• Climate & Security

    Two weeks ago, the Biden administration released four reports, by DHS, the intelligence community, the Department of Defense, and the National Security Council, on how climate change-driven developments — among them:  worsening conflict within and between nations; increased dislocation and migration as people flee climate-fueled instability; heightened military tension and uncertainty; infrastructure destruction; worsening public health; food and water shortages; financial hazards, and more – are posing an increasingly more serious challenge to global stability and to U.S. national security.

  • Border Security
    Jeff Seldin

    DHS Counterterrorism Coordinator said that fears the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan could reinvigorate terror groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State, and lead to a surge of attempted infiltrations along the southern U.S. border, have not been realized. “It is just factually inaccurate to frame the southern border as a place where we are seeing a significant number of al-Qaida or ISIS-related terrorists or foreign terrorists,” he said.

  • Border Security

    The purpose of demonstrations and tests recently conducted in Montana North Dakota was to evaluate specialized air domain awareness technologies such as radar systems; electro-optical and infrared cameras; radio frequency detection systems; and acoustic devices to see how effectively each can monitor, safeguard, and secure the various terrains and airspace that surround the northern border between the U.S. and Canada.

  • Border Security

    CBP reports that The number of unique encounters with individuals trying to cross into the United States from Mexico in September 2021 was 142,710, a 9 percent reduction in unique encounters from the prior month. Encounters of unaccompanied children decreased 24 percent, with 14,358 encounters in September compared with 18,806 in August.

  • Influence Operations
    Michael Howard and Alex Nowrasteh

    The Internet Research Agency (IRA), the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation arm, employs fake social media accounts, media properties, memes, and bots to conduct what the Russians call “active measures” campaign to influence U.S. public opinion. The IRA’s goal is to intensify political opinions on every issue, and one of the IRA’s prime targets is to deepen nativist sentiments among Americans.

  • Border Security

    DHS S&T is evaluating an innovative air domain awareness technologies to help protect the airspace along our northern border with Canada.

  • Drones

    Nearly every day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents come across drones that may have been used to facilitate the movement of illicit drugs or people across the southern border. These drones usually carry smuggled narcotics and often contain surveillance cameras; however, they could easily be modified to carry other threats or hazards.

  • Migration
    Rob Garver

    The president and his advisers have offered sometimes contradictory assessments of the seriousness of a surge of migrants overwhelming border officials, and have sent mixed messages to the migrants themselves about what would happen if they reached the United States.

  • Migration
    Gianna-Carina Grün

    The global population grew by a quarter over the past 20 years, but the numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers doubled in the same time frame. Today, one in 97 people is forcibly displaced. In 2015, it was one in 175. The trend of rising migration parallels another trend that attempts to halt or at least manage the first, as more and more countries are building, or announcing, various border wall complexes.

  • Immigration
    Aline Barros

    Democrats will try to use the budget proposal – and the reconciliation process — to provide a direct pathway to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in America. The details of the measure have not yet been released, and passage is far from certain, as there are many political and procedural hurdles to overcome.

  • Immigration

    Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally have been an “unrecognized driver of the economy for decades,” writes an immigration researcher. By limiting immigrants’ economic options, the U.S. is missing out on additional growth in its own economy — especially with an aging American population, he argues.

  • Border security

    Safeguarding and securing the northern border against threats and illegal activities, such as human trafficking and smuggling of illicit drugs, presents unique challenges because of its various distinct landscapes and multiple points of entry into the country.

  • Immigrants
    Ken Bredemeier

    The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that 400,000 immigrants from 12 countries living in the United States for humanitarian reasons are not eligible to become permanent residents. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said that U.S. immigration law blocks migrants who entered the country illegally from obtaining permanent residency, or “green cards,” although they have Temporary Protected Status.

  • Migration

    April saw a 20-year high in the number of people stopped at the U.S./Mexico border, and President Joe Biden recently raised the cap on annual refugee admissions. Stanford researchers discuss how climate change’s effect on migration will change, how we can prepare for the impacts and what kind of policies could help alleviate the issue.

  • Asylum seekers

    Denmark’s parliament Thursday approved a measure that would allow the nation to relocate asylum seekers to an as yet unnamed third country, most likely outside Europe. The measure would allow the nation to transfer asylum seekers to detention centers in partnering countries, where their cases would then be reviewed from those countries.

  • Privacy
    Janosch Delcker

    Refugees have sued Germany for searching their cell phones during asylum applications. Regional judges have now ruled one such search unlawful. The impact could be far-reaching.

  • Human trafficking
    Kylie Foy

    Last October, the White House released the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. The plan was motivated, in part, by a greater understanding of the pervasiveness of the crime. This increasing awareness has also motivated MIT Lincoln Laboratory to harness its technological expertise toward combating human trafficking.

  • Refugees
    Steve Herman

    U.S. President Joe Biden, who initially decided to keep intact his predecessor’s historically low number of annual refugee admissions, Monday announced he is quadrupling this year’s total. Two weeks ago, the White House announced that the cap for the current fiscal year would be kept at 15,000, the level set by former President Donald Trump. That announcement came despite Biden’s promise that after his inauguration in January he would significantly expand the program.

  • Migration

    U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak Tuesday with community organizations in Guatemala, a day after the United States announced economic and other efforts to help Guatemala and its neighbors slow uncontrolled migration.

  • Immigration

    A new report presents data which show that increasing immigration is vital to the U.S.’ continued global economic leadership, and how the U.S. must raise immigration levels in order to remain the world’s largest economy, maintain a strong, competitive workforce, and outperform global competitors. “At a time when population dynamics promise rapid aging and a drop in economic productivity, welcoming more newcomers would make the United States workforce younger and more prosperous,” said the report’s lead author.