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Earmarks work their way into the stimulus package budget
Whitetail, Montana, an unincorporated town with a population of 71, sits on the U.S.-Canada border; the Whitetail border checkpoint sees about three travelers a day; still, the sleepy checkpoint received $15 million under President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan; critics wants to know why
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Honolulu airport gets faster screening
Honolulu airport is one of thirteen U.S. airports that will use a new screening process beginning 24 August; the Global Entry pilot program, intended to streamline the customs and security process for “trusted” air travelers
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GE offers airport detection system to the U.S. Army
The U.S. Army wants to use GE’s trace detection system; the device may be used for drug detection and explosive detection
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Australian, Kiwi passengers to use electronic passport control
New electronic passport control for Australians and New Zealanders will allow bypassing queues for baggage screening from the end of this year
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U.S. inspecting trains headed to Mexico
DHS has stepped up inspection of trains headed to Mexico; Napolitano: “For the first time we have begun inspecting all southbound rail shipments into Mexico”
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DHS adds $30 million for border security operations
DHS secretary Janet Napolitano announced the addition of $30 million in Operation Stonegarden grants; these funds supplement the $60 million in Operation Stonegarden grants announced by Napolitano in June
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Mexican cartels smuggle oil to US
Mexican drug cartel have a new revenue stream: they siphon oil from Mexican government pipelines and smuggle it into the U.S., where the oil is sold to refineries
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U.K. MPs have doubts about a biometrics IT system for screening students
The Home Affairs Committee looked at the role of the National Biometric Identity Service (NBIS) in student visa applications as part of a report into migration processes; universities have already voiced their concerns that the enrollment of students will depend on the untested NBIS, and the MPs say they share this concern
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Coast Guards interdicts smugglers' semi-submersible
Latin American drug lords now rely on semi-submersibles to smuggle drugs into the United States; the other day, the USCG interdicts one semi-submersible in the Eastern Pacific
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Concerns over E-Verify effectiveness as illegal immigration detentions drop
The Obama administration has mandated that by 8 September, all contractors who do work with the federal government must use E-Verify to ensure their prospective employees can legally work in the United States; senators say it is too easy to fool the current E-Verify system
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EADS wins large Saudi border protection deal
EADS’s win of the massive Saudi border fencing contract, valued at $2.3-2.8 billion, is part of the defense contractors effort to use homeland security projects as a means to bolster its revenues
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The business aspects of get-tough immigration policy
The post-9/11 get-tough policy toward immigration has meant booming business for private prison-management companies; the building of prisons and detention centers is now a much-needed source of income for cash-strapped rural communities
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U.S., Colombia in a deal for surveillance of drug trade, terrorists
The Pentagon has to find a new site for anti-drug flight operations after Ecuador declined to extend the lease at Manta
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Virtual border system ineffective, out of cash
Both supporters and opponents of the effort to enlist citizens to keep an eye on Texas’s border with Mexico agree that, so far, it has not worked; the question is whether to scrap the plan or continue to fund it
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Officials complain about northern border policy
Five-hundred government officials, policy experts, and business leaders from the United States and Canada gather to discuss the impact of security measures along the U.S.-Canada border on commerce; their conclusion: What is good for the U.S.-Mexico border may be unsuitable for the U.S.-Canada border
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