• Israeli cow incursion sparks border controversy

    Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in May 2000 to a border — called the Blue Line — demarcated by the UN; problem is, Israel erected a security fence along the border, and in several places that fence is to the south of the Blue Line; the question: Do Israeli cows grazing north of the fence but south of the Blue Line violate Lebanon’s sovereignty?

  • Senate increases DHS 2010 budget by $300 million

    Senate DHS budget version highlights difference with House over immigration; among other things, the Senate bill would require the Obama administration to complete 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the Mexican border by the end of 2010 — disallowing using only virtual fencing and vehicle barriers for border protection

  • The Obama administration would require federal contractors to use E-Verify

    The Obama administration said it would support a George Bush administration regulation that would only award federal contracts to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization

  • CBP tests new marine interceptor

    CBP Air and Marine currently operates a fleet of specialized, high-speed interceptor vessels that are approaching the end of their service life; the agency is testing a new interceptor in order to determine CBP’s next-generation fleet

  • Ground-penetrating radar helps border patrol to spot tunnels

    DHS researchers place radar antennas in a trailer which is towed by a Border Patrol truck; the antennas shoot a signal directly into the ground and use it to construct a multi-colored picture of the earth; tunnels show up as red, yellow, and aquamarine dots against a blue background

  • Clear to sell customer data

    Clear went out of business Friday; company may sell customer data to a TSA-approved provider

  • Border agency testing UAV along U.S. northern border

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has adopted a new addition to help the agency watch over the northern border in upstate New York: a Predator B UAV

  • Drug smuggling becomes more sophisticated, II

    Drug smugglers now use semi-submersibles which are 60 foot long and 12 feet wide fiberglass boats powered by a diesel engine, with a very low freeboard and a small “conning tower” providing the crew (usually of four) and engine with fresh air, and permitting the crew to navigate the boat

  • Drug smuggling becomes more sophisticated, I

    Colombian drug kingpins still use old smuggling methods to bring drugs into the United States — aircraft, hidden in ship or aircraft cargo— but small submersibles can move the most cocaine at once, with the lowest risk; U.S. Navy, Coast Guard have detected more than 120 of these subs off the coast between Mexico and Colombia

  • E-Verify implementation delayed yet again

    DHS created E-Verify to allow employers to check on line the eligibility of employees to work in the United States; implementation of the system has been delayed for the fourth time; new deadline: 8 September 2009

  • Oakland to give ID cards to illegal immigrants

    Oakland’s city council voted to offer IDs illegal immigrants who live within the city limits; supporters of proposal say the cards will give these immigrants easier access to services, improve their civic participation, and encourage them to report crimes

  • Drug traffickers turn to self-propelled semi-submersibles

    Trying to stay ahead of U.S. drug interdiction efforts, Colombian drug traffickers are looking to build remote-controlled SPSSs to smuggle drugs risk-free from Colombia into the United States

  • Canada to start fingerprint residency applicants

    The Canadian federal government plans to start fingerprinting applicants for temporary residency permits

  • More companies use DHS immigration database

    DHS says that more than 118,000 public, private, and government employers enrolled in its E-Verify database as of 1 May; enrollment is growing, but E-Verify still is used by less than 2 percent of the nation’s more than 7.4 million employers

  • DHS distributes $60 million is border security grants

    Thirteen border states will receive $60 million from DHS to strengthen their capabilities to secure U.S. borders and territories