• Security ahead of risk at the border, II

    In a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was allowed to continue its practice of warrantless searches through computer data held by U.S. citizens and foreigners alike; with this in mind, an expert offers practical ideas on how to handle sensitive corporate — and personal — information as one crosses into the United States

  • CBP sesntivie information search policy is wrong, I

    Yes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s warrantless search policy at the border has been upheld by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but it is still the wrong policy; business people should do something about it

  • Border security, economic downturn slow down illegal immigration

    U.S. economic downturn and tighter border security have led to a steady decline in illegal immigration from Mexico; fewer immigrants who go back to Mexico try to return

  • DHS delays TWIC compliance date

    DHS pushes (the department says “realigns”) TWIC compliance date from 15 October 2008 to 15 April 2009; industry, port wanted more time; some ports will have to comply with original deadline

  • Department of Transportation launches DOT blog

    The U.S. Department of transportation launches Fast Lane, a departmental blog aiming to air the views of department’s big-wigs, but also to offer a forum for guest bloggers from government, industry, and the transportation community

  • Government scrapping virtual fence on Arizona-Mexico border

    Boeing’s Project 28 — showcasing advanced technologies to be used in making U.S. borders more secure — was hobbled from the start by technological glitches and delays; it delivered much less than what was promised, and DHS decides to scrap it

  • DHS proposes biometric airport and seaport exit procedures

    Moving to implement one more recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, DHS announces that by 30 June 2009 all visitors leaving the United States will have their biometric details taken and recorded

  • U.K. to set up massive national drivers' surveillance scheme

    Hundreds of monitoring stations would be used to track cars every five seconds — with daily itemized accounts of all trips made by Britain’s thirty million drivers; move is part of a national pay-as-you-drive road pricing plan; government says plan will reduce congestion and pollution

  • Quota for visas for professionals met on first day; lottery set

    US authorities said Tuesday they had received too many applications for a visa program for skilled workers for the coming year, meaning a random lottery will determine the winners

  • EU drops border security controls with 9 more countries

    Nine more countries enter the Schengen area as of Sunday; air border checks will no longer be necessary for European passengers to go to of from these new area members

  • U.S. hi-tech companies brace for new squeeze on high-tech visas

    U.S. companies can apply for H1-B visa for a skilled foreign employee beginning 1 April for the fiscal year which begins 1 October; last year, all 65,000 H1-B visas were filled on the first day of application; tomorrow will be no different

  • As Real ID kicks in 11 May, some states may be left in limbo

    Beginning 11 May, individuals who want to enter federal buildings or board a plane will have to show a state driver’s license complying with the Real ID Act — unless their state has been granted an extension by DHS (the extension is until 11 October 2009); Maine and South Carolina do not have Real ID-compliant licenses, and they are yet to apply for an extension (the deadline is today)

  • Security concerns over U.S. decision to outsource e-passport production

    The U.S. Government Printing Office’s (GPO) decision to outsource the production of the new e-passports to companies in Europe and Thailand makes legislators, security experts worry; Thailand is an unstable country with a tradition of corruption and rising Islamic terrorism problem; the Dutch company which operates the Thai e-passport production facilities filed court papers in October 2007 charging that China had stolen the company’s patented technology for e-passport chips

  • JFK now requires 10 fingerprints from visitors

    New York’s JFK joins a list of other U.S. airports now requiring non-U.S. citizens to submit ten fingerprints; on a typical day, JFK sees almost 14,400 international visitors complete US‑VISIT biometric procedures

  • Texas to revive "neighborhood watch" border protection scheme

    Texas will invest $2 million to place 200 video cameras along its border with Mexico; Texas citizens could watch the videos on their computers at home, and alert the authorities if they see something suspicious