Border monitoring / protection

DHS brings military technology to border 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
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Small UAV wins Border Security Product Challenge award
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
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Surveillance technology along the border
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
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SFO launches program to battle human traffickers
San Francisco International Airport is now home to the first program in the nation that trains airport personnel in identifying and stopping human traffickers
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DHS to propose visa exit tracking system
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
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U.K. police learning to battle cartels in El Paso
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
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CBP considers expanding unmanned checkpoints along southern border
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are considering introducing more unmanned checkpoints at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border
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El Paso woman hit by stray bullet from Mexican gunfight
On Tuesday a woman in El Paso, Texas was hit by a stray bullet from a Mexican gun battle more than half a mile away
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U.S. constructing $4.3M maritime fence to stop smugglers
To prevent drug traffickers and human smugglers from entering the United States via boat, border authorities are constructing a steel and concrete barrier 300 feet out into the Pacific Ocean just south of San Diego
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Border Patrol begins construction on outpost in remote corner of N.M.
In New Mexico’s remote Bootheel region, drug smugglers and illegal border crossers will no longer be able to slip through undetected by Border Patrol agents; U.S. Border Patrol recently announced that it was building a new outpost in one of the last unguarded regions along the southwestern border
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CBP overtime costs soar, agency seeks solutions
Over the past six years U.S. Border Patrol agents have accrued more and more overtime pay at the same time that the number of arrests for illegal crossers has fallen to record lows; the cost of overtime has rocketed from roughly $156 million in 2006 to more than $331 million in 2011, with DHS spending more than $1.4 billion total during that time period
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CBP considers relocating agents to stop corruption
With the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) struggling to prevent corruption within its ranks, the Obama administration is considering rotating border agents to other locations to separate them from the powerful Mexican drug cartels and their bribes
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Clearing trash along borders becomes increasingly dangerous
Cleaning up the trash left behind by illegal border crossers is becoming increasingly more difficult and dangerous as immigrants move towards more remote areas
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Battling smugglers along Canadian border
To help stem the flow of drugs across the porous northern border, federal authorities are working closely with tribal law enforcement agencies on Native American lands near Canada, providing equipment and training
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Lockheed delivers fourth upgraded P-3 to CBP
On Wednesday Lockheed Martin delivered a fourth upgraded P-3 Orion aircraft to U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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