• Who Is Watching the Border Patrol?

    Since 2016 the Border Patrol (BP) has become highly politicized, even as the organization continues to be plagued by institutional violence and corruption at all levels. A closer examination of these federal agents and officers in green now highlights their extraordinary legal powers and reach. This is worrisome: In these challenging times, the BP is especially ill-prepared for more mission creep, nor are we ready for it. The Border Patrol is a loose cannon requiring immediate accountability and oversight by our elected representatives.

  • Eroding Private Border Wall to Get an Engineering Inspection Just Months after Completion

    Months after the “Lamborghini” of border walls was built along the Rio Grande, the builder agreed to an engineering inspection of his controversial structure. Experts say the wall is showing signs of erosion that threatens its stability.

  • Visa Ban Strikes Another Blow at Cross-Border Labor Flows

    President Donald Trump’s executive order this week to extend and expand a ban on issuing visas to certain classes of foreign workers — ostensibly to preserve 525,000 jobs for hard-pressed American workers — was celebrated by advocates of decreased immigration. But business leaders and economists worry that in addition to doing short-term damage to some sectors of the U.S. economy, it could also make talented professionals from overseas less willing to relocate to the United States in the future. 

  • DSI Border Security & Intelligence Summit: Leveraging Intelligence Collection and Analysis to Mitigate Threats to the Homeland

    Defense Strategies Institute will hold its 8th Border Security & Intelligence Summit on 29-30 July 2020 in Alexandria, Virginia. This year’s summit will focus on the policies and technologies aiming to help secure the U.S. homeland by bolstering the protection and security of the nation’s borders. The theme of this year’s summit is “Enhancing Homeland Security Through Intelligence Sharing and Targeted Enforcement.”

  • DHS CBP Selects JEOL Mass Spectrometers for Five Labs

    JEOL USA has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (DHS-CBP) for five JEOL AccuTOF-DART Direct Analysis in Real Time, Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometers. The AccuTOF-DART systems will be used by CBP scientists as a non-destructive, rapid means to analyze many types of forensic samples including drugs, suspected controlled substances, unknown substances, and general organic materials.

  • Ensuring Safety of Migrants at the U.S. Borders

    Every day, undocumented migrants attempt to enter the U.S. between the ports of entry, specifically at our southwest border. Oftentimes, they face life-threatening circumstances. They are miles away from shelter, food, and water; exposed to harsh terrain and drastic changes in temperature; and lack the means to receive help if they need it. To better monitor migrant activity and provide life-saving aid when needed, ICE and DHS S&T collaborated to implement the Missing Migrants Program.

  • New Visa Restrictions Will Make U.S. Economic Downturn Worse

    The Trump administration is expected to set limits on a popular program — the Optional Practical Training (OPT) — which allows international students to work in the U.S. after graduation while remaining on their student visas. The administration says the aim is to help American graduates seeking jobs during the pandemic-fueled economic downturn. Economists, however, argue that immigrant rights enhance the lives and livelihoods of native-born workers in many ways.

  • COVID Slows Central America-U.S. Migration

    From March to April, when the U.S. began to lock down, total apprehensions along its southern border dropped by 50 percent, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Apprehensions and expulsions have plummeted, going from 109,415 in April 2019 to just 16,789 in April 2020.

  • Economic Benefits of Illegal Immigration Outweigh the Costs: Study

    The economic benefits of illegal immigration are greater than the costs of the public services utilized, according to experts. Indeed, for every dollar the Texas state government spends on public services for undocumented immigrants, new research indicates, the state collects $1.21 in revenue.

  • Catching Nuclear Smugglers: Fast Algorithm Enable Cost-Effective Detectors at Borders

    Nations need to protect their citizens from the threat of nuclear terrorism. Nuclear security deters and detects the smuggling of special nuclear materials—highly enriched uranium, weapons-grade plutonium or materials that produce a lot of radiation—across national borders. A new algorithm could enable faster, less expensive detection of weapons-grade nuclear materials at borders, quickly differentiating between benign and illicit radiation signatures in the same cargo.

  • Trump Signs Executive Order Restricting Immigration

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order restricting immigration for a period of 60 days because of the coronavirus pandemic. The measure does not apply to any nonimmigrant visas, including those allowing temporary workers into the country for seasonal jobs in agriculture. It also exempts health professionals and wealthy investors seeking to move to the country. It does halt permanent resident visas (known as green cards) for parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, but not spouses. The order also excludes from suspension the cases of those who are in the country seeking to change their immigration status.

  • Can Migration, Workforce Participation, and Education Balance the Cost of Aging in Europe?

    New research shows that higher levels of education and increasing workforce participation in both migrant and local populations are needed to compensate for the negative economic impacts of aging populations in EU countries.

  • EU Closes External Border; Some EU Members Suspend Schengen Agreement

    EU leaders on Tuesday approved the closure of the EU external border for 30 days. Some member states, notably France, have closed their borders to entry from other EU members, in effect suspending the Schengen Agreement. In all, the new policy will affect 32 European states, including both Schengen and non-Schengen countries. Lines of trucks have been forming at border crossings across the continent, with the Brenner Pass, which connects Italy and Austria, seeing traffic jams extending more than 80 miles.

  • CBP Chief Admits Agents Mistreated Iranian Americans at U.S.-Canada Border

    The acting head of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency acknowledged that agents were out of line last month when they detained dozens of Iranian-Americans and Iranians at a border crossing near Canada in Washington State. Mark Morgan, the agency’s acting commissioner, said agents behaved in a way “that was not in line with our direction,” when they held more than 60 U.S. citizens of Iranian heritage for up to 10 hours or more for questioning.

  • Forced Back into the Lion’s Den

    A disturbing new report from Human Rights Watch found that at least 138 people deported from the United States to El Salvador since 2013 have been killed. The 117-page report also says that researchers identified at least 70 deportees who were sexually assaulted, tortured, or kidnapped. Immigration advocates argue that it is not hard to guess what would be the fate of asylum seekers who offer details on their asylum application forms of specific acts of violence by specific criminal gangs – and then have to stay in El Salvador, exposed to these gangs’ revenge, while waiting for a decision in a U.S. court. Since September, the Trump administration has required the Central American country to keep asylum seekers in El Salvador while they await the results of their asylum claims.