The federal government is exploring the possibility of using a credit rating giant like Equifax to verify the identity of American workers, a move that could make it far more difficult for undocumented immigrants to get work using stolen Social Security numbers

The Khapra beetle, which is native to India, can eat its way through up to 70 percent of grain stores to which it has access; it was eradicated in the United States in 1966, and has been subject to federal quarantine since then; U.S. border agents in the Port of Oakland discover — and destroy — the larva in a shipment from Pakistan

It was a close call for the East Village theater La MaMa: At least three weeks’ worth of box-office revenue was on the line when DHS questioned the visa applications submitted by artists in an upcoming performance; although delayed by one week, the show will go on: The Irish Modern Dance Theatre’s “Fall and Recover,” a dance work inspired by survivors of torture, now opens Friday 25 March

A $5.50 border fee proposed for the 2012 budget would net millions for the American coffers, funding security measures; DHS is calling for the change, and analysts predict the increase in collections could bring in up to $110 million dollars; Canadian Foreign Affairs officials have blasted the fee

The U.S. plan to equip Mexican trucks with electronic recorders for driver logs would be a limited, temporary program undertaken because it is the only way the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FCMSA) can ensure that the Mexican trucks will be monitored, the U.S. government says; under (NAFTA), the United States cannot require Mexican carriers to do anything that U.S. carriers are not required to do, but the government still must provide a way to monitor Mexican carriers for compliance with both the hours of service rules and the cabotage rules that restrict freight hauling between points in the United States

There are no limits in the United States to the number of long guns (as opposed to pistols or revolvers) a person is allowed to buy; the Mexican drug cartels exploited this buy sending thousands of straw buyers to gun shows an gun shops to buy hundreds of thousands of fire arms, then smuggle them to Mexico; to stem the flow of guns, the ATF launched Project Gunrunner: rather than just take down low-level straw buyers here and there, the agency hoped that by “letting the guns walk,” the sales would lead investigators to cartel members higher up in the organization; insiders say it never did; ATF could have told gun owners not to sell, or later seize the guns in an arrest; instead, gun store owners were allowed to sell even though agents often knew the buyer was a straw for the Mexican cartels; those guns can be traced to hundreds of robberies, rapes, and murders; experts said the numbers are much higher

President Obama and Mexican president Felipe Calderon have struck a deal that will allow Mexican trucks to cross the border once again; the new deal will end a sixteen year dispute which has effectively kept Mexican tractor-trailers from driving on U.S. roadways; the plan will allow an unlimited flow of trucks from Mexico to enter the United States so long as shipping companies register the vehicles, pass inspections, and do not break safety regulations; the new agreement could generate as much as $675 million in cost savings; each year there are roughly 4.5 million truck crossings and each crossing cost $150; last year more than $2.75 billion in goods travelled across the border

Texas is the latest state to join the ranks of state legislatures across the United States seeking to pass tougher immigration laws; the proposed bill is less strict than the many Arizona-style laws that are making its way through other states, but critics say that the bill will encourage racial profiling, take valuable resources from critical police work, and give rogue agents free reign to harass immigrants; supporters disagree as the bill eschews the more controversial provisions of the Arizona law by not requiring police officers to inquire about immigration status; the bill would also eliminate “sanctuary cities” and allow officers to maintain records and help federal authorities enforce immigration laws

The intense law enforcement focus on drug trafficking through Mexico could push some cocaine smuggling operations to U.S. coasts and ports; in an effort to prevent another era of “cocaine cowboys” in Miami, circa the 1980s, U.S. officials are not leaving the security of ports and international maritime shipments to chance; “If you cut off one way for drugs to get in, they will find another way,” one ICE agent said