BORDER PATROL: Bill to Allow DHS to Seize Authority over U.S. Coastlines

The House is currently considering a bill that would cede control of America's coastlines to DHS; under the proposed National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act, the Secretary of the Interior would forfeit authority of all public coast lands to the Secretary of Homeland Security, whenever the DHS chief sees fit

Interior could lose control of wetlands to DHS // Source: noaa.gov

The House is currently considering a bill that would cede control of America’s coastlines to DHS.

Under the proposed National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act, the Secretary of the Interior would forfeitauthority of all public coast lands to the Secretary of Homeland Security, whenever the DHS chief sees fit. The bill would also allow DHS to take control of lands located along the Canadian and Mexican borders. DHS would be empowered to freely construct roads and fences, deploy patrol vehicles, and set up “monitoring equipment” on these lands. Within 100 miles of a coastline or international border, DHS would also have the power to waive all environmental regulations including the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act.  

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BORDER CONTROL: Senators Concerned About Terrorists Entering U.S.

U.S. lawmakers have lingering concerns about the ability for terrorists to enter the country following last week's Senate hearing that investigated how two Iraqi nationals with terrorist ties were able to enter the United States and live in Bowling Green, Kentucky for several years; A Government Accountability Report (GAO), released on the same day as the hearing, found four critical gaps in preventing terrorists from entering the United States

U.S. lawmakers have lingering concerns about the ability for terrorists to enter the country following last week’s Senate hearing that investigated how two Iraqi nationals with terrorist ties were able to enter the United States and live in Bowling Green, Kentucky for several years.

Following the hearing, Senator Rand Paul (R – Kentucky) said, “But after today’s hearing, I remain deeply concerned. We learned that our entire security apparatus is inundated with information. There is so much information, it causes a backlog of fingerprints, yet, we continue to process visas and create the potential for people who wish to do us harm to enter our country.”

The hearing was held at Senator Paul’s request after the two Iraqis were found living in his hometown. Of particular concern was the fact that the two suspected terrorists were able to enter the country despite having fingerprints that linked them to roadside bombs in Iraq.  Read more

BORDER CONTROL: Dramatic Increase in Indians Entering U.S. Illegally

There has been a dramatic decrease in the past three years in illegal immigration into the United States -- but the same years saw a dramatic increase in illegal immigration from one country: India; in May, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano told a Senate committee that at some point this year, Indians will account for about 1 in 3 non-Mexican illegal immigrants caught in Texas; experts say that at least one reason is that, beginning in 2009, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua no longer require Indians to obtain a visa before entering any of the four Central American countries, making it easier for smugglers to bring Indians there, and from there to the United States

Illegal immigrants recently released from detention // Source: sikhnet.com

The overall number of illegal immigrants entering the United States has fallen dramatically over the last three years, but one group of immigrants is growing by leaps and bounds: illegal immigrants from India.

Between October 2009 and march 2011, for example, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested at least 2,600 Indiana — which is a major increase over the more typical 150 to 300 illegal immigrants from India arrested every year until then. Rosendo Hinojosa, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, at the southernmost tip of Texas, which is the most active nationwide for apprehending Indian nationals, told Fox News: “Being the businessmen they are, they need to start looking for ways to supplement that work.”  Read more

PAKISTAN > Defense Minister Says Pakistan May Withdraw Troops From Restive Border Areas

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

By Sara Sorcher

National Journal

photo courtesy of defence.pk

WASHINGTON -- Pakistan may withdraw thousands of troops stationed within its lawless border areas -- traditional safe havens to extremists -- just days after the U.S. said it would suspend some military aid to Islamabad, the Washington Post reported. The move, sure to inflame tensions with the U.S., comes just before Islamabad’s top spy chief is due to arrive in Washington for unscheduled talks (see GSN, July 12).

Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said on a private Pakistani television station Tuesday that Islamabad “cannot afford to keep our military out in the mountains for such a long period of time,” according to the Post. Mukhtar’s comments appeared to differ from a statement made Tuesday by top Pakistani military officials pledging for operations to continue even with lessened U.S. funding.

The chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, is headed for Washington on Wednesday to “coordinate intelligence matters,” the military said in a one-line statement, according toReuters.

Since the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden in a garrison town not far from Islamabad in May, many members of Congress from both parties have been calling for the United States to cut back or eliminate its extensive financial aid to Pakistan amid growing questions about Pakistan’s willingness to root out militants. On Sunday, the Obama administration confirmed it would withhold $800 million in aid to Pakistan, one-third of its total $2 billion in annual security assistance to the country. It's the latest sign of a rift between Washington and Islamabad since the raid; Pakistani officials angrily condemned the bin Laden mission as a violation of their sovereignty and kicked hundreds of U.S. and British military trainers out of the country in response.

The Pakistani government has long rebuffed American requests to expand its military push into North Waziristan, a lawless border area in the country's mountainous northwest, leaving militants a sanctuary to plan attacks within both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Intelligence officials there told the Post that CIA drone strikes killed more than 50 suspected militants in North and South Waziristan in four strikes starting Monday night.

DETECTION > TSA could begin searching for explosives hidden inside you

photo courtesy of HSNW

[2 mins read] 

TSA could begin searching for explosives hidden inside you 

Published 7 July 2011

Government intelligence officials are now warning airlines that terrorists could be using surgically implanted explosives to bypass security measures; there is no information regarding a specific plot or threat, but airlines could begin to implement additional screening procedures as the current body scanners cannot effectively detect bombs hidden inside an individual; last year, al Qaeda operatives in Iraq implanted two dogs with explosives, but the dogs died before they could be loaded onto a U.S.-bound plane.

According to the Los Angeles Times, U.S. officials have received new information that suggest terrorists may be seriously considering surgically implanting explosive devices to circumvent existing screening procedures.

In response, Nicholas Kimball, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said airline passengers flying into the United States will likely face additional screening measures.

“These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport,” Kimball said. “Measures may include interaction with passengers, in addition to the use of other screening methods such as pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies.”

Current body scanners cannot detect explosive materials hidden in body cavities or below the skin, so airport screeners will rely on explosive trace detection swabs.

In 2009, in a failed suicide bomb attack aimed at assassinating Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, the head of Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism operations, an al Qaeda operative hid a pound of high explosives and a detonator in his rectum.  Read more

Security > Border Patrol uses wireless cameras originally intended to photograph wildlife

Thu, 2011-06-23 03:35 PM

By: Jacob Goodwin

Tree-mounted BuckEye Cam

The Spokane, WA, sector of the U.S. Border Patrol plans to purchase about 70 long-range wireless camera systems that were originally designed to photograph deer and other animals in the wild, but are now being used in a variety of security applications and as part of the war on terror.

The cameras will be supplied byAthens Technical Specialists, Inc., of Athens, OH, which markets individual cameras – as well as an integrated collection of as many as 30 cameras known as the BuckEye Cam CellBase – under the nameBuckEye Cam.

National Security > Malaysia begins fingerprinting all visitors

Okay, so it's not OUR National Security, but makes one wonder when/if OUR country will venture down this road.  How much of the rest of the world will follow suit?

Photo courtesy of http://news.asiaone.com

Under a new trial program, next month the government of Malaysia will begin scanning the fingerprints of all travellers entering and exiting the country to help combat international crime and terrorism; the program, dubbed the Biometric Fingerprint Security System, is aimed at reducing fraud from the current screening method which involves a security official matching a traveller's face to their passport photo; 3 percent of the 24.4 million foreigners who visited Malaysia last year were involved in crimes; biometric scanners are currently being installed at sixty-one of Malaysia's ninety-six ports of entry, and the trial program will begin 1 June

Communications > DHS funds interoperable border communications projects

Sister article to the 700 Mhz posting I just posted.  2 mins read. read more

VIDEO> USCG Precision Marksman Observer Team

One of our disaster response partners.  USCG Sharp Shooters, Precision Marksman Observer Team, video is 2:28, good to know info.