• More than forty dead in Mexico in a weekend of violence

    Over the weekend more than twenty people were killed in a hail of bullets in Monterrey, Mexico; last Friday gunmen open fired on a bar indiscriminately killing patrons and even the hot dog vendor outside; in a weekend filled with violence, eleven bodies with gunshot wounds were found on the outskirts of Mexico City and ten decapitated heads were found in Torreon

  • Can DHS seize -- and hold for months -- U.S. citizens' laptops?

    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

  • North Carolina jail investigated for immigration violations

    A jail in North Carolina is currently under federal investigation on charges that local law officers mistreated detainees held as part of an immigration enforcement program; the investigation comes at the request of the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which requested that DHS officials investigate the Wake County jail based on fifty-seven complaints made by individuals detained there in 2009 and 2010; the complaints stem from the 287(g) program which allows local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws

  • Austin fights to keep federal money to battle cartels

    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

  • U.S. spends $90 billion on border security, drugs keep pouring in

    A recent study found the United States has spent an estimated $90 billion over the past decade to secure the U.S - Mexico border with mixed results;annual border spending had tripled over the last decade; the increased spending has helped curb illegal immigration, but for Mexican drug cartels business is booming and they are smuggling more drugs than ever into the United States

  • Federal judge blocks Georgia's Arizona-style immigration law

    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

  • Senate holds first DREAM Act hearing

    On Tuesday the Senate held its first hearings on the DREAM Act, a bill first introduced in August 2001 to give children of illegal immigrants a path to U.S. citizenship if they attend college or serve in the U.S. military; the bill is not likely to pass as the Republicans control the House, but Democrats plan to continue pushing for the bill

  • Documents reveal drug cartels' secret weapons, techniques

    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

  • ICE steps in to help California police stop violent gangs

    With local police departments struggling to protect citizens amidst deep budget cuts, some agencies are getting help from some unlikely places; In California, DHS agents are stepping in to help local police battle soaring crime rates; two agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are helping the San Jose police department battle (SJPD) street gangs as the city struggles with its highest murder rate in twenty years

  • Immigration officials incarcerate Iraq War vet over a passport

    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

  • Obama extends National Guard deployment along border

    President Obama has ordered the National Guard currently deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border to remain there for at least an additional three months to assist with border security; the Pentagon has agreed to spend $35 million to extend the deployment of the 1,200 National Guardsmen sent last year to California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas through the end of September

  • Border agents corrupted while FBI and DHS wrangle for power

    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

  • Border patrol seizes 159 pounds of iguana meat

    U.S. border patrol agents seized nearly 160 pounds of raw iguana meat along the San Diego border; a thirty-seven year old man attempted to smuggle the iguana meat across the border by stashing it in three coolers underneath fish