On Friday, a federal judge heard arguments in a lawsuit that challenged the government’s right to search laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices at the border and hold them indefinitely; civil liberties groups say the policy violates a travelers’ First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure; according to the civil liberties groups, more than 6,500 travelers have been subject to such search and seizure of their electronic devices from October 2008 to June 2010

With federal lawmakers struggling to reduce spending and cut the deficit, Austin, Texas, could lose as much as $2 million in federal grant money that it uses to combat Mexican drug cartels; on Tuesday, Austin police chief Art Acevedo and Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas) urged lawmakers not to cut their funding citing the fact that the city is a dangerous hub for drug cartels

On Monday, portions of a Georgia immigration law were blocked by a federal judge on the grounds that the role of enforcing immigration was a federal responsibility; under the law, all businesses in Georgia would be required to check the immigration status of all new hires, police officers would be able to verify the immigration status of anyone unable to provide proper identification during a routine stop, and it would be illegal for anyone to knowingly or willingly transport illegal aliens

The recent attack on Arizona’s Department of Public Safety by LulzSec has revealed that law enforcement officials in the Southwest are battling drug cartels that use a variety of sleek gadgets and hidden weapons; the sensitive documents published by LulzSec show that smugglers have become increasingly clever using a variety of methods to sneak drugs past border officials; the cartels have hollowed out cell phones to plant 180,000 volt stun guns or a .22 caliber pistol

Federal immigration officials are seeking to deport a veteran of the Army and Navy who has served with distinction in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay; authorities have held Elisha L. Dawkins in a federal lockup in Miami since May. His crime: lying on a passport application

Using sex and money, Mexican drug cartels have been increasingly successful in corrupting U.S. border agents while the federal government has struggled to stop it; since 2004 CBP has made 127 arrests or indictments against border agents for acts of corruption which include “drug smuggling, alien smuggling, money laundering, and conspiracy”; jurisdictional turf wars between the FBI and the DHS Inspector General have limited the government’s ability to investigate and prosecute corruption cases effectively; corruption is still relatively limited given the size of the U.S. border force — more than 20,000 agents

Railroad companies are protesting nearly $400 million in fines for illegal drugs smuggled aboard its trains; under U.S. law, all shipping companies are subject to fines of $500 per ounce of marijuana and $1,000 per ounce of heroin or cocaine if U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents find drugs hidden in their cargo; Union Pacific argues that they are being punished for the actions of drug smugglers which they cannot control

DHS, the Justice Department, and the Federal Trade Commission are joining forces to stop notary publics, or notarios, in the United States from scamming immigrants; last year, the Justice Department working in conjunction with ICE, the FBI and other agencies, prosecuted dozens notarios who falsely pretended to be lawyers and worked on the behalf of immigrants

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is rallying against two proposed amendments that would cut the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) budget and limit its employees’ collective bargaining rights; the union is urging the Senate to reject the two amendments in the 2012 DHS budget that the House passed; the amendment to cut $300 million from TSA’s budget comes as part of a broader turf war between two House Republican chairmen