congressman Peter King and Commissioner Alan Bersin about the Federal government’s efforts to make our borders safe while working to promote commerce and trade.”

King’s firm opinion on the potential threat of Islamic radicals were shared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” a Sunday talk show hosted by Candy Crowley: “I’ve said time and time again, the overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans,” said King, “but at this stage in our history, there is an effort to radicalize … within the Muslim committee.”

Last month, Bersin announced a new immigration policy ending voluntary deportations where border patrol agents would no longer be allowed to transport illegal immigrants to the border and then escort them back to Mexico.

“‘No mas,’ said Bersin. “No more returns without consequences,” (“Successful border program ensures consequences” 10 February 2011 HSNW).

Mangano’s county has seen results from Operation Gateway, a program aimed at identifying, limiting, and disrupting the ability of criminals, terrorists, traffickers, and other law violators who utilize marine waterways to unlawfully enter the United States, carry contraband, or operate near and around vulnerable infrastructure and regulated areas.

According to a news release, the program has yielded sixty-eight vessel inspections, two foreign nationals taken into custody, eighteen foreign-flagged vessel interdictions, eight federal warnings, sixty-six other violations, and numerous outreach measures to include boater safety procedures and suspicious activity reporting policies.

In a speech recorded in Oyster Bay, Mangano stated: “We have a commitment to remain vigilant, and we’re committed to our homeland security efforts.”

To date, there have been nine Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) funded maritime operations since 2007. They were held in Lake Champlain, the Hudson River and Long Island (Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound). From 2006 through 2009, $1,090,000 in Homeland Security Grant Program funding has been allocated to the overall statewide Strategic Police Intelligence Driven Enforcement Response (SPIDER) program. 

The funding covers overtime/backfill for planning and operational overtime (salary and fringe) for New York State, county and local law enforcement partners. All information gathered from each operation is sent to the New York State Intelligence Center for further analytical processing and for our federal intelligence partners.

 

DHSES provided $50,000 to fund this season’s Operation Gateway.

“In Nassau County, we have miles of beautiful, pristine shorelines,” said Mangano. “Residents can sleep well knowing that those shorelines are being protected through proactive initiatives like this Operation Gateway.”