-
Border security
A new study finds that combining historical data on illegal border crossings with unpredictability and randomness of patrols would be the most effective approach to increase interdiction of illegal border crossers
-
-
Border security
Nearly 340,000 people travel every day through the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and Tecate border crossings linking California and Mexico’s Baja California; more than eight million trips across the border are lost because travelers are unwilling to deal with the congestion and an average wait time of forty-five minutes; a new app addresses the problem
-
-
SAFETY Act award
Isotec Security’s Automated Weapons Control Portals has been awarded SAFETY Act designation by DHS; the company notes that no strategic, public facility, or bank using the solution has suffered an armed incursion or successful armed robbery
-
-
Surveillance
The long list of products and equipment developed for the military but which were adapted to and adopted by civilian and law enforcement agencies has a new entry. Add to the list the Kestrel: a L-3 Wescam MX 360-degree camera mounted to a Raven Aerostar aerostat
-
-
Immigration
Between 1 January 2011and 30 June 2011, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 46,686 parents who had at least one U.S. citizen child; more than 5,100 children of immigrants have ended up in foster care because their parents had either been detained or deported; if the second half of 2011 saw the same rate of deportations, there would be 100,000 kids who are U.S. citizens who had parents deported, and about 15,000 would end up in foster care
-
-
Immigration
The number of illegal immigrants in Arizona has declined in recent years, according to U.S. census data
-
-
Border security
A small surveillance UAV catches the eye of law enforcement and the military; it is an electric-powered, lightweight, portable system that fits in a small rucksack. Its modular design enables assembly and launch in less than two minutes
-
-
Blimps
A South Dakota blimp maker has one of its airships take part in a border security technology demonstration; the demonstration was put together to allow the CBP to evaluate a new surveillance system for use on the border
-
-
Trafficking humans
San Francisco International Airport is now home to the first program in the nation that trains airport personnel in identifying and stopping human traffickers
-
-
Surveillance
DHS is interested in adding powerful military technology to its growing arsenal of surveillance equipment; the agency is considering new cameras that will be able to track and monitor several moving objects simultaneously over as much as four square miles
-
-
Immigration
New study finds that the fate of nearly half a million immigrants hoping for U.S. citizenship may have been determined randomly, at least in part; to be awarded citizenship, immigrants must correctly answer six of ten questions on the verbally administered civics portion of the U.S. Naturalization Test, but researchers argue that the high-stakes civics test is not a reliable measure of civics knowledge
-
-
Exit tracking
DHS is in the midst of completing its plan to establish a biometric exit system for immigrants when they leave the United States; the plan has been devised amid growing concerns about terrorists who entered the country legally, but continue to stay long after their visas had expired
-
-
Law enforcement
This week law enforcement officers from the United Kingdom are in El Paso, Texas to train with DHS; the special agents from the U.K.’s Serious Organized Crime Agency are in town specifically to learn how to combat the growing threat of trafficking
-
-
Secure Communities
The Earl Warren Institute at the University of California, Berkeley Law School claimed that DHS Secure Communities program suffers from a disturbing pattern of abuse of authority by ICE, including wrongful arrests of thousands of U.S. citizens, a pattern of racial profiling against Latinos, and denial of due process for aliens in removal proceedings; a new study by the Center for Immigration Studies says this is not the case
-
-
Immigration
An estimated 214 million people — about 3 percent of the world’s population — have migrated across international borders as of 2010; the percentage may seem small, if the migrants were counted as one nation, they would constitute the fifth most populous country in the world, just behind Indonesia and ahead of Brazil
-
-
Cruise passengers
The cruise industry has been expanding at a rate of more than 7 percent annually in the past few years, resulting in bigger ships, more destinations, more on-board/on-shore activities, and more passengers – making it more difficult to keep track of passengers
-
-
Border security
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are considering introducing more unmanned checkpoints at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border
-
-
Immigration
Starting yesterday, job hunters in every state across the United States can use Self Check to confirm their employment eligibility status
-
-
Virtual fence
In an effort to avoid another $1 billion virtual fence fiasco, DHS officials have vowed to scrap any border fence projects early if they are deemed to be a failure
-
-
Immigration
After Alabama enacted its tough new immigration laws last September, the state saw a large exodus of fearful immigrants who packed up their entire families and fled the state; since the law went into effect, some illegal immigrants have begun returning to the state
-