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DHS IG: SBI lacks effective oversight
DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner says the CBP is using contractors to do what should be inherently governmental work; “With continued heavy reliance on contractor support services, CBP risks losing control of program decisions while remaining accountable for mission results”
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Technological integration offer best means to protect Canada-U.S. border
The integration of several technologies — remote sensing, motion activated imaging sensors, below ground sensors, and thermal cameras — when coupled with policy coordination, offer the best means to enhance the security of U.S.-Canada border
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Local flexibility required to ease border crossing, facilitate commerce
Canada and the United States are the world’s two biggest trading partners — with $596 billion in trade in 2008; new report says that tight U.S.-Canada border rules are bad for business
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IBM signs U.K. biometric passport deal
IBM signs a £265 million contract with the U.K. Border Agency’s (UKBA) to provide UKBA with fingerprinting capabilities and run the database that will store the facial images and fingerprints needed to keep the passport in line with international standards
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Clear to sell customer data
Clear went out of business Friday; company may sell customer data to a TSA-approved provider
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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